Correct time to winterize stern drive engine?

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Chevyls6

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Since this is my first winter owning a sterndrive i wanted to get some opinions on when i should think about winterizing the engine. Where i live its currently going down into the high 30s/ low 40s at night.

If at all possible id like to delay it in order to get more trips out but i also dont want to risk cracking a manifold or block.

Is draining the water out sufficient for below freezing temps or do i need some kind of heater in the engine bay? The boat is stored in my yard on a trailer with access to 110v power.
 
matt167

matt167

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Just keep the drains drained until you use it and then drain when you get home
 
Scott06

Scott06

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Chevyls6 said:
Since this is my first winter owning a sterndrive i wanted to get some opinions on when i should think about winterizing the engine. Where i live its currently going down into the high 30s/ low 40s at night.

If at all possible id like to delay it in order to get more trips out but i also dont want to risk cracking a manifold or block.

Is draining the water out sufficient for below freezing temps or do i need some kind of heater in the engine bay? The boat is stored in my yard on a trailer with access to 110v power.
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Just take the two drain plugs out. from your other thread you have a 3.0/140 right? Two drain plugs one under manifold, one just below it on the block. Drain it after use
 
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markhodges78

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I have a 3.0 / 140 and I do all my fishing from October to end of April and when I'm done using it for the day I do as Scott06 said and pull the 2 plugs and leave them out until I go out the next day are week...

Also high 30' at night is nothing to be concerned about if it's get in the 60's and 70's during the day it has to be in the 30s for more then a few hours to freeze unless it's 34 for 2 days then drops to 32
 
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airshot

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Your safest bet is to drain after every use, but I had the same motor in my Islander, there I would use two incadesent light bulbs in those aluminum bell shaped housings. Put one on each side of my engine low in the bilge area ( heat rises). My temps under the doghouse were always near 60 degrees even down to freezing. How much of a gambler are you ???
 
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markhodges78

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airshot said:
Your safest bet is to drain after every use, but I had the same motor in my Islander, there I would use two incadesent light bulbs in those aluminum bell shaped housings. Put one on each side of my engine low in the bilge area ( heat rises). My temps under the doghouse were always near 60 degrees even down to freezing. How much of a gambler are you ???
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Yeah I did the same thing on 1 of my boats with a 4.3 engine. But then we had a big snow storm and I was stuck at work ( I was on snow detail for 3 days )
Little did I know we lost power and it was off for 3 days before I found out but 5 days in total . We stayed at the wife's mom's with the kids until the power came back on because we work 45 minutes from where we live and her mom is 5 minutes from where we work long story short the bulb for heat is not something you can forget about they go bad breakers trip and power goes out
 
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ROY WILLIAMS

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drain all the engine plugs take it out .. then in the spring install the water plugs...
take off the outdrive in the fall then inspect all those parts and lube it . then install the gimbal gasket ..
take out the spark plugs use the marvel mystery oil 1 OZ ..in the cylinder .then use a plastic sheet to seal up the intake fuel carb/throttle ..
well I was removing the gasoline of the tank,, but many boaters are filling the gas tank in the fall...
 
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Chevyls6

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Is it necessary to use antifreeze at all or will the drain method work for the whole season ?

Yes it is a 3.0 engine like in my other post
 
Scott06

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Chevyls6 said:
Is it necessary to use antifreeze at all or will the drain method work for the whole season ?

Yes it is a 3.0 engine like in my other post
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AF is preference for some folks nit required, drain it probe the drain holes with a stiff wire, make sure a decent amount of water drains out.
 
tpenfield

tpenfield

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This time of year can be tricky because you could get a few 'cold' days where the temperature drops below the normal lows. So, it is best to drain as much as you can and keep an eye on the weather forecast.

At some point, you will want to call it quits for the season . . . probably best to do that as the low temperatures near the freezing mark. It does take a about 12+ hours at below freezing temperatures to cause damage since the water inside the engine/exhaust takes a while to freeze. But . . . why risk it?

Your engine, being small, will probably freeze quicker than most.
 
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tank1949

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It depends on what part of the country you live and do you continue using boat 12 months a year. Some on this forum will scream heresy but flushing with fresh water after using boat in salt water, many of us here just use a couple of light bulbs in the bilge area if we know freezing weather is coming. You can examine Boat US for fire categories. According to BUS, most boat fires start in the shore power connection or battery areas. I have not seen one incident where a light bulb in the bilge caused a boat fire. But, if I lived in the north, I would make other arrangements.
 
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Buster53

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If we knew exactly where you are located, you would get better answers
 
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