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Winterizing

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glastron

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"I own a 2006 5.0 gl, sx outdr

"I own a 2006 5.0 gl, sx outdrive. I thought I ran rv antifreeze through the engine, but whem I opened the block drains,the water came out clear, the exhaust drains ran pink. Should I worry about freezing up? How do I get antifreeze into the block?? I'm guessing I have to do it somewhere after the T-stat, am I right?Please help!!"
 
"If a raw water cooled engine,

"If a raw water cooled engine, be sure You drain the block before filling with anti freeze or the thermostat (if cold) the engine will just bypass it out through the exhaust. The best is to drain the block, manually fill it with anti freeze then start the engine and fill the manifolds as You fog it down through the carb/throtle body."
 
"Morten- have you ever tried p

"Morten- have you ever tried pumping the anti-freeze in through the block plug locations? It would seem to be a good way to winterize but I haven't tried it.

The first dealer I worked for had a 5 gallon plastic container and we ran it up to temperature and switched over to anti-freeze. It worked but I really didn't like doing it that way when the air temp was below 40. At the second dealership, I bought a 55 gallon plastic tub and we had 50 gallon barrels of -100°F antifreeze that we filled the tub with. We ran the boats a 50% solution of water and anti-freeze when we winterized. When we saw the thermostat drop and rise again, we fogged it and shut it off. Testing the anti-freeze with a refractometer let us know when it was time to add to the mixture."
 
"Jim:
I did it a bit differen

"Jim:
I did it a bit differently depending of engine I was winterizing. First of all I allways took the drives off! If any leaking bellows etc, better take care of it while 'wet' than waiting for spring. All engines wit pump in drives (cobra, merc) I ran for at least 1/2 hour on fresh water on muffs, then off drive and changed engine oil and filter. During this time the engine temps normally had stabilized enough to drain the blocks and manifolds. One reason to drain is to get as much 'gunk' as possible out of the cooling channels. The Volvos with engine pumps I then used the water hose on outside with an extension into a bucket of 3-4 gal 50/50 mix (V8), when 1 gal left, I emptied a can of fogging oil through the carb/throtle body and shut off! The Cobras and Mercs I filled the mix using an adapter and funnel through the water hose in the transom (from outside) after taking off the drive. This to be sure even power steering cooler got protected. When the anti freeze came out through the exhaust I started the engine and fogged it down. Then did a final afterfill to check.
Never had an incident of cracked or even scaled blocks/manifold/waterpumps in the somewhat 25 years I was in the business, and that in temps down to -30C!"
 
"How do I get the antifreeze i

"How do I get the antifreeze into the block??I've fogged the engine down already, so I don't want to start it again."
 
"IF you drain the block, then

"IF you drain the block, then remove the t-stat, the Pink Stuff goes where you want it. Install a new t-stat--they don't last forever in a raw watwr system--and you're good to go next year.

Jeff

PS: I'm now a member of the 'fogging with the engine off' club. Pull the coil wire from the distributor and crank her over for 15 seconds while spraying away. Do this with the engine running, however, and the fogging stuff simply burns away."
 
"I don't live in an area w

"I don't live in an area where I have to worry about hard freezes, but I still like to inject antifreeze into the cooling system of my AQ130C (raw water cooled) to minimize corrosion during the winter months when I don't use the boat. I've always just ran the engine for a while to warm it up (in an attempt ot be sure the t-stat is open), then sucked a mixture of A/F and water out of a 5 gallon bucket up from the water pump. I always wonder if the A/F really does get past the t-stat though because the temperature gauge does not register as high while "driveway" running the engine as it does when I'm out on the water. Short of removing the t-stat, is there a better way to insure that the A/F gets all the way into the block on an AQ130C? There are not any hoses to remove and use to inject it in via them, like it sounds like you can do on Mercs and the newer Volvos. Or is it really worth worrying about since I'm not trying to protect from freeze damage?"
 
"Lots of people do it that way

"Lots of people do it that way--add AF without pulling the t-stats or really warming it up. I suppose you could get away with it, but why take a chance? T-stats don't last forever in a raw water cooled engine (they tend to stick), so pulling it to flush then adding a new one is a good idea.

Jeff"
 
"Jeff, that makes sense but I&

"Jeff, that makes sense but I'm a little gun shy to tear something down (the t-stat assembly) that is working fine now and I've never torn down before. On the AQ130C, it looks like the T-stat housing has some rubber seals that, even though I will buy and install new ones, I am afraid they will not seal up right and I'll end up with water leaks.

Anyone here replace a t-stat on an AQ130C? If so, any quirks to doing so, especially with regards to the seals?"
 
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