Who winterises their engine dry?

[cobra 3.0]

I've been using antifreeze every time I winterize, but question it's usefulness. Once you have drained the manifold(s) and engine, what's the diff if you use antifreeze or not? (I always take off the outdrive off and keep it in the house over winter.)

 

[tommays]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

i went to a 2 year marine trade school in 1973/74 and we were trained dry and while i havent worked in trade scince 1975 i have done a lot of motors dry many hundreds and still do so with no problems<br /><br />its is cheeper and cleaner and faster<br /><br />tommays

 

[Laddies]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Firstly I am not a environmental wacko like some of you seem to think anyone who doesnt approve of antifeeze is, I am a 64 year old marine mechanic and have repaired boats and motors since the 50's. All marine engines are designed to be drained by the manufacturer. When I started in the marine trade the owner of the marina that I worked for said that antifreeze was used for two reasons, by the inept or to build up a customers bill. I guess that has always stuck by me.[god only knows he was profit oriented]. this man was in the business since the 20s. i dont things have changed much with regard too antifreeze and it certainly doesnt do the ground water any good. bob.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

@ $3.50 (retail) no one makes a killing putting RV Freeze in an engine.But it seems to be a good buffer between the cast iron block and air.I believe this cuts down on rust build up in the long run.But to each his own.<br /><br />DHP

 

[Don S]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

I've been a marine mechanic for many years and have always drained them with no problems in the past. <br />Where I work now we use a big tank of antifreeze to run the engines in. While it does help protect the manifolds and risers from the air the main reason is time. On so many boats it's almost impossible to get at some of the coolers and hoses on manifolds and such. Buy running (and fogging them) while they run in the antifreeze it flat saves our customers money and us a lot of time. But we only do this on boats with closed cooling systems. Raw water cooled boats get drained only since they don't get the antifreeze through the block completely without a long run under load.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

You put antifreeze in for two reasons. Slows corrosion way down, mixes with any water that remains and keeps it from doing damage. You'll never get all of the water out and some will condense from the air over the months. If you leave the drains out and the hoses disconnected it won't build-up. But most customers don't want to have to pay again next spring to hook everything back up. They just want to reconnect the batteries and go. Antifreeze allows that.

 

[Don S]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Any small amount of water (Or condensation) may freeze, but it can't hurt anything because it has room to expand. If the engine is even close to level when it's drained, and the drains are clear what's left won't do damage, it will freeze, but no damage.<br /><br />PS: I Drained my engine yesterday.

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

years of only draining, never a problem. Also change the oil and fog the cylinders before putting it up for the winter.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Don I don't know about your boats,but my closed cooling boats already have antifreeze in the manifolds.I would think all Alaskan boats need all the antifreeze they can get (grin)<br /><br />DHP

 

[Don S]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

DHP <br />I have a Volvo 260 in an old 77 Bayliner with a 290DP drive. What's the part numbers for those fresh water cooled maniold kits.....I'll have to get me some <br />Here in Southeast Alaska it seldom gets below zero.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Looks like the choice is mine. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Once you have drained the manifold(s) and engine,

Don't forget the Big Hose on the waterpump.........<br /><br />I don't Waste my money on anti-freeze Either..........<br />And,<br />I've Never taken a motor out of service because of a Rusted Block.................

 

[CharlesW]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Not a mechanic, but 30 years of I/O ownership has taught me one thing. Do what it says in the owners manual. If you can't come up with the owners manual, buy a shop manual. Actually, it isn't a bad idea to have both.<br />My owners manual for the outdrives I have owned gave good instructions on what was needed for winter storage. Even had pictures that showed the location of petcocks, which hoses to remove, all the info needed to do it right. Seemed to work for me.

 

[arboatdr]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

We stabilze the fuel, fog the cly and drain the block,manifolds,coolers,pumps. We put the drain plugs in a zip lock baggy and attatch them to the steering wheel along with a tag telling the customer not to start the engine. Years ago I used antifreeze in my winterizes until a customer decided to take his boat out on a warm January day to look at the lake. Well, he didn't realize he had to winterize it agian and busted the manifoilds. Lucky for me it was a mild winter and the block didn't get hurt. I bought him a set of manifolds and put them on and have pulled and removed drain plugs ever since. Not one failure since.

 

[rabidfish]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?

Just another useless opinion probably, but... We always drain the block & manifolds, if for no other reason than to inspect for rust & scale. Usually more prevalant in the manifolds. (ever had to poke out the scale to get the manifolds to drain?) Then we run the engines on an anti-freeze tank to ensure freeze protection. Keep in mind, we winterize 800 boats a year. (roughly 24 barrels of -200 propylene glycol, mixed, of course)over 25 years without ever having a problem. I can honestly say... Anything with a success rate like that is worth it!

 

[summit1]

Re: Who winterises their engine dry?