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Winterizing 7.4

Y

Yosh

New member
New owner. 1996 Sea Ray 7.4 Mercruiser I ran the engine till hot then used the Camco winterizing jug filled with RV anti freeze till the exhaust had pink coming out. I then drained the block and both manifolds. They had hot RV anti freeze come out. Is there any reason I need to fill the block and such again with anti freeze? Located in Northern Mich so it will be below freezing. I am also unable to find a power steering cooler and I do have power steering so does that also use raw water where it would be winterized with the method I used? Thanks for any info.
 
Unless you tested a sample there is no way to check the freeze temp. Draining the block and manifolds are a good idea but the ps cooler needs one end of the hose removed to be positive its been drained.
But if your access it that good, just flush and for the motor unti in stalls, drain everything and simply pour the AF in undiluted thru the hoses. No need to run the motor to introduce AF but if you do use that method you MUST drain everything first so you dont dilute it if leaving it in the motor .
Some say "air" dosent freeze but dry cast iron tends to rust.
 
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For the price of anti freeze vs a new engine block I will for sure drain whats in it out. Do I simply take the hoses off and fill until full of anti freeze then or should I buy a thermo stat gasket and fill? hanks for the info.
 
you take the big hose off the housing and pour it in the hose until it comes out the housing,, you take the manifold hoses off the T housing and and pour it in the hoses till it comes out the exaust
 
I don't understand why you filled with RV antifreeze then turned around and drained it all out. Mercruiser says either drain it completely or fill it completely.
 
Yosh, just plain ole air won't freeze expand and crack our expensive cast iron components. Never has.... never will!


The Camco, StarBrite, West Marine, etc kits are ok for an engine with a Closed Cooling System.
For the average Joe doing his Raw Water Cooled engine, please take a minute and read this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3BD7X6QC3KCFR?ref=pf_vv_at_pdctrvw_srp


Camco winterizing kit no no .jpg


And for those who think that antifreeze is a must in order to prevent rust scale, the amount of rust scale that would develop during the layup will be paled by comparison to that which occurs during the normal boating season.

If hell bent on adding AF, as Ed says drain everything down first.
Reinstall your drain plugs.
Add your AF through either the intake manifold's thermostat port, the temp sender port, the cabin heater coolant supply port in the intake manifold, etc.


I don't understand why you filled with RV antifreeze then turned around and drained it all out.
Click to expand...
To protect from unwanted dilution by any residual seawater!


Now, if you want an alternative to the Camco, StarBrite or West Marine winterizing kit, here's my new improved kit.


camco replacement 55 gal kit.jpg



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Every t-stat setup I've ever seen has some kind of bypass circuit around a closed t-stat and prevent the circulating pump to loose prime an stop pumping.

That by-pass flow is all it takes for the block to get a healthy dash of anti-freeze. (If you don't believe this, open a block drain plug AFTER pumping the pink stuff through and you'll see it flowing right out.)

If the block was drained first, then it's gonna have lots of pink stuff and vapors in there to protect that bare cast iron during the winter, and that's why it need to be done.

Jeff
 
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Its a no brainier but the trailer should be almost level. I drive one side of my trailer on 2" x 10" to correct.
 
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