Winterization question

Dtodt223 · 10-31-2019, 08:52 AM

Hello guys, I'm doing my own winterization and started it a couple weeks ago. I ran into a problem that I'd like to solve this weekend with the freezing nights coming soon. I have an 89 ebbtide with the 350 mag, one side of the motor winterized fine but the other side I couldn't get the antifreeze to run through. I went through about 4 gallons just on that side. The antifreeze kept coming out one of the lower ports on the thermostat but not the block drain. The block drain did drain all it's water prior, so it's not clogged. I'm thinking maybe because the boat was slightly uneven when I was doing this? Just trying to get some ideas before I attempt to finish it up this weekend. Thank you.

DEJ · 10-31-2019, 09:23 AM

Double check that block drain by inserting a piece of wire or small finishing nail into it. I know you said it drained all the water prior, just trying to eliminate all possibilities. I have had a piece of rust lodge in mine from time to time preventing flow. Good luck.

fatlazyless · 10-31-2019, 09:37 AM

Remove the thermostat round plate which is easy to do, otherwise it will act like a closed valve to the flow of coolant/anti-freeze.

MAXUM · 10-31-2019, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Remove the thermostat round plate which is easy to do, otherwise it will act like a closed valve to the flow of coolant/anti-freeze.

All thermostats have a small bleeder bypass built into them usually on the housing which allows some fluid and also air to pass through whether open or closed. The purpose of that is to prevent pressure buildup unequally on either side that may prevent it from opening up or burp the system so the thermostat is not sitting in a pocket of air. In other words the thermostat does not completely cut off flow, only restrict it until sufficient operating temperature has been reached. At least that is the way mechanical thermostats work.

Dtodt223 · 10-31-2019, 10:47 AM

Thanks for the ideas. It definitely isnt blocked. Hopefully more chime in. I'm thinking either to park it leaning more towards the port side since it was leaning starboard last time, and also to put the hose back on the t-stat port where it was flowing out before. I believe it was the bottom left port. Just don't want to waste so much antifreeze trying to get this right.

John E · 10-31-2019, 03:21 PM

I've always poured the AF into the block by removing the hose after the thermostat and pouring the AF into the block there. My experience is limited to inboards with GM blocks. I also believe you don't "need" to fill the block with AF, as long as you drain the block and manifolds properly.

MAXUM · 10-31-2019, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John E

I've always poured the AF into the block by removing the hose after the thermostat and pouring the AF into the block there. My experience is limited to inboards with GM blocks. I also believe you don't "need" to fill the block with AF, as long as you drain the block and manifolds properly.

Funny you mention this as it seems opinions vary. I backfill my block and also the risers and stern drive till I hear it pouring out the intake so I know the impeller housing is full of it too. Takes 3 gallons to do it all and I guess I feel better doing so and have a simple reason for that. If there is any raw water left anywhere it will be mixed with the antifreeze and thus cannot possibly cause a problem. If I can't put 3 gallons in I know something didn't completely drain and I have to find out why. It's hard to gauge how much comes out when draining, refilling is the only way I have comfort in knowing things drained right. It should also be noted that antifreeze has a rust inhibitor in it, at least the stuff I use. Whether it is in the least bit effective or not is a different story but hey I feel better with it full of antifreeze versus not.

I know somebody that just drains the block, risers and manifolds and leaves it as is. Never had a problem either.

Dtodt223 · 11-01-2019, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Funny you mention this as it seems opinions vary. I backfill my block and also the risers and stern drive till I hear it pouring out the intake so I know the impeller housing is full of it too. Takes 3 gallons to do it all and I guess I feel better doing so and have a simple reason for that. If there is any raw water left anywhere it will be mixed with the antifreeze and thus cannot possibly cause a problem. If I can't put 3 gallons in I know something didn't completely drain and I have to find out why. It's hard to gauge how much comes out when draining, refilling is the only way I have comfort in knowing things drained right. It should also be noted that antifreeze has a rust inhibitor in it, at least the stuff I use. Whether it is in the least bit effective or not is a different story but hey I feel better with it full of antifreeze versus not.

I know somebody that just drains the block, risers and manifolds and leaves it as is. Never had a problem either.

Wow, in the new England winters? I do know this is a very hot debate. I didn't even think about draining or filling the lower unit. That should just be another hose off the t-stat right?

8gv · 11-01-2019, 08:46 AM

My method uses a small, three gallon size plastic trash can, a piece of garden hose, a hose shut off valve and a set of earmuffs for the lower unit.

This set up allows the lower unit to draw antifreeze in and distribute it throughout the engine.

First I run the motor on a different hose and earmuffs for long enough to get the thermostat to open and the water to come out of the engine quite hot.

