winterizing

[Frankiea87]

soo i winterized my mercruiser back in october and now its really really cold and i was just wondering if theres any way i could tell if the block held up or whatever... i dont want to get stuck in the spring with a cracked block. if theres a way i could tell now if its cracked or not then i could start saving.. hopefully i winterized it properly haha...

 

[solar7647]

Re: winterizing

well if you can look in there and see if any anti-freeze has leaked..that would be the first sign of an issue...but we will need to know the engine specs to help more.....year, size,I/O, outboard...all that good stuff. Also is it lake cooled or does it have a stand alone wter cooling system.... give more info and you shall get a better answer....


sorry also check for milky oil...

 

[Frankiea87]

Re: winterizing

its a 1987 165hp 4cyl I/O with alpha one drive..... i have the boat tilted so i doubt any antifreeze will colllect in the bildge anyways. it has the separate heat exchanger attached which is always filled with antifreeze year round..

 

[solar7647]

Re: winterizing

this is the same engine I have..with the stand alone cooling system filled with anit-freeze you will be golden...the only thing you have to really make sure is that the drive is empty or if you ran anti-freeze through it.....The only thing i do to winterize mine is....change the oil( just because that way i dont have to in the sring)....fog the the engine....and empty the gas so i dont have any bad gas in there when spring rolls around....its also the best time to change oil in the drive and the lube just so you know theres no water in there that could freeze.........I think you will be just fine......

I have the 180hp version...only differance....carb and mine has an oil cooler...

 

[Frankiea87]

Re: winterizing

awesome yea everyone was saying i could have just drained the water from the block and left it empty but i didnt want to. i felt safer putting antifreeze in... awesome yea im working on rebuilding the drive and carbs.. regular maintnence

 

[solar7647]

Re: winterizing

Well there is no water in you block...at all...the heat exchanger acks like a radiator in a car..the anifreeze that is in there runs through the engine cools the motor and passes the heat of to lake water when it goes through the heat exchanger..you drive sucks up lake water and puts it through the heat echanger then back out to the lake......the same way air runs through a radiator on a car...do you have the manual for the engine...

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: winterizing

Well, can you tell us EXACTLY and in what order the steps you took in winterizing?

 

[Snobike Mike]

Re: winterizing

If your block was going to crack it would have done so already. Other than for peace of mind why worry about it now?

Cheers.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: winterizing

its a 1987 165hp 4cyl I/O with alpha one drive

Um,

Your block is not going to crack since you have a closed cooled engine. You already have anti-freeze in the block.(assuming you or someone else didn't drain it and put regular water in it)


You could crack your heat exchanger if you didn't drain the raw water "side" of it..

I'm not all that familiar with the wonderful 470/3.7L engine but if you have power steering or an an oil cooler and you haven't drained them, they could crack as well.



Regards,



Rick

 

[solar7647]

Re: winterizing

Um,



I'm not all that familiar with the wonderful 470/3.7L engine but if you have power steering or an an oil cooler and you haven't drained them, they could crack as well.



Regards,



Rick

The 165hp version doesnt have a oil cooler I beleive only the 180 and 190 do but if it did for some reason, the oil cooler is built into the intake manifold and is cooled by the anti-freeze...the intake is the first thing the antifreeze flows through after it gets cooled then into the engine.....You are correct about the heat exchanger though...unless he ran anti-freeze through the drive, then the heat exchanger will have anti-freeze in it to.