Winterizing - general questions

R

Rick D

Member
Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
RO Number
32381
Messages
799
Probably the first of many questions...

I've read and seen videos on winterizing the engines with anti freeze two different ways:

1 - opening all drains, draining the water, reinstall and pour antifreeze into the main thermostat house until it comes out of the housing and pour it into the riser house until it runs out... leave it in.

2 - run the engine on muffs pulling antifreeze until it is discharged and either leave the anti freeze in or let it drain out letting the glycol coating do the task of inhibiting rust

Why one over the other?

Why do the marina's request engines be left up for the winter... while Don Casey's write up says they should be left down?

What change the oil now and not in the spring? I would think condensation can build up over the winter and changing it in the spring would be best, no?

Stern drives... should the oil be drained and refilled now? I thought they were good to go as is, assuming my remote levels were good but watched a video on it and in it they said oil should be drained at the end of the season and refilled.

Thanks,
--Rick

Edit - Got my answer on the oil change now... contaminates that cause corrosion while sitting all winter.
 
Winterizing methods do vary but all have the same goal...prevent water from freezing inside the engine where it will crack things when it expands. I went to the extreme using a combo of the methods.. First I drained as much water as I could, removed the T-stat, then sucked the antifreeze thru the muffs until it ran from the exhaust. I would then top off the antifreeze via the t-stat housing.

I left the antifreeze in for a few years and drained it out on others.. I didn't see any difference...Most of the pink stuff doesn't have the inhibitors that the automotive AF does, so I cant say I had any difference with leaving it in or draining.

Bottom line was I tried to get all the water out or at least dilute it with AF so it wouldn't freeze and expand. AF is cheap when compared to fixing a cracked block.

I always pulled my drives for the winter and serviced them at the house over the winter. Changing fluid is cheap insurance and is a preventative maintenance item. Marina prob wans the drives up to help with moving the boats. They should be left down to allow any wter to drain out and not collect in the lower part of the leg.
 
I use method 2 with minor variations--I have inboards and simply run the water intake hose into a 5 gallon pail of 50/50 automotive antifreeze. It has all of the rust inhibitors needed to keep the cooling path rust free (I have FWC engines) The cost of automotive antifreeze is not much different than the cheap pink stuff.
 
Mike you get caught dumping reg antifreeze in the water or land from your exhaust you can be in deep ****.
 
quote:
Originally posted by MIke F

I use method 2 with minor variations--I have inboards and simply run the water intake hose into a 5 gallon pail of 50/50 automotive antifreeze. It has all of the rust inhibitors needed to keep the cooling path rust free (I have FWC engines) The cost of automotive antifreeze is not much different than the cheap pink stuff.

Click to expand...


Always use non tox, automotive AF is a no-no. This explains the high level of pollutants in Lake Erie!
 
I hook up the exhaust to a dryer hose and collect the expelled mix in a tub. The yacht club has a holding tank for such waste. Same procedure in the spring--just hook up a hose to the water intake and run engine until exhaust water is clear.
 
Drives should be left down in the winter. That allows any water inside to drain rather than freeze. it also takes the strain off the bellows. As a matter of fact, most mechanics recommend removing the drives for the winter. That way, the bellows and bearings can be checked now and the engine alignment can be checked in the spring. It also prevents the theft of the drive when nobody's around. An acquaintance of mine had his drive stolen off the boat as the boat sat in his driveway over the winter. Two men with power tool drivers can have it off and away in about 5 minutes. I take mine home and keep it on a rolling stand in the garage. I drain the drive and fill with fresh oil. This season I will drain the resevoir too. Inexpensive protection for an expensive part. Hy
 
Rick:
Here is my take.
Drain engine and pour antifreeze into the block. Method #2 risks water still being in the block. As you know, any water in the block will freeze and crack the block. Don't forget to drain the manifolds and risers, and pour antifreeze into them as well.

Engine oil/filter should be changed in the fall. Leaving old oil in the engine allows all the solids to settle, which causes sludge build up, etc. Also, the acids in the oil get to work on your engine over the winter. Any condensate that may build up over the winter is very small, and would burn off pretty fast in the spring.

Drive oil also should be changed in the fall. If there were to be any water in the drive, it will freeze and destroy the drive.
In addition, the drive should be removed to inspect bellows and gimbal bearing, change water pump, grease u-joints, etc. While you're at it the prop should be removed, shaft splines greased, and prop reinstalled. After doing all this I used to reinstall the drive in the fall.

I don't agree with leaving the drive tilted up during winter. The drive should be lowered, so it is self draining. In addition, I would put a plastic bag over the prop, so animals couldn't crawl into the exhaust port for the winter.

Doing all this stuff in the fall also means less stuff to do in the spring, when you will most likely be hot to trot to get the boat in the water.

YMMV
eric
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top