This may take fifteen minutes or so.

Once the engine is hot enough I switch to my bucket rig.

Starting with the bucket full of antifreeze, I run the engine and add more antifreeze as required until all the water coming out of the engine is bright pink.

It usually take about four to six gallons of antifreeze to get to that point.

As the last of the antifreeze is entering the engine I spray fogging oil into the carburetor throat until the engine stalls.

Then I remove all the blue plastic drain plugs from the engine.

I hope that helps!

YMMV

SAB1 · 11-01-2019, 12:39 PM

My boat (Volvo Penta I/O Chevy engine) is now on its 22nd winter. Never done anything but drain it. Hope I'm not jinx'in myself now!

Woody38 · 11-01-2019, 12:57 PM

When living on Cape Cod we had a 200 hp Merc outboard. In winter all I did was pull in December and cover everything. Never had a problem in the 20 years we had this engine.
Maybe I was just extremely lucky?

_________________________________________________

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

MAXUM · 11-01-2019, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody38

When living on Cape Cod we had a 200 hp Merc outboard. In winter all I did was pull in December and cover everything. Never had a problem in the 20 years we had this engine.
Maybe I was just extremely lucky?

_________________________________________________

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

Outboards are different they will completely drain if put in a vertical position.

JEEPONLY · 11-02-2019, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Outboards are different they will completely drain if put in a vertical position.

This is what I have always done with my 1973, all-original 13' Whaler w/40hp Johnson. Never had a problem.

It's on a galvy trailer, and is for sale!

JADAQ · 11-02-2019, 07:15 PM

Why don’t you just remove the 4 drain plugs and call it good? Engine is drained once you do that.

I have the same year motor, do it every year without issue.

Coolant is a waste of time and money.

Dtodt223 · 11-02-2019, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JADAQ

Why don’t you just remove the 4 drain plugs and call it good? Engine is drained once you do that.

I have the same year motor, do it every year without issue.

Coolant is a waste of time and money.

So you're one of those huh lol. Idk rather just be safe once we're in the dead of winter and it's below 32 for weeks at a time.

MAXUM · 11-02-2019, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JADAQ

Why don’t you just remove the 4 drain plugs and call it good? Engine is drained once you do that.

I have the same year motor, do it every year without issue.

Coolant is a waste of time and money.

No you're not fully drained... there are 5 plugs not 4. At least on a V6 or V8. I believe the 4 cylinder has 2

Dtodt223 · 11-02-2019, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXUM

No you're not fully drained... there are 5 plugs not 4. At least on a V6 or V8. I believe the 4 cylinder has 2

Where's the 5th? I only found 4 on mine.

Cal Coon · 11-03-2019, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JADAQ

Why don’t you just remove the 4 drain plugs and call it good? Engine is drained once you do that.

I have the same year motor, do it every year without issue.

Coolant is a waste of time and money.

Antifreeze has anti rust inhibitors in it, and gives me more peace of mind knowing it's inside my motor than it being "dry" in there. And I also believe that just draining the water out is never going to get it all out, so running antifreeze through it will at the very least, dilute any water left in it, if not push it out completely. Just my .02 cents.

MAXUM · 11-01-2019, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtodt223

Wow, in the new England winters? I do know this is a very hot debate. I didn't even think about draining or filling the lower unit. That should just be another hose off the t-stat right?

So at least on my 4.3L right on top of the engine block right in front there are 4 cooling system hoses See pic below

Hose #1 goes to the water pump and block.
Hose #2 goes to the stern drive and backfills the impeller housing
Hoses #3 and #4 go to the risers.

I disconnect all of them and start backfilling #1 till it starts to come out the housing where it was connected (takes about 1.5 gallons). Reattach hose and move on to #2 fill that till it starts dumping out the intake on the stern drive (takes about another 1/2 to 3/4 gallon). Reattach and backfill #3 and #4. Split what is left between the two. Any extra will dump out the exhaust ports in the stern drive housing.

Again I leave the antifreeze in the engine as it supposedly has rust inhibitors.

In the spring roll the boat into the driveway put the muffs on and fire it up.

