ZF350A Transmission

Pump out into an empty 5 gal pail. You'll know in a few minutes.

So, You decide on a change or stay with the synthetic?

I knew you knew dat. But, did you know that I would know, you knew dat? Or, How did I know that you would know that you knew that I knew you knew dat.
Say dat 5 times fast, Hell. It took me a few minutes just to type it.
Just had to bark at da moon a lil. LOL

I would not think much over 14 to 16 qts but I'm finding larger caps @ 14 to 24 qts from on line brochures.

http://www.merequipment.com/pdfs/ZF350V (IRM350V).pdf

http://www.harbormarine.net/pdf/zf-marine-transmission-selection-guide.pdf
search for ZF W350. Did not find a thing looking for ZF350.

Plan on one at a time, If you need more oil, You will know exactly how much when you got to the second clutch.

Pump them out warm at end of day. Get all the suspended material you can on first pump. Come back and pump again in the morning to get what falls from the clutches, coolers and lines. Refill.

If you are going back to crude from synthetic, make your next change interval short. I never liked the idea of mixed crude & synthetics, even though some API S oils are blends of both. It just bugs me and reminds me of oil & vinegar.

Also check;
http://www.sbmar.com/Maintenance/PDF/ZF-Filter-Breakdown-Cross-Reference.pdf
http://www.zfmarineparts.com/ZF_oil_filter_data_sheet.pdf

So, How did it turn out? Any surprising specs?

You won't see any color as the color comes from usually unburnt fuel in an engine. However gears tend to get condensation in the gear and don't run hot enough to burn it out.....so eventually you'll get rust and such.....it's always good to change the oil in them every 2 years or even 1 year..... 5 gallons should cover it.....Put in until it reads full.....start the engines, bump them in gear a few times......wait 20-30 seconds and check the level.......A lot of times 1" above full before starting puts it in the right place. Don't forget to turn the screen rachet and take the bolt out and drain all of the gook out of the cavity. Even better yet take the entire assembly out and clean it with brake fluid on the dock and then put it back in, you do need a new paper gasket for it if you do that.

You don't, yours has remote mount filters and not the internal scraper. However I think it still has a screen somewhere that should be cleaned every 1000 hours. Not sure on that, check with ZF. I don't know about the Fram and if they're as comparable, when I service a yacht I always use the manufacturers filters unless I have to use something else due to availability or something. You can never go wrong by using the manufacturers part. The quality on aftermarket parts can be good, or can be crap and you just don't know.

In the performance automotive community, Fram is considered junk. I would see if it will cross reference to a fleetguard part #.

Wix gold or Napa Gold is good as well.

I have used Baldwin Filters on many occasions and never had any problems. I just today used a Bosch one on my car, I moistened the gasket and tightened it by hand exactly as it said on the outside, no leaks so its lookimg good. This is the first car I have changed the oil on myself this century. Now to get rid of the old stuff, the neighbours weeds poking through my fence are looking like they need some lube.

Napa -- Wix , same filter. Good stuff.
Baldwin makes my TD514 filters (in the TD box), No problems there.
Use a lot of Donaldson, more good stuff.
FleetGaurd (mostly Cummins) works well & no complaints.

Fram had some problems many years ago. They fixed it but since, they always seem to be on the low priced shelf in the store. Kinda automatic, without thought, I've never picked or spec's a Fram.

I personally wouldn't use Fram on my lawnmower, let alone a ZF gear.

If you want to save money, take the fram number to Napa and have them cross-reference it to a Wix Gold. As other's have said Baldwin is good, fleetguard etc. The Baldwin filters are dark red, and the Wix filters are white.

I may have sent you a similar list. Not thinking about Mfg's but there were many avenues of parts available. I'm not saying that a Fram filter is bad. If the factory manual calls for a Fram spec, Then you could go for it.
The issue years ago (many), it was to good. Restricted early and caused some engine failures (no stuff, Mother worked for them then). It was an embarrassing time for Fram, they fixed it quickly, fixed most customers and never heard a bad thing about them since. I just don't reach for them.

Fram still uses a bypass valve that doesn't close once it opens. First cold start will usually pop the bypass, and you have no oil filter afterwards. Most oil filters will bypass some, but the valve will close once the oil is warm. Tested from the parts store, more than half of the Fram's were bad. I have also seen Fram filters where the element didnt seal against both ends of the can. Oil didnt even have to go through the filter element. Quality seems closer to the economy stuff, than the filters mentioned in this thread.