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350 Engine Block and Manifold Drains

willow

Regular Contributor
Twin 350 crusaders...circa 1992
RAW water cooled
Blocks and manifolds drained every year and filled with the "pink-stuff";)

Although my engine room has a fair amount of room, the two outside block drains as well as the two outside manifold drains can be a real patience testing venture to get out and replace once the engines etc have drained. The problem, at my age , is straddling the V drives and reaching toward the front of each engine with the outboard sides of the engine being in close proximity to the aluminum fuel tanks. It is very difficult and really tests my patience when attempting to remove the questionable plugs.

I have come up with a plan and am requesting any "pro" or "no " opinions.

I would like to replace all 8 drains with brass nipples which would have a brass ball cock at the end. To me the ball cock is the answer, for convenience and the fact that one can still get a piece of wire through an open ball cock if there "appears" to be any "gunk" in the block or ball cock mechanism.

PS..after purchasing the boat I did the same thing with the oil pan drains and hooked them up to small oil evacuation pumps...sure makes draining oil easy.


Thoughts ???
 
........................
Twin 350 crusaders...circa 1992
RAW water cooled
Blocks and manifolds drained every year and filled with the "pink-stuff";)
Just plain ole AIR will not freeze expand and crack our expensive cast iron components. Never has...... Never will!

If you fill the areas with the "Pink Stuff" (as you put it) make sure that you drain it immediately afterwards!
Un-intended "dilution" may cause the pink stuff to lose it's freeze protection value...... and may cause severe freeze damage.


Although my engine room has a fair amount of room, the two outside block drains as well as the two outside manifold drains can be a real patience testing venture to get out and replace once the engines etc have drained. The problem, at my age , is straddling the V drives and reaching toward the front of each engine with the outboard sides of the engine being in close proximity to the aluminum fuel tanks. It is very difficult and really tests my patience when attempting to remove the questionable plugs.

I have come up with a plan and am requesting any "pro" or "no " opinions.

I would like to replace all 8 drains with brass nipples which would have a brass ball cock at the end. To me the ball cock is the answer, for convenience and the fact that one can still get a piece of wire through an open ball cock if there "appears" to be any "gunk" in the block or ball cock mechanism.

If the ball valve opening is large enough..... it may work just fine.
Raw Water Cooled engines build up rust scale within the cooling jackets. Each time that we pull plugs in order to drain this raw water, we MUST probe the drain ports (as you mention) in order to free them from any rust scale build-up.

I would go with the true Marine Engine Block Petcock fittings with completely removable stops.
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/images/hg/mal/9-41201.jpg


PS..after purchasing the boat I did the same thing with the oil pan drains and hooked them up to small oil evacuation pumps...sure makes draining oil easy.


Thoughts ???
 
Don:

I'd be inclined to use s/s ball valves and see no major concern for the 1/4 style....just make sure ALL of the compenents are a decent grade of material...

The only drawback I see is you added to the potential leak points....given the need for annual access, I'd dismiss it....
 
Just plain ole AIR will not freeze expand and crack our expensive cast iron components. Never has...... Never will!

If you fill the areas with the "Pink Stuff" (as you put it) make sure that you drain it immediately afterwards!
Un-intended "dilution" may cause the pink stuff to lose it's freeze protection value...... and may cause severe freeze damage.

Thank you for your reply...re the pink stuff....up here in the great white north almost everyone uses it and it is in the engine block etc. for the winter duration. I can understand your concern over diluting the product with residual water but in my case I drain the engines and then run the engines while an adapter sucks in copious amounts of the pink stuff. In fact I believe my engine cooling system contains 33 litres,(we are up in Canada..thus liters), and I run about 55-60 litres of the pink stuff through the system, (engine running), to ensure none, or if any, very low dilution. The stuff we use is rated for -50C and in my 19 years with the boat I have never had a freezing problem.

Yes, I know there are many that do not put anything in the cooling system and just drain the block and manifolds but I am old school and believe in keeping all seals etc. "wet" and in my 19 years with this boat I have never run into a freezing problem....each to his own I suspect ;)

Thank you for the link to the .jpg and I will certainly look at one of those but I am leaning toward the ball valve with the SS ball in it.

Appreciate the inputs ....always nice to have opinions from boaters that have been "there"....:eek: and might have thought of something that I did not.

DKP
 
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