Cal Coon · 11-01-2019, 06:59 PM

I have a mercruiser 350 magnum. I winterize my engine through the earmuffs because I figure it is going to get antifreeze everywhere there was water... I run the engine up to running temp to get the thermostat open on the garden hose. I then drain the riser's and the block of all the (hot) water. Then I put the plugs back in the riser's and the block, and I have a 5 gallon jug that has it's own set of engine ears. I then start the motor back up while running on the engine ears connected to the 5 gallon jug of RV antifreeze. It is gravity fed. I run about 15 gallons through the system, making sure that all I see is "pink" coming out of the exhaust, and just before I run out of antifreeze, I fog it, and stall it out on the fogging oil. I then leave it just like that for the winter. I leave the antifreeze in it. After the motor cools down, I spray it down completely with wd40 silicone to preserve plastic and rubber, and helps to keep critters away. I also dump about a half gallon of antifreeze down the bilge just to mix it with any standing water. I also put a couple of the little buckets of scented "damp rid" in the boat. One in the cockpit area, and one on the floor of the cuddy cabin. That is my annual ritual, as well as changing the gear oil in the outdrive. It is now ready for shrink wrap...

Dtodt223 · 11-02-2019, 03:38 PM

hey guys thanks for all the tips and advice. I think I got it sorted today. I might have been using the riser hose instead of the manifold hose last week. I also back the trailer up onto a ramp on one side to get the motor to tilt the opposite way. I also made sure to run coolant through the lower unit pickup hose! Thanks all. Now i have another problem/question I'll be creating another thread for.

Blue Thunder · 11-03-2019, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cal Coon

I have a mercruiser 350 magnum. I winterize my engine through the earmuffs because I figure it is going to get antifreeze everywhere there was water... I run the engine up to running temp to get the thermostat open on the garden hose. I then drain the riser's and the block of all the (hot) water. Then I put the plugs back in the riser's and the block, and I have a 5 gallon jug that has it's own set of engine ears. I then start the motor back up while running on the engine ears connected to the 5 gallon jug of RV antifreeze. It is gravity fed. I run about 15 gallons through the system, making sure that all I see is "pink" coming out of the exhaust, and just before I run out of antifreeze, I fog it, and stall it out on the fogging oil. I then leave it just like that for the winter. I leave the antifreeze in it. After the motor cools down, I spray it down completely with wd40 silicone to preserve plastic and rubber, and helps to keep critters away. I also dump about a half gallon of antifreeze down the bilge just to mix it with any standing water. I also put a couple of the little buckets of scented "damp rid" in the boat. One in the cockpit area, and one on the floor of the cuddy cabin. That is my annual ritual, as well as changing the gear oil in the outdrive. It is now ready for shrink wrap...

15 gallons? That’s a lot of anti freeze wasted.

Cal Coon · 11-03-2019, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

15 gallons? That’s a lot of anti freeze wasted.

(A lot) cheaper than a new motor. I wasn't aware of any "shortage" of anti freeze. Didn't know I was supposed to be "conserving" it. I like to run it for a few minutes on antifreeze to ensure the thermostat opens completely for maximum circulation, and more importantly, peace of mind knowing that the antifreeze gets to every crack and crevice where there was water...

nhcatrider · 11-03-2019, 03:34 PM

I helped a friend do his this morning, he used a 30 gallon drum and plopped the outdrive right into it, ran it until it was up to temp and the mixture in the drum was warm, fogged it and put it to bed. The drum gets covered so nothing gets into it and is reused the next year. Works for him.

camp guy · 11-03-2019, 03:57 PM

Boats are like women, hence, the use of feminine pronouns, in that no two are alike, and what works for one may not work for another. I rest my case.

11-03-2019, 03:57 PM	#25
camp guy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: formerly Winter Harbor, still Wolfeboro Posts: 1,135 Thanks: 284 Thanked 480 Times in 271 Posts	Winterization question Boats are like women, hence, the use of feminine pronouns, in that no two are alike, and what works for one may not work for another. I rest my case.

10-31-2019, 08:52 AM	#1
Dtodt223 Junior Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 18 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Winterization question Hello guys, I'm doing my own winterization and started it a couple weeks ago. I ran into a problem that I'd like to solve this weekend with the freezing nights coming soon. I have an 89 ebbtide with the 350 mag, one side of the motor winterized fine but the other side I couldn't get the antifreeze to run through. I went through about 4 gallons just on that side. The antifreeze kept coming out one of the lower ports on the thermostat but not the block drain. The block drain did drain all it's water prior, so it's not clogged. I'm thinking maybe because the boat was slightly uneven when I was doing this? Just trying to get some ideas before I attempt to finish it up this weekend. Thank you.

10-31-2019, 09:23 AM	#2
DEJ Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 539 Thanks: 514 Thanked 309 Times in 152 Posts	Double check that block drain by inserting a piece of wire or small finishing nail into it. I know you said it drained all the water prior, just trying to eliminate all possibilities. I have had a piece of rust lodge in mine from time to time preventing flow. Good luck.

10-31-2019, 09:37 AM	#3
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,527 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 295 Thanked 957 Times in 698 Posts	Remove the thermostat round plate which is easy to do, otherwise it will act like a closed valve to the flow of coolant/anti-freeze. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake!

