Winterzing Options ?

[wolf]

I have to ask again is your engine not freshwater cooled???

As for manifolds if you have a 350 the manifolds should have some brass plugs on the bottom side of the manifolds that you can take out. And the water you used to flush the engine will drain out if they are not brass DO NOT </u> try and free them as you may crack the manifold at that joint if they are brass then warm up the engine give it time to heat up.

Then with the motor off try and tighen it a bit slowly THEN loosen if it doesnt budge forget it its not worth it as manifolds are made out of cast steel and as they get older they get brittle so be very carefull when doing this!!!
I used to have brass plugs on the risers and manifolds and every year I would open them all up and flush out all the crud that builds up and then regreased the plugs again with a good marine grease and was good to go for next year.

Good luck Wolf

Blue Wolf Charters
www.bluewolfcharters.com

 

[profisher]

Wolf, how is a house like a boat? I don't keep gasoline in the house. Why do they add the rotten egg smell to natural gas? So you can detect it before it builds up enough that a spark would ignite it!!! Your not in your boat everyday in the winter to detect vapors if a leak starts. If the boat was diesel powered, fill your boots use a bulb in the engine compartment.... use a bulb to keep the cabin dry...I just wouldn't use it in a small GASOLINE engine compartment left unattended for weeks at a time.

 

[profisher]

Tin, I would just pre-mix it to the manufactures recommended mix for our winter temps. You really only have to worry about freezing around here from November until the end of February. Just let the engine run until it comes up to operating temp and shut it down. The mix will be throughout the engine cooling system. (that part fed by the leg pump)

 

[wolf]

Whatever!!!

 

[Tin Bear]

quote:I have to ask again is your engine not freshwater cooled???

Wolf, raw water only, no fresh water cooling. Their are two brass plugs on the manifolds, starboard & one brass plug, port

Thanks,
Greg

 

[wolf]

WOW is that ever old school you may want down the road look at picking up a used freshwater system. you may be able to pick one up farly cheap what size engine,year, make of leg etc send it to me pm ??? well the brass plugs will drain the manifolds but you have more of an issue being raw water cooled sorry I dont kow how to drain the whole engine other than pulling off the lowest possable hose on the engine???

Ill ask my buddy on friday for you when we watch the canucks over a bevie if he knows of a used system so if you can send me that info as he works for a marine shop here in vic.

thanks Wolf

 

[Tin Bear]

quote:Tin, I would just pre-mix it to the manufactures recommended mix for our winter temps. You really only have to worry about freezing around here from November until the end of February. Just let the engine run until it comes up to operating temp and shut it down. The mix will be throughout the engine cooling system. (that part fed by the leg pump)

Profisher, this sounds like a simple safe solution for the winter months I have no intention of using the boat.

Great, so here's my plan, mix up enough antifreeze and water to get the level above the intake(s) on the leg, test the mixture with a anitifreeze tester to make sure it is above say -20 degrees C(should be more than enough for the Fraser Valley)run the engine and shut it down.

Is the plan good to good to go?

Again, Thanks guys for all the great suggestions

Cheers,
Greg

 

[profisher]

So long as you let the water circulate until the engine comes up to temp the mix should be throughout the engine and won't freeze. If the non-toxic anti-freeze is compatible with the engine use it over the automotive stuff so you don't kill any of the neighbors cats from drippings. RV shops have the non-toxic stuff you can add to holding tanks etc.

 

[Tin Bear]

Procedure Sounds Good

I checked the stuff I use for the RV plumbing...It is non toxic but has a warning it is for plastic pipes only and not for use as antifreeze in an internal combustion engine.

Will investigate other products and post when I find one

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Charlie]

quote:Originally posted by Tin Bear

Procedure Sounds Good

I checked the stuff I use for the RV plumbing...It is non toxic but has a warning it is for plastic pipes only and not for use as antifreeze in an internal combustion engine.

Will investigate other products and post when I find one

Thanks,
Greg

It’s been awhile since I dealt with a raw water system! Let’s see if I can remember?

You have to drain the whole circuit! You will need to open all of the engine and manifold water jacket drains, if possible. Take Wolf's advice there... tighten just a little, before removing. Also, if they don't come out... don't force them! Allow the water to drain completely. The whole system must be drained or protected to prevent freezing, but air exposure promotes corrosion, so after you are done, reinstall everyting and reconnect all your hoses.

You need to disconnect the hose on the intake seacock and also disconnect the water discharge hose from the exhaust manifold and/or riser. Run fresh water into the discharge hose to rinse out the salt. Insert a funnel into the disconnected discharge hose and pour a 50-50 mix of propylene glycol antifreeze into the funnel until the hose will not accept anymore. Allow the mixture to remain inside the block for several minutes, then</u> open all your raw-water drain plugs and drain the engine.

Antifreeze swells some rubbers, so you can pull, rinse, put a small amount of grease, and reinstall the impeller as a precaution. Make sure you leave your drive down, so it drains. While you are at it “Fog” it so you won’t need a valve job next spring!

BTW… I used a light bulb for years without any problems, just make sure you secure it, so it doesn't touch anything. There is also nothing wrong with covering your engine with an electric blanket, then cover the blanket with a sleeping bag! That works really well!

Oh forgot, take Wolf's advice again and get a freshwater system. Well worth the investment!

