oil removel from a PRM 150 gearbox

[TerryH]

My new PRM 150 gearbox. needs it's first oil change. However, I cannot get to the sump plug. The engineer said he removes the oil by pumping it out rather than drain it. Is that what others do? and if so, what do I use? and where do I get the required equipment from?

[Mikeonb4c]

My new PRM 150 gearbox. needs it's first oil change. However, I cannot get to the sump plug. The engineer said he removes the oil by pumping it out rather than drain it. Is that what others do? and if so, what do I use? and where do I get the required equipment from?

 

I use a Pela pump to suck it out through the dipstick hole on my camper van. Works a treat and (in my case) gets ALL the oil out. Nt had the plug off in 4 yrs. If you go on the forum on www.bongofury.co.uk and put 'Pela' in the search box, someone recently located someone selling them for about £30, which is good.

 

I'm not a narrowboater though (lurking and longing thats me!) so don't act on the advice above until or unless an experienced boater comes along and 2nds it

[Priston]

Plenty of oil pumps available. Try Machine Mart for a start

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range/gu...13-6107D5B9C54D

[Mikeonb4c]

Plenty of oil pumps available. Try Machine Mart for a start

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range/gu...13-6107D5B9C54D

 

Good source. I have the Pela 6000, and I think thats the one someone on my campervan club has sourced for £30ish instead of £45 though from machinemart.

 

Out of interest, I was put on to this site by friends Mr & Mrs Strads, who have an NB. I'm sure they told me they can burn old engine oil as fuel for their diesel. Can this REALLY be true (I know some NB engines are old thumpers but...)

[Bullfrog]

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...amp;#entry25265

[Ray T]

Or here:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hand-sump-bilge-pump...=item19bdc9adc8

[Tony Brooks]

My new PRM 150 gearbox. needs it's first oil change. However, I cannot get to the sump plug. The engineer said he removes the oil by pumping it out rather than drain it. Is that what others do? and if so, what do I use? and where do I get the required equipment from?

 

When I went on a course about PRMs they specifically said that a land in the box prevented you getting all the oil out via the dipstick hole. I suspect you might be able to waggle the Bowden cable outer that Pela use around the obstruction but can not be sure. I also think the drain plug has a magnet on is so unless you regularly remove it you will not be able to clean and assess the debris it collects.

[bottle]

My 'tame' engineer uses a Pela but then places a dish under the sump plug to remove the last quarter of a litre (approx).

 

Difficult to get the dish out, with oil in it, so removes oil from there with the Pela.

[TerryH]

Thanks for all the replies.

[alan_fincher]

This is one of the cheaper options for sucking it out the filler / dipstick hole, and comes with required tubes....

 

Brass Oil Change Pump

 

With practice you can get nearly all out, but Tony is of course right, that a bit more still will come out if the drain plug can be removed.

 

No evidence of the drain plug on our PRM Delta, (similar to the 150), having a magnet to attract "filings" though.

[Mrs Humdinger]

We had a very interesting visit to Beta Marina at Gloucester this week, and one of the things we talked about was removing the oil from the gearbox. The man from Beta suggested that the easiest way was to siphon it out through the dipstick hole. We went to Halfords afterwards (for something else) and picked up a siphon thingy - can't remember exactly what's it's called and it's packed away now - but it's like a long thin piece of plastic tubing with an orange bit that you squeeze to suck up the liquid on the other. We haven't tried it yet, but himself thinks it would be ideal for the job, and it was only £1.99. Much easier than trying to get at the sump plug.

[Mikeonb4c]

We had a very interesting visit to Beta Marina at Gloucester this week, and one of the things we talked about was removing the oil from the gearbox. The man from Beta suggested that the easiest way was to siphon it out through the dipstick hole. We went to Halfords afterwards (for something else) and picked up a siphon thingy - can't remember exactly what's it's called and it's packed away now - but it's like a long thin piece of plastic tubing with an orange bit that you squeeze to suck up the liquid on the other. We haven't tried it yet, but himself thinks it would be ideal for the job, and it was only £1.99. Much easier than trying to get at the sump plug.

 

 

I've a nasty feeling the £1.99 jobbie may not nearly be up to the job in hand, but at that price its worth a go

[Mrs Humdinger]

I've a nasty feeling the £1.99 jobbie may not nearly be up to the job in hand, but at that price its worth a go

 

 

That's exactly what we thought.

[alan_fincher]

I've a nasty feeling the £1.99 jobbie may not nearly be up to the job in hand, but at that price its worth a go

Can't comment

 

But the £13 brass jobbie is certainly up to the task.

[LEO]

Hi,

 

Surely the means of extraction will depend upon the viscosity of the oil to be removed.

 

ATF. no real problem for suction pump removal.

 

Multigrade tests the extractor more and SAe30 as used in PRM boxes needs to 'warmed up' before pumping out.

