Dewinterize Me!

[utahute]

I have a Mercury 5.0 Alpha One which i winterized for the first time myself last year. Now it is time to de-winterize my boat and i am a little confused. I have a mercury repair manual and it talks about loosening some valve to prevent air bubbles and such and then filling it. But it does not talk about how to fill it.
Now i cannot see where you would put water back. Can anyone tell me whether i simply put muffs on the outdrive, turn on the water and start it to let it pump water back in and fill it up until water comes out the exhaust. Or is there some magic cap which i am not seeing to put the water back in it.
Anyone who can help i would appreciate it!

 

[Don S]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Do you have a raw water cooled system, or a closed cooling system with a heat exchanger?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Ayuh,......

This thread of Don's titled Summerization should be of some Help,....

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

I am pretty sure it is raw water. When i drained it the water was normal, no antifreeze or anything like that.

But.....since i am new to doing boat maint. i am not 100% sure. I read Don's post on summerization and now am a little worried in regards to the impellars. So i must read more up on that to unless someone has advice on that as well.

The manual i have is not much help. Thanks Bond-o for the link it did give me more info than i had.

 

[Don S]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

You should have done all that research before you winterized. One not winterized properly can cost you a complete engine because it froze and broke the block. One not summerized properly may leave you stuck at the lake on a 3 day weekend because it needs a tuneup.

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Talking with my dealer when i have it winterized by them the impellars have never been pulled. They said this is not something which needs to be done that often in fresh water.
They ran me down the list of things which they normally do as part of the winterize. I have had them do it for the last 4 years with out any issues. What i did was the same thing. So i think it is all good.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

So i think it is all good.

Ayuh,.....

For alittle while,..... Maybe.......

At this point you've done Absolutely NO routine Maintance..... None......
And,.....
It sounds like your Marina does a Halfassed Job of it as Well......

Never pulled the lower unit,+ even Checked the Impeller,....
They're only Good for maybe 2 years,...Freshwater or Salt,... Doesn't Matter.....

 

[Knot Waiting]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

My impeller was shot after just one season. Sandy bottoms blast the rubber blades to bits.

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Interesting. What issues did you experience?

Finished de-winterizing it today and took it out for a drive. No issues. Had the same power as i had when i bough it new and seemed fine.

 

[Don S]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

No issues. Had the same power as i had when i bough it new and seemed fine.

Everything always works fine before it goes bad.
Hope you happen to be looking at the gauges when things fall apart after no preventive maintenance.
3 Day weekend coming up. Will your boat run all 3 days? or just 15 minutes of the first day. Then you try to find parts and info on how to fix things for the rest of the 3 days.
Run em till they puke, only way to go............

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Ayuh.....

LOL......anything helpful to say? I have not read anything yet from you.

Never mentioned what i did do before the winter.......just asking about what to do after the winter.

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

Everything always works fine before it goes bad.
Hope you happen to be looking at the gauges when things fall apart after no preventive maintenance.
3 Day weekend coming up. Will your boat run all 3 days? or just 15 minutes of the first day. Then you try to find parts and info on how to fix things for the rest of the 3 days.
Run em till they puke, only way to go............

Murphy's law...you are correct. Fortunately i am not planning on going out. I plan to use the weekend to pull the impellar out and inspect it. Talking with other fellow boaters around here and have had 1 person tell me they have had problems. Perhaps it has something to do with the lakes around here. Most are not sandy or rocky and it sounds like these things are not good for it.

Thanks

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

In short your reversing your winterization.

I would be checking the impellar RIGHT NOW ( since its unclear if its ever been done ) and if your in there to check it then you might as well be changing it too if nothing else for the peace of mind.

Have you changed your oil? Drive oil? Fuel filter if applicable? Greeze prop shaft?
Check fluid levels?

But you already took the boat out so I dont know what to tell you to look for now if it seemed fine.

 

[utahute]

Re: Dewinterize Me!

In short your reversing your winterization.

I would be checking the impellar RIGHT NOW ( since its unclear if its ever been done ) and if your in there to check it then you might as well be changing it too if nothing else for the peace of mind.

Have you changed your oil? Drive oil? Fuel filter if applicable? Greeze prop shaft?
Check fluid levels?

But you already took the boat out so I dont know what to tell you to look for now if it seemed fine.

Pulled the impellar out today. Purchased a new one to compare because it was not chewed or anything like that. Looked like about 1/16 of an inch on the ends where worn but that is about it.
Replaced it like you said while i was there. Changed the oil, outdrive oil, power steering, trim, fuel filter, greased and replaced the prop all while i winterized it. All things which i typically had the dealer do.
I only put about 20 hours a year on my boat. It is a 2003 and i only have 60 hours. Not a lot of use. Suspect this is why i could not see a lot of wear and tear.

Appreciate you post.

Thanks for the