Filling DP-G outdrives with oil - any smart ideas / products?

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Getting ahead of myself for end of season oil change....

The DP-G filler hole is quite small. Infact, one of these cheapo pumps screws into it perfectly:
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However, this method is slow and messy. It means I have to pour oil from my 20l drum into an open jug (so I can measure volume), each pump is only a few ml and it's just messy.

I would like to find a solution where I can still screw a nozzle in (so no leakage), with a decent length hose which has a, say, 5l hand-pump container / drum. This way, I just screw the nozzle in, fill the container / drum, screw it in and start pumping.

I noticed these in my boat club today, but they have 'open' nozzles, designed for pumping into an open hole, like filling engine oil: http://www.oilsafesystem.com/oss-oil-safe/oss-Oil-Safe-Drums-and-Lids

Any smart ideas out there? It would be nice to come up with a solution before the oil change this season... such a simple task but always is messy and so slow just to fill 2 x 3litre (or is it 3.3l for DP-G... can't remember off hand)
 
Or, as an alternative, does anyone know where I could find, say, anything from 3.5l - 5l bottle that fits those pumps? That would make life a lot easier (I would find some plastic tubing to lengthen the pick-up hose)
 
I use the larger mercruiser one it’s brilliant had it for years , I can fill a dpg in 5 mins , you just loose a little when you remove the pipe to fit the drain plug.
 
volvopaul said:
I use the larger mercruiser one it’s brilliant had it for years , I can fill a dpg in 5 mins , you just loose a little when you remove the pipe to fit the drain plug.
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Paul, guessing you fill from the bottom up? I always did find it weird that with VP you filled from the top down (granted there's the dipstick hole to let air out).

I'm used to filling from the bottom up with our outboards, so don't mind a little bit of dribble when filling... main annoyance for me was slowness of the whole thing and having slippy hands having to re-fill a 2l jug a few times and given that it's exposed, you always get a bit of oil on your hands.
 
simonfraser said:
you can fill it from the topish, need a funnel
hole with 9mm allen key, well for my DP-E leg anyway, just above the gear shifter
take the top dipstick out to let the air out
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DP-G is a smaller hole, the DP-E is larger.

While the DP-G is smaller, it could be quicker to fill if I had a mechanism to screw in (I do) and a hand pump.

I have come up with a little bit of an idea, which i'll toy with.... use the connector / mechanism I have (from the cheapo pump), get some clear plastic tubing and connect it to one of those garden sprayers with a hand-pump on it.... going to toy with it next week and see what kind of flow I get.
 
I'm with VolvoPaul. Coming from a mercruiser I fill from the bottom up. Takes less than 5 min. Only downside is it's easy to overfill, but that's easy to rectify too.

Edit.

Regarding a bit of oil on the hands. My experience is this is nigh on impossible to avoid. No matter what I do or how careful I am I always have to go round the gelcoat and vinyls with a wet wipe afterwards. Just touching the mechanicals releases the oil fairies to wreak havoc.
 
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alt said:
Got a link, by chance? Even if filling from the bottom, (so a little mess) it seems like the the proper job.... 5 mins per out-drive is right up my street.
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Mercruiser sell two types of pump, the small pump which goes on a 1 lt bottle, and the one you want is the one that fits the large workshop size can.
Filling from the bottom is the correct way to do it as then you know you have pushed any air out.
I have told this account before of a customer who bought and fitted a new saildrive and filled it from the top. Thought the dipstick showed it was correct and on his first trip the oil at the top swapped places with the air at the bottom of the drive resulting in expensive noises as the gears and clutch at the top ran dry. Volvo gave no gaurantee as it had been filled incorrectly. Thats why Volvopaul and I fill from the bottom, the exception being a DPH which fortunately you can fill its 5.4 ltrs from the top but even then you need to trim up and down once or twice to make sure the air is out and you can get the correct amount of oil in.
 
spannerman said:
Mercruiser sell two types of pump, the small pump which goes on a 1 lt bottle, and the one you want is the one that fits the large workshop size can.
Filling from the bottom is the correct way to do it as then you know you have pushed any air out.
I have told this account before of a customer who bought and fitted a new saildrive and filled it from the top. Thought the dipstick showed it was correct and on his first trip the oil at the top swapped places with the air at the bottom of the drive resulting in expensive noises as the gears and clutch at the top ran dry. Volvo gave no gaurantee as it had been filled incorrectly. Thats why Volvopaul and I fill from the bottom, the exception being a DPH which fortunately you can fill its 5.4 ltrs from the top but even then you need to trim up and down once or twice to make sure the air is out and you can get the correct amount of oil in.
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I find the level is very slow to settle with filling from the designated fill hole on VP drives.

When i'm filling drives, I fill 100ml less than the manual states, spin the props and bugger off for a while before checking the level. Then top up veryyyy slowly (say 50ml shots).

I'm sure it's caught lots of people out in the past.

-EDIT- Just so there's no confusion, people are referring to 'filling from the top' - When I say 'top', I mean the fill hole that is pointed out in the VP manual... not the dip-stick hole.

Obviously, with a traditional drive with just a drain & fill hole (no dipstick), you would never fill from the top.

Back on topic... I have no issue with filling from the bottom (rather than the fill hole) on the DP-G.... just looking for recommendations to to what pump to purchase (I don't mind if it's not totally compact... I have storage for it, but ideally something no more than 5 litre)
 
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alt
takes about 5 mins/side, but you dont have to stand around while its going in.... just prep the other side.
For my DP-E drives they took exactly 2.7L, so used to fill with 2.6L , check level, then adjust. note that from bottom of dipstick to max level is not much (50cc)
Agree with spinning props to get rid of any entrapped air bubbles.
 
+1 for the Mercruiser pump, works perfectly well. As for the oil used, Volvo's own spec is bloody expensive. Anyone found a cheaper 75w140, API GL-5?
 
BruceK said:
I'm with VolvoPaul. Coming from a mercruiser I fill from the bottom up. Takes less than 5 min. Only downside is it's easy to overfill, but that's easy to rectify too.

Edit.

Regarding a bit of oil on the hands. My experience is this is nigh on impossible to avoid. No matter what I do or how careful I am I always have to go round the gelcoat and vinyls with a wet wipe afterwards. Just touching the mechanicals releases the oil fairies to wreak havoc.
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Time to get the latex gloves out Bruce.
 
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