Repair 7

Unbolt the cover from the top of the UK Mercruiser engine with a ratchet and a socket. Pull the cover off so that the front of the engine can be accessed.

Locate the alternator on the front right hand side of the engine. Loosen the alternator mounting bolts with a ratchet and a socket. The alternator has a slide bracket attached to the top of the alternator that tensions the drive belt.

Loosen the bolt in the center of the slide bracket with the ratchet and a socket. Turn the adjustment bolt that is located on the end of the slide bracket counter-clockwise with the ratchet and socket until the belt tension is loose.

Pull the belt off of all of the engine accessory pulleys. Place the belt to the side. Slide the new drive belt around the alternator pulley first and then around the water pump pulley, power steering pump pulley and the crankshaft pulley. The belt will only fit in one direction around the engine accessories so there is no need for a routing diagram.

Turn the adjustment bolt on the alternator slide bracket clockwise to tighten the belt. Once the belt is tight, push in on the belt with your hand. The belt should have no more than a half-inch of free play. If so, continue to tighten the belt until there is only about a half-inch of free play in the belt. Tighten the bolt in the center of the slide bracket down tight with the ratchet and socket. Tighten the alternator mounting bolts down tight with the ratchet and socket.

Crank the UK Mercruiser engine for about fifteen seconds and then shut the engine back off. Recheck the tension of the belt. Adjust the tension if needed and reinstall the cover over the engine.

Run your MerCruiser engine for ten to fifteen minutes to ensure that the oil in the engine is properly warmed up. This will aid in the siphoning of the oil from the engine.

Remove the dipstick.

Attach the threaded oil pump to the threaded end of the hole from which you took the dipstick. The specialty threaded oil pump can be purchased from a boating store or supplier.

Unscrew and remove the oil fill cap.

Punch a hole into the top of the oil filter with an awl and a hammer. Punching a hole into the oil filter before siphoning the oil from the engine will allow air to enter the crankcase and help in the pumping process.

Crank the hand pump until your MerCruisers crankcase is drained of oil. Drain the oil into an oil tray.

Use a strap wrench to remove the old oil filter.

Wipe the point at which the new oil filter will attach to the engine to remove all debris before wiping new engine oil around the edges of the connection.

Reattach the new oil filter by hand.

Fill your MerCruiser with the amount of oil specified in your owners manual.