 

I have used most methods and find the 'Pela' vacum pump good (if oil is warm), brass bodied pump useful, electric pumps poor unless it is an expensive model. I suspect the Halfords siphon pipe will not be worth unwrapping.

 

The cut down plastic bottle/Pela combination is the best.

 

Take care not to kink the metal flexy tube on the Pela - spares are available but cost about £13 each.

 

Leo

[Tony Brooks]

Hi,

 

Surely the means of extraction will depend upon the viscosity of the oil to be removed.

 

ATF. no real problem for suction pump removal.

 

Multigrade tests the extractor more and SAe30 as used in PRM boxes needs to 'warmed up' before pumping out.

 

I have used most methods and find the 'Pela' vacum pump good (if oil is warm), brass bodied pump useful, electric pumps poor unless it is an expensive model. I suspect the Halfords siphon pipe will not be worth unwrapping.

 

The cut down plastic bottle/Pela combination is the best.

 

Take care not to kink the metal flexy tube on the Pela - spares are available but cost about £13 each.

 

Leo

 

 

That tube seems only to be a length of Bowden cable outer. Check the price on the Vehicle Wiring Products website or your local cycle/motorcycle shop.

[LEO]

That tube seems only to be a length of Bowden cable outer. Check the price on the Vehicle Wiring Products website or your local cycle/motorcycle shop.

 

Thanks!.

 

Leo.

[BlueStringPudding]

I simply allow mine to slowly eak out continuously meaning a full oil change naturally occurs every three months or so.

 

 

I don't recommend it.

Edited July 26, 2010 by BlueStringPudding

[Philip Davies]

I recently saw a new Shire 50 at a boat fitter.

 

It had a suction pump fitted to the gearbox plug similar to the engine oil extractor.

 

One wonders if an after sales modification is available.

 

Cheers

[rover220]

I recently saw a new Shire 50 at a boat fitter.

 

It had a suction pump fitted to the gearbox plug similar to the engine oil extractor.

 

One wonders if an after sales modification is available.

 

Cheers

 

if people cant get at the sump plug to remove the oil properly, they have little hope of fitting any hopeful retro-fit modification.

[bottle]

Ah! yes but, no but, it is not the getting to the sump plug it is the 'getting something underneath' big enough to catch the oil.

[Machpoint005]

Ah! yes but, no but, it is not the getting to the sump plug it is the 'getting something underneath' big enough to catch the oil.

Flat 5 litre plastic container with a hole cut in the side. Can be turned upright with a litre of oil in, so long as you have cut the hole far enough up!

[bottle]

Not seen the position of my gearbox then. :lol:

[system 4-50]

My new PRM 150 gearbox. needs it's first oil change. However, I cannot get to the sump plug. The engineer said he removes the oil by pumping it out rather than drain it. Is that what others do? and if so, what do I use? and where do I get the required equipment from?

 

I have just done my first oil change on my PRM150 gearbox. It has been at least 20 years since I tinkered with engines on any great scale.

 

The engine documentation [from my Beta Marine 43] is a better guide to the operation than the gearbox documentation. I will edit this post to add extracts later.

 

Taking the nut (and its embedded dipstick) off the top was easy once I had dusted off my socket set and found a 19mm socket, long extension, and T bar.

The nut has a substantial washer under it. The green engine paint flaked off the washer and tried to fall in the hole.

 

I used a hand pump from Midland Chandlers to pump it out. I found this awkward to use. You need one hand to hold the barrel (which gets hot) of the pump, one hand to operate the plunger, one hand to hold the receiving container, and one hand to fish about with the suction tube to find the deepest part of the casing. The latter is not easy. Removing the pump without dripping oil over the rubber parts is difficult too.

 

I suspect the pumps with the built-in receiver are much more convenient and worth the extra cash if you have room to store them. In the picture you can see me using the plastic bottle which previously contained the new oil for the engine oil change. It has a translucent stripe down the side which lets you see roughly how much oil is in there. Any container must be able to cope with the oil being hot.

 

I got out slightly less than a litre of the 1.4 plus that is supposed to be in there before I got so uncomfortable that I had to stop. I am not as flexible as I used to be.

 

Putting the new oil in was the hardest part of all. I could not see the oil level on the dipstick. Even getting out & retrieving my best reading glasses, in bright sunshine, I could not see the level on the thin dipstick. As a result I overfilled it slightly and had to take some out.

 

Next time, which will be sooner than the schedule suggests since I clearly did not succeed in doing a full change, I will clean the bilges thoroughly before I start. There is not a lot in there but it is slightly oily and very messy and slippery, and complicates things considerably. Also, I will arrange things so that I can measure the volume extracted more precisely and have a measuring jug so that I can put the same quantity back in, having checked the level before I start.

 

Note that this pump is no good for pumping water. The seal is not tight enough. That's fair enough, its meant for pumping viscous oil, which it does.

 

Edited August 4, 2010 by system 4-50