The Following User Says Thank You to fatlazyless For This Useful Post:
ApS (10-31-2019)

10-31-2019, 10:47 AM	#5
Dtodt223 Junior Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 18 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the ideas. It definitely isnt blocked. Hopefully more chime in. I'm thinking either to park it leaning more towards the port side since it was leaning starboard last time, and also to put the hose back on the t-stat port where it was flowing out before. I believe it was the bottom left port. Just don't want to waste so much antifreeze trying to get this right.

10-31-2019, 03:21 PM	#6
John E Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 58 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 5 Posts	I've always poured the AF into the block by removing the hose after the thermostat and pouring the AF into the block there. My experience is limited to inboards with GM blocks. I also believe you don't "need" to fill the block with AF, as long as you drain the block and manifolds properly.

11-01-2019, 08:46 AM	#9
8gv Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 2,009 Thanks: 61 Thanked 701 Times in 455 Posts	My method uses a small, three gallon size plastic trash can, a piece of garden hose, a hose shut off valve and a set of earmuffs for the lower unit. This set up allows the lower unit to draw antifreeze in and distribute it throughout the engine. First I run the motor on a different hose and earmuffs for long enough to get the thermostat to open and the water to come out of the engine quite hot. This may take fifteen minutes or so. Once the engine is hot enough I switch to my bucket rig. Starting with the bucket full of antifreeze, I run the engine and add more antifreeze as required until all the water coming out of the engine is bright pink. It usually take about four to six gallons of antifreeze to get to that point. As the last of the antifreeze is entering the engine I spray fogging oil into the carburetor throat until the engine stalls. Then I remove all the blue plastic drain plugs from the engine. I hope that helps! YMMV

11-01-2019, 12:39 PM	#10
SAB1 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Tuftonboro Posts: 1,165 Thanks: 182 Thanked 297 Times in 220 Posts	My boat (Volvo Penta I/O Chevy engine) is now on its 22nd winter. Never done anything but drain it. Hope I'm not jinx'in myself now!

11-01-2019, 12:57 PM	#11
Woody38 Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 564 Thanks: 46 Thanked 104 Times in 75 Posts	When living on Cape Cod we had a 200 hp Merc outboard. In winter all I did was pull in December and cover everything. Never had a problem in the 20 years we had this engine. Maybe I was just extremely lucky? _________________________________________________ I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

11-02-2019, 07:15 PM	#14
JADAQ Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 198 Thanks: 4 Thanked 66 Times in 43 Posts	Why don’t you just remove the 4 drain plugs and call it good? Engine is drained once you do that. I have the same year motor, do it every year without issue. Coolant is a waste of time and money.

11-01-2019, 06:59 PM	#20
Cal Coon Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 475 Thanks: 179 Thanked 158 Times in 100 Posts	I have a mercruiser 350 magnum. I winterize my engine through the earmuffs because I figure it is going to get antifreeze everywhere there was water... I run the engine up to running temp to get the thermostat open on the garden hose. I then drain the riser's and the block of all the (hot) water. Then I put the plugs back in the riser's and the block, and I have a 5 gallon jug that has it's own set of engine ears. I then start the motor back up while running on the engine ears connected to the 5 gallon jug of RV antifreeze. It is gravity fed. I run about 15 gallons through the system, making sure that all I see is "pink" coming out of the exhaust, and just before I run out of antifreeze, I fog it, and stall it out on the fogging oil. I then leave it just like that for the winter. I leave the antifreeze in it. After the motor cools down, I spray it down completely with wd40 silicone to preserve plastic and rubber, and helps to keep critters away. I also dump about a half gallon of antifreeze down the bilge just to mix it with any standing water. I also put a couple of the little buckets of scented "damp rid" in the boat. One in the cockpit area, and one on the floor of the cuddy cabin. That is my annual ritual, as well as changing the gear oil in the outdrive. It is now ready for shrink wrap...

11-02-2019, 03:38 PM	#21
Dtodt223 Junior Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 18 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	hey guys thanks for all the tips and advice. I think I got it sorted today. I might have been using the riser hose instead of the manifold hose last week. I also back the trailer up onto a ramp on one side to get the motor to tilt the opposite way. I also made sure to run coolant through the lower unit pickup hose! Thanks all. Now i have another problem/question I'll be creating another thread for.

11-03-2019, 03:34 PM	#24
nhcatrider Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 167 Thanks: 19 Thanked 29 Times in 27 Posts	I helped a friend do his this morning, he used a 30 gallon drum and plopped the outdrive right into it, ran it until it was up to temp and the mixture in the drum was warm, fogged it and put it to bed. The drum gets covered so nothing gets into it and is reused the next year. Works for him.