Should I winterize my engine

"I've got a 1985 Mercrusie

"I've got a 1985 Mercrusier 4cyl. 165hp that has a anti freeze tank on the motor. A friend of mine had a 6cyl. without the tank & he said he always had to run anti freeze thur his & fog the motor. He said he didn't know if I would need to run anti freeze thur mine or not. He did suggest fogging the motor however. I've been reading some of the winterizing topics & seen people talking about pink & blue anti freeze, but mine has green like vechiles run on. Does anyone have any advice, this is the first time I've owned a boat this big, & I'm really trying to treat her right. If I do need to run anti freeze thur it, is green ok, & what ratio should I use? I live in southern Ohio & the boat will be kept outside in one of those tarp carport's out of the wind, but still exposed to the cold temps (around 0 at the lowest) I'd say. Thanks for your help."

"It sounds like you have a clo

"It sounds like you have a closed cooling (or FWC) system. This will have a heat exchanger canister that is a cylinder about 4" diameter x maybe 20" long with hoses in and out both ends.
The engine is cooled by antifreeze mixture just like a car, and the exchanger is where the heat is removed by lake water pumped from your drive, thru the exchanger, then into your exhaust manifold and out your exhaust.
For the closed system you only need to confirm that your mixture strength is good enough to prevent freezing for that part of the system.
All the fresh water part of the system must however be properly drained, and optionally protected by pumping pink RV antifreeze solution through it, to prevent freezeup and damage.
You should refer to your owners manual, or get a Seloc or Clymer manual to get familiar with all the drains, but briefly, there should be;
-a drain for the low point of the water inlet hose from the drive to the exchanger
-a drain plug on the exchanger canister that also has an anode on it
-a drain on the exhaust manifold and elbow
A manual will also show you how to do (and what to use) for all the other stuff you should do for winterizing like: oil and filter change, drive lube oil change, grease fittings, fogging, fuel stabilization, etc.
Rod"

"Thanks Rod, I checked out the

"Thanks Rod, I checked out the exchanger 4" x 20" & will take your advice with the winterizing. Thanks again, Russ."

Russ;
You're most welcome

Russ;
You're most welcome and I hope it goes well.
Rod

"For Rod or anyone, I was read

"For Rod or anyone, I was reading the topic Ken posted "Winterizing Techiques" about running green 50/50 mix antifreeze thur it sounds like the fresh water chambers as well. I like his point about it don't allow the block to rust, but I'm concerned about the seals. Will the chemicals in the green antifreeze harm them? As for Brett's concern for the water, I don't want to posion the water either. I plan on flushing the fresh water system out completely before hitting the lake. So should I use the green to prevent rust & will it hurt the seals? Or do I have to worry about rust if I use the pink or blue antifreeze. Thanks again, Russ."

"Russ;
The green will not hur

"Russ;
The green will not hurt any seals or gaskets in your engine, and the flushing out before hitting the water sounds like the responsible thing to do environmentally.
Happy boating,
Rod"

"Winterizing & looking for

"Winterizing & looking for engine drain plugs! (Mercruiser 350)

My old boat had 4 engine drain plugs that I would remove for winterizing, I can only find 2 on my new boat! The difference is that there are hoses leading from the bottom of the engine to the front of the engine where there is one drain at the bottom, and one at the top of the engine. Are these the only two there are?"

"Rusty:

The green antif. is

"Rusty:

The green antif. is as Rod says. The blue contains rust inhibiters just like the green w/lower toxicity. The pink was originally designed for potable water devices in campers, etc. It has also been used forever in I/O engines as well w/good success. Relax and choose one w/o any worry; just flush properly before entering the water."