 

[wolf]

So Was wondering after thinking about this for a bit is there anyway you could do a mixture of anti freeze and water and keep it in the engine???maybe leave the leg in a garbage can and cut the lid to fit so no animal could get into it, then the antifreeze would be there inside protecting it??? just a thought if you dont want to do the light bulb thing.

I know for a fact the garage I go to cant give that old mixture away as they have to pay to get rid of it and im sure you could get 10 gallons of it with ease maybe a thought???

Good luck Wolf

Blue Wolf Charters
www.bluewolfcharters.com

 

[Big Zeke]

Why not? If the goal is out-of water storage I'd think it should be easy. If you can run the engine in a garbage can of water you can run it in a garbage can of antifreeze. Given the shape of the leg I'd think something like a big Roughtote could fit the bill as long as the engine intakes are covered. I know most garages have to pay to get rid of old glycol but you'd want to make sure of the strength and filter out any nasty crap. For the couple of gallons it will take, just go to any auto parts store and mix up a batch of 50/50. Whatever you don't use this year can be stored until next.

I'd avoid putting RV antifreeze in the engine, the cheaper RV stuff is a mix of alchohol and water, in an open system the alcohol can evaporate leaving just water behind. The more expensive stuff (propylene glycol) is nearly the same price as cheap auto antifreeze. I once dumped a couple of gallons on cheap RV stuff in the bilge of a boat in storage only to find it frozen solid a few months later (busted the bilge pump in the process).

My first choice would be to get a liquid into the engine that doesn't freeze - it stops corrosion in the open water galleries; second choice is to drain the block completely and let it freeze (corrosion rates are much lower below zero); last choice is to leave water in the block and try to stop it from freezing (with a light or heater). This last choice might work on the coast when a cold day is -5 or -10 but out here there is no heater in the world that can keep the block from freezing. Electric heaters can always develop shorts, in this case the breaker trips and the block freezes, in the worst case you go boat shopping in the spring.

Just my $0.02
Zeke

 

[profisher]

By the way this was just a brain storm idea, have never done it myself as I have O/B power. To me just a common sense solution to your problem Tin. Charlies way may be how it would normally be done, but it sounds like a lot of work with some risk of breaking plugs. Wolfs way would be the easiest..still think my idea is close to being as simple but safer from a standpoint of vapors and like was said by someone else from not generating enough heat for your location and also a tripped breaker will stop the protection of a heater.

 

[Tin Bear]

The great thing about your replies is not only will I be able to extend the season with temporary heat from light bulbs etc I will be able to protect the engine in the hard of winter by running an antifreeze mixture into the engine using its own pump instead of the ugly or expensive task of draining the block.

In addition I will fog the carb, add fuel stabilizer and change the oil!

Hopefully this thread will also be of help to other members to make winterizing easier, save money or both!

Have we missed anything in winterizing the engine/leg?

Thanks again for sharing your tips and experience,
Greg

 

[Big Zeke]

Make sure you change the oil in the leg before you go into storage. Water left in the leg oil will etch the bearing surfaces over the winter and you'll develop leaks etc in the leg. If you have a remote reservoir (like in some I/Os)make sure the reservoir is clean and full and the line from there to the leg isn't plugged...a plugged bit of tubing can negate the reservoir.

A local engine rebuilder made a great suggestion when de-mothballing in the spring. Pull all spark plugs, spray some fogging oil in the cylinders and crank the engine using the starter for a few minutes (1-2 mins after you build up good oil pressure). Dry starts are death for a 4 stroke so this is a good way to lubricate the journals prior to getting any load on them. His experience is that bad mothballing/demothballing is a very common cause of early failure and probably more common than poor maintenance. Lots of his clients are running 4 strokes with thousands (yes thousands) of hours on them without a hitch.

Zeke

 

[profisher]

When we put my fathers 65 Mustang back on the road after sitting stored for 14 years we did the following to pre-lube the engine before firing it up. Removed the distributor and used the appropriate sized socket attached to a speed wrench to turn the oil pump by hand. The oil pressure gauge got up to 50psi while I gave-er on the wrench. All done without cranking the engine while dry at all. This was the last step in a few just prior to firing it up.

 

[Tin Bear]

Great Point!

My 7.5 HP Merc sat in the garage for three years without being run, pulled the plugs, put a few squirts of oil in each cylinder, re-installed the plugs and fired it up & yes without even moving it tipped it up, slipped a garbage can underneath, filled it up with water and fired it up. Just a couple of minutes later it was running like a charm.

Similarily a buddy of mine had a 20HP stored in Ontario for 15 years, shipped it out here, did the same thing, ran like clockwork ever since

Cold starts are hard on engines, this simple procedure will definatley add to the life of your engine!

Cheers,
Greg

 

[quicksilver11]

When storing outboards make sure you run the carbs dry of fuel so the jets don`t plug up, float gets sticky when the fuel goes bad (if stored to long). Use fogging oil to protect the internal engine parts and you shouldn`t have any problem in the new year.

 

[Tin Bear]

Excellent Advice!

I usually run the fuel out of small outboards each time I use it not knowing when I will use it again.

My father has always done this and has outboards that are 30 years old and still running good!

All the Best,
Greg

 

[profisher]

I had to resurrect this thread in light of what happened recently up Island. I think it was 3 or 4 boats totally destroyed and 6 or 7 more damaged from a fire caused by fumes in the bilge and a source of ignition. So if you are heating your I/O or inboard with a bulb and are moored anywhere near me...please let me know so I can move to a far away berth!!