How cold before engine freezes West Coastbr

I am debating need for drainin

I am debating need for draining block on west coast (clearlake ca).

I've read that <32 isn't enough to freeze and it needs to be substantially colder.

Do I need to drain water living on west coast or is this only required in colder east coast climates?

Bilge heater huh? I'll look into it.

After some googling I'm le

After some googling I'm leaning towards a magnetic heater...light bulbs are a bit scary I guess. The Bilge heaters are quite expensive too (>$350).

"Mike,

What do your neighbo

"Mike,

What do your neighbors do? Temps vary North to south not East to West so California is as prone to freezing as us east coasters. It just depends where you are. (Don't they ski out there?)

No, 32 will not crack your block, but if it's that cold, I wouldn't be confident it won't get colder, you know with all that talk of global cooling, or is that warming, anyway, if it's 32 and you're not using the boat on a regular basis, I'd drain it. Heaters work well {provided there is no poweer outage). Are you willing to gamble on that? Not me."

hope you drained it
3 days of

hope you drained it
3 days of 24 or lower

"I was late draining the block

"I was late draining the block on my 2.3 litre this winter.I'm not sure if I damaged the block.I got it thawed out and and drained, the freeze plugs look good. there was no oil in the drain water and there doesn't seem to be any water in the oil.I cant get it to start, it just backfires through the carb.Do you think this could be related to a cracked block? Could I find out if I have a cracked block with a compression check? Also I didn't treat the fuel when I put it away for the winter.Maybe that is why it wont start. What do you think?"

V6 and V8 engines with cracked

V6 and V8 engines with cracked blocks usually start up just fine. Not sure about the 2.3.

"It will depend where the crac

"It will depend where the crack is to show up on a Compression Check.

If the crack is in the Cylinder Wall, low down, it probably won't show up much on the Compression Gauge, than if it was up high in the Cylinder.

Bruce."

So the annual ritual starts...

So the annual ritual starts...