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Power Steering cooler winterization

B

boat marc

New member
I winterized an 06 4.3 L Mercruiser by removing the 5 drain plugs, draining and then filling backup via the water pump hose with antifreeze. My question is whether or not the power steering cooler is winterized now aswell?

Thanks
 
maybe. if the drive is removed for service like it should then just shop-vac air in the hose at the T stat and out the transom inlet hole goes any water.
Some coo;ers have a 1/8 th pipe plug in the bottom also
 
Bt Doctur said:
maybe. if the drive is removed for service like it should then just shop-vac air in the hose at the T stat and out the transom inlet hole goes any water.
Some coo;ers have a 1/8 th pipe plug in the bottom also
Click to expand...
You remove the drive at the end of each season? I'm not aware of annual maintenance that requires this?
 
No, removal is not necessary.

To winterize power steering cooler,

Remove incoming water hose at thermostat housing.

Outdrive down in the vertical postion.

Grab a gallon of RV antifreeze and pour into hose slowly, it will fill but it will force water back through power steering cooler and out of drive.
Do this two to four times til you see the pink stuff coming out of drive intake ports.
Reinstall hose and tighten clamp.

DONE!
 
Did the bellows leak water?
is the gimbel bearing ready to fail?
is the engine alignment correct?
U joints greasable?
do you have a lot of money for repairs?
Or would you rather spent $10.00 for a gasket to check???????????????????????
 
kghost said:
No, removal is not necessary.

To winterize power steering cooler,

Remove incoming water hose at thermostat housing.

Outdrive down in the vertical postion.

Grab a gallon of RV antifreeze and pour into hose slowly, it will fill but it will force water back through power steering cooler and out of drive.
Do this two to four times til you see the pink stuff coming out of drive intake ports.
Reinstall hose and tighten clamp.

DONE!
Click to expand...
(y)
 
Bt Doctur said:
Did the bellows leak water?
is the gimbel bearing ready to fail?
is the engine alignment correct?
U joints greasable?
do you have a lot of money for repairs?
Or would you rather spent $10.00 for a gasket to check???????????????????????
Click to expand...
Absolutely these are all important items, but in all my 40 years of boating, this is not an annual maintenance routine. These items are tied to usage and time, so how many hours and or how old are the components since they were last inspected/changed? Also, there are signs before some of these items fail, no need to tear the outdrive down each season.
 
I agree with the list provided by BT Doc.

For me, these are all spring time activities performed when doing spring service.

For me,

Winterizing engine and checking outdrive oil for water contamination are all I do.
(Disconnect batteries and such also)

All the rest is at spring service after sitting through a long cold winter.....

Many like to do fall service prior to winter slumber.

I dont agree.
 
I agree with you, all I do is engine oil (don't want contaminants eating seals over the winter), gear oil (in case it's contaminated with water and always a good idea to have fresh lubrication), then winterize block and that's it for off season layup.
 
I have never changed engine oil at the end of the season in over 30 years on any boat including my own and never had or have seen any issues. So in my opinion that is a wives tail...

Only changing the gear lube of the outdrive at the end of the season unless water is found is a waist of time.

After cold winter storage in the spring, you drain the gear lube and pressure check drive for seal leaks (which would need to be done if water was found when checking at winterizing).

If you simply change gear oil at the end of the season or at the spring service, you have no idea of the integrity of the seals and it becomes a gamble...
 
No oil changes? Pull the dip and smell the oil at the end of the season and you'll easily notice the presence of contaminants..not a wives tale. Sure doesn't matter if you only have the boat for a few years but if you plan on keeping it long term, better to change it at the end of the season. Not to mention if it's contaminated with water you'll dodge the bullet of a cracked block.
 
boat marc said:
No oil changes? Pull the dip and smell the oil at the end of the season and you'll easily notice the presence of contaminants..not a wives tale. Sure doesn't matter if you only have the boat for a few years but if you plan on keeping it long term, better to change it at the end of the season. Not to mention if it's contaminated with water you'll dodge the bullet of a cracked block.
Click to expand...

I have had my 1987 since 1995.......28 yrs and no oil change at end of season...

If water is in the oil, it will all settle to the oil pan and there is ample room for some water/ice expánsion, if there is a lot of water that would be well known before winterization..
 
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