I just changed the oil in my 100 HP Yamaha 4stroke today and wanted to find out if anyone has any tips on how to do it without making a mess all over the motor and floor. I help oil pan right under the oil plug and was able to get 95% of it but the other 5% sure made a mess.
Troy-My one complaint against the Yamaha 4-strokes. What I did was bought a 12-volt pump that you stick a tube down the dipstick area (remove the dipstick) and it pumps it out real good. The only problem I see is that you are not guaranteed to get 100% of the used oil out. You can buy one of these at Cabela’s or Bass Pro.
Hope that helps. Otherwise you just have to try and catch it best you can without spilling-difficult as I’m sure you’ve found.
Randy
Randy…I don’t have a Yamaha or one of those pumps and never used one…but I’ve looked at them before…My question is
The heavier metal shavings, crud.. ect normally would settle to the bottom, does that pump suck that stuff out? I’m guessing not with your response…If you left some in the motor and drained the smaller amount…would it still make a mess?
How about just using one of those cheap plastic drop cloths for painting. Spread it out on the floor, put your oil pan down, and let her drain. Always before beginning this task have a roll of paper towels handy. Once your done just move the oil pan and fold up the rest of the mess and throw it away.
Steve, that’s not too bad of an idea. If you can’t avod the mess then at least the cleanup is quick.
Troy: I read on another web site about this same issue. The best answer seemeed to be take a large plastic funnel and cut out a piece to fit the contour below the drain tube. Add a drain hose down to a storage container. The guy describing it also addeda piece of 1/4″ mesh (hardware cloth?) to the funnel so he could spin the plug out and let it drop into the funnel without getting fingers dirty. I’ve got an F80 in need of oil change so will be making this rig to try it out.
I have a 115 Yamaha and just changed oil/filter in it today before I put it away. I did not have one drop on the floor and it took about 10 minutes from start to finish. I warmed the engine up in the driveway to get the oil nice and warm before starting. I need to tell you the first year I tried to change oil….I had a terrible mess on the garage floor, probably just like you. I used a funnel but the hole was too small to take the fast flow from the crankcase so it overflowed!! What a mess!! After some (a lot)grumbling, I started looking for a “gizzmo” that could make the job easier and cleaner. I found an “offset funnel with built in screen” at Fleet Farm. It is a galvanized heavy duty unit,has about a 1 inch bottom tube, and it does the trick on Yamahas as well. I think I paid in the range of $15 for it. I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow and post it here but it is the “clear” answer to draining the oil with no mess. Once the plug is loosened, I put the funnel under the little rubber lip and just spin the socket extension until the plug falls into the funnel. The screen catches the plug and washer, the oil drains into a pan on the floor, and 5 minutes later, I just wipe the plug and put it back together. The filter is located on the block at a 90 degree angle but fortunately it has a drain shield built onto the engine so any dripping is moved out into the shroud. I loosely pack the area under the filter with highly absorbent shop towels and use a filter wrench to remove the filter. The towels catch the drippings, I wipe the machined area on the engine and spin on a new filter. This whole job has turned into an easy, mess free deal for me but the secret is the funnel. PM me if you want more details. 
I’ve heard Domino Pizza boxes work good for catching oil spills….
Thanks for the insight LundgEYE. Looks like I need to make the trip to Fleet Farm (there goes fifty bucks, yes I know the funnel was $15.) Do post the picture if you have a chance.
Saw a tip somewhere to tilt the motor all the way up before removing the drain plug. Works like a charm on my Honda and Yamaha four-strokes. Gallon milk jug with a slot cut out to catch the oil sitting on the splash well, tilt it up, remove the drain plug, index finger over drain hole, tilt down with other hand, pickup gallon jug and hold under drain hole and remove finger… Very little mess to clean up afterwards… 
Barc
Funnel pictures attached (maybe)
Funnel Part Number and Brand
Barc, sounds like a good idea but I would overflow that milk jug because it has a capacity of 4.7 quarts/liters. If I had some slightly larger it sound like it would be worth a try. LundgEYE, thanks for the picture and the PM, I’ll have to look at Fleet Farm.
Rock, I just bought it from a guy in August and I couldn’t be happier. It barely fits in my third garage stall and I knew I would need the swing tongue to get it in there. I’m still trying to work out a few kinks and do some work like installing rod holder. I’m not sure how a guys owns a boat for 4 years and doesn’t have any rod holders.
Them black rides always look sharp to me!
Hard to keep clean though, especially with the muddy Mississippi.
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