Mercury HP 500 EFI Bravo XR/XZ/III, User Manual, Page: 87 / 148

83 500 EFI Bravo
MAINTENANCE
Checking Fluid Levels
CHECKING CRANKCASE OIL
ENGINE CRANKCASE OIL MUST BE CHECKED AT INTERVALS
SPECIFIED IN “MAINTENANCE CHART”. It is normal for an engine
to use a certain amount of oil in the process of lubricating and cooling
the engine. Oil consumption will be higher on these engines which
utilize forged (rather than cast) aluminum pistons to withstand the
higher stresses created by their higher horsepower output. The
forged pistons require increased piston-to-cylinder bore clearance to
accommodate their higher thermo-expansion rate and thus, it is nor-
mal for some oil to get past the piston rings and be burned-up in the
combustion chambers. The amount of oil consumption is greatly de-
pendant upon engine speed, with consumption being highest at wi-
de-open-throttle and decreasing substantially as engine speed is re-
duced. It is not uncommon for big block high performance engines
to use up to 1 quart of oil in 1-5 hours if the engine is operated continu-
ously at the upper end of the rpm range.
Stop engine. Allow approximately five minutes for oil to drain into oil
pan. Boat must be at rest in water.
1 Remove dipstick. Wipe clean and reinstall fully into dipstick tube.
2 Remove dipstick and observe oil level. Oil level must be between
FULL and ADD. If oil level is below ADD:
3 Remove oil filler cap,(Port or Starboard). Add specified oil to
bring level up to, but not over, FULL mark on dipstick.
IMPORTANT: Do not overfill crankcase oil.
CA55
CHECKING POWER STEERING PUMP FLUID
Stop engine and position drive unit straight back.
4 Remove FILLCAP/DIPSTICK and observe level. Add specified
fluid if required. Reinstall FILLCAP/DIPSTICK.
IMPORTANT: If fluid is not visible in pump, contact your Autho-
rized MerCruiser Dealer.