Old school winterize ? New Thread

[Scaaty]

If I drain the block (350 IO) after using a "SaltAway" flush, (salt seawater cooled), and leave it alone, rust will follow, right? I don't feel like messing with Anti-freeze and guessing all the water is replaced, and also don't feel like killing my dog with the mess involved.<br /> Isn't there some type of water soluble oil mix that could be run through which would coat the passage ways, and then drain the block.<br /> Time to back up a bit on the technology part and get back to what has worked for years, which is???????????? (Probably sorry I started this thread already!)

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

I remember as a Machinist we would use soluble oil as coolant for the lathes...this stuff around still?

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

They do make a non toxic antifreeze.I usually fill my system with it over the winter.You can flush some through to make sure you got out all of the water.Personally I dont like the idea of just draining and leaving empty.My feeling is that there is no way to get all the water out of a system and if you could ,I think there would be more to rust without having the metal submersed in a protective bath of antifreeze.Many here have no problem draining and leaving empty but everyone has their own favorite way.Charlie

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Here is the non-toxic stuff I use:<br /><br /> http://www.starbrite.com/atfreez.htm

 

[tommays]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

the old school way is to remove all the drain plugs make sure there not cloged and thats it<br /><br />the motor and manifolds were made to drain to the point were there is not enough water to cause freeze damage<br /><br />if people are so worried about rust i dont understand why they dont have fresh water cooling<br />1 week in raw water is going to cause more rust than 10 winters with an empty block<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[Bondo]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

1 Week in Saltwater ,<br />Is like 100 Winters,Stored Dry......<br /><br />I boat in Sweetwater 99.9% of my time..........<br />I store the engine Dry.......<br />I use All the drains provided by Chevy,+ Merc....<br />Plus a few I Added........<br />Never had a Rust Problem...........<br />Manifolds,+ Riser will last 15 or 20 years around here........<br />I also "Winterize" the boat Every time I put it on the trailer, for the last 15 or 20 Weeks of My Season ..................

 

[tommays]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

in the yards i worked in i saw far more ice damage to boat hulls caused by people not storeing the boat so it could drain than i have ever seen done to and engine that was drained<br /><br />tommays

 

[barney]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

I ran 3 gallons of plumbing anti-freeze through my 3lt mercruser is this a good or bad idea,I also don't like to have glycall in my drive way or in the water!

 

[tommays]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

it really comes down to does it provide any protection to the motor i dont no any service bulletin that has been put out about a motor that does not drain corectly from the plugs<br /><br />why would merc go to so much trouble to make the new quick easy drain hoses if the motor would not drain<br /><br />tommays

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Robby,<br />unless you are flushing after each use with fresh water, the inside of your engine is already rusted.<br /><br />As Bondo stated " A dry engine can't freeze".<br /><br />and as Tommays said remove all the drain plugs.<br />One other post I read about mixing 30 gallons anti-freeze and run it through the engine, totally staggers me.<br />Sure it get a lot colder in your part of the country than here in NC but there is also a fact of using some common sense.<br />After I drain the engine, I pour about 1/2 a tea cup of anti-freeze into each exhaust manifold, and that it.<br />My best friend in Va. had over 150 boats in his Marina, and all they do is drain and fog.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

If you properly drain your sterndive you won't crack a thing.But leaving it empty is a mistake.Air and condensation get into everything and cause rust all off-season.Now in the spring,you put the plugs in,and go out for the season.Where does all the rust go?<br />Hopefully out with the exhaust.What about the rust flakes that start to clog your manifolds,risers,and elbows?<br /><br />RV antifreeze runs less than $5 a gallon.A 454 engine needs about 5 gallons.How much is a manifold?<br />DHP

 

