Re: I'm Going to Tackle Winterization Myself This Year
The use of antifreeze is optional as Don said a properly drained engine does not need any antifreeze for freeze protection, if you want it for corrosion protection, then that's a different story. The main thing is that you want to see water drain from each drain plug area, block drains, manifolds, p/s or oil cooler, and don't forget to remove the bottom end of the big hose that goes from the thermo housing to the front circulation pump on the engine, that holds a lot of water that won't come out the block drains. And yes the late model 4.3s do have a plug on the front edge of the intake manifold.
I would not leave the plugs out. For one thing you can get rust in the threads in the cast iron block and manifolds, for another they can get lost over the winter. I would put some marine grease on the threads and replace em after draining. I myself use OMC gasket sealer because my engine is raw water cooled in salt water and I don't want any salt water drips in the bilge. One year the manifold drain (right above the starter) dripped a bit on the solenoid and rusted it up in a big nasty ball of rust. Had to replace the solenoid....now I put the gasket sealer on both manifold and both block drain plugs.