[imported_wildcat]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

tommays,<br />you appear to have the right approach. I plan on trailering boat, using the West Marine Winterization Kit, and pushing PG through the system until it comes out the prop. I will collect it in a bucket. This will make sure that all pure water is gone. I will then open the drain plugs and drive around a bumpy road. The plugs will remain open all winter. This is per the local Mercury dealer and West Marine. They both recommend that non-toxic antifreeze be pushed through system and drain plugs left open. This is even stated in the Mercury Engine Manual under winterization.(Mercury just does not tell you how to get the antifreeze into the system)<br /><br />My only problem is that the manual is not specific on where and how many drain plugs are on my engine. I am supposed to have the new single point drain system. I keep looking for drain plugs on my manifold but cannot find.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Gee, you guys have discussed this to death. Mercury doesn't recommend filling the block and manifolds, PS cooler and other areas with antifreeze because if you drain it correctly there is no need. Now, everyone of the marinas around here in NJ fill the blocks etc., with antifreeze just in case some water is left over(it happens). Automotive antifreeze is the best stuff to use provided you recover it before launch. It is made for the job. Use it full strength!<br />Someone should repost the "Brown's Marina winterizing post". The man is the expert.<br /><br />One more thing. When I winterize my boat I dump antifreeze into the raw water supply hose. Even after several hours of drain time, several ounces of plain water comes out before the antifreeze emerges. I would never leave that water in there, it would likely freeze and crack the water pump and PS cooler.

 

[butlp]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Chris,<br />The Browns Marina procedure is available in the Engine FAQ's (freq.Asked Questions) section under "Winterizing"

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

More fuel for the fire:<br /><br /> http://www.mercstuff.com/winterizing.htm

 

[imported_wildcat]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Chris,<br />The 2004 Mercruiser Manual DOES recommend the use of propylene glycol in the cooling system and they also recommend leaving it in for long storage to prevent rust and corrosion.<br /><br />This statement is in the manual.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Well lots of opinions here. I do not like the suck up the AF method (tried it) because of 2 reasons: some engines will not suck it up unless the muffs fit perfectly tightly, and the impeller is in perfect shape. The other reason is that unless the thermostat is open, you may wind up with the manifolds filled with AF and the block not filled with AF but water or a weak AF/water mix. You still need to pull out the plugs to check if AF is really in the block. So what I do is after running it on the hose, changing the oil and fogging it, I drain everything, poke all the holes out, disconnect all the hoses from the thermo housing, dump the water out of those hoses, then fill up everything with no tox AF that has corrosion inhibitor in it. After draining, I jack the boat up and down, to make sure all the water gets out. Last 2 winters, we got down to zero several times, no problems doing it this way. I wonder if the corrosion inhibitor helps, that is the main reason why I do the AF.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Originally posted by Chris1956:<br /> Now, everyone of the marinas around here in NJ fill the blocks etc., with antifreeze just in case some water is left over(it happens).

Do you suppose the fact that they make a nice PROFIT $$ from it has anything to do with this .

 

[Elk Chaser]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Some people would rather be safe than sorry. It's just that simple.<br /><br />Yes, you are more than likely perfectly fine as far as breaking your block is concerned if you leave the drain plugs open and block drained over the winter, as this has been proven for many many years. We all know this.<br /><br />But, when you do this you are exposing the inside of the engine block to air and moisture for those several months that it is sitting. We all know that air and moisture together will accelerate any rusting and/or corrosion much faster than a block sitting full of just plane water.<br /><br />Granted, are you really reducing the life expectancy of the engine block that much by leaving it exposed to air and water, probably not......<br /><br />Like I previously stated in another thread and not to get too confused about this. I use a 30 Gallon Plastic Drum to set the drive into. Very simple. I Do Not Use 30 Gallons of Antifreeze. That would be ridiculous.<br /><br />You must mix the antifreeze into a 50/50 mixture or the antifreeze does not work properly. <br /><br />I actually used some antifreeze drained from a truck engine the first year and I think I added a 2 or 3 gallons of antifreeze and 2 or 3 gallons of water the first year I did this. I recover and reuse, as much as possible, this same mixture year after year keeping it covered and safe away from the many animals we have around the ranch. <br /><br />The mixture must be tested every year to ensure the proper mixture is within the limits for your area as each time you do this the mixture gets diluted and over a couple years the drum slowly fills up with more water than antifreeze. I remove a couple gallons of the mixture every other year and take it to be recycled and add the appropriate amount of antifreeze (usually less than gallon) to bring it back into the range I am looking for.<br /><br />Also, the engine must be warmed up to operating temperature first so the thermostat is open before the procedure is performed, otherwise you are wasting your time.<br /><br />The more money I soak into my boat and engine the more I want to be prudent and take care of it the best I can. Leaving it sit open, to me, is not an option. But, thats my preference not everyones...........

 

[imported_wildcat]

Re: Old school winterize ? New Thread

Lou C,<br />Thanks for the input. Do you leave the AF in the hoses or do you drain them after flushing with AF?