Logo
FULL SITE MENU

winterizing

H

henryf

New member
I have a carver mariner with twin 350 crusaders how do i winterize the engines always had someone do it for me but have to do myself this year seems to me he only took out 6 plugs on each engine
 
It's easy to do really. I remove all the plugs and let them drain, then replace them. Remove thermostat, reinstal the lid, then remove the intake hose from the thru hull fitting, stick it in a 5 gallon bucket full of antifreeze and turn on the motor until it runs out the exhaust; about 6-7 gallons. Remember to drain the strainers if you have them. Some people just drain and are done. If you use that technique(which I don't recommend) make sure to take a stiff wire and stick it in the drain holes just in case there is rust and debris clogging it. Obviously I'm describing a raw water cooled system. If yours is fresh water cooled that's a little different.
 
Last edited:
In addition to the above, I also fogged my engines until they stalled out. This way, the internal parts had a coating of oil.
 
Do a search on the crusader board; you'll find several threads with great ideas.

Hopefully, you can adopt a few and make it to next spring painlessly.
 
My plan was to have the boat hauled out and blocked, place a hose in a garbage pale full of Anti freeze, attach the other end of a hose to a suction cup covering the fresh water pickup and start the motor. When coolant runs out the exhaust, the engine should be protected. This application for my motors that have fresh water or closed circuit cooling. At some point during this process I would also fog the engine, does this all sound like a reasonable plan to you guys?
 
sammi said:
It's easy to do really. I remove all the plugs and let them drain, then replace them. Remove thermostat, reinstal the lid, then remove the intake hose from the thru hull fitting, stick it in a 5 gallon bucket full of antifreeze and turn on the motor until it runs out the exhaust; about 6-7 gallons. Remember to drain the strainers if you have them. Some people just drain and are done. If you use that technique(which I don't recommend) make sure to take a stiff wire and stick it in the drain holes just in case there is rust and debris clogging it. Obviously I'm describing a raw water cooled system. If yours is fresh water cooled that's a little different.
Click to expand...

raw water what plugs do you remove
 
For raw water cooling, you just open the drain taps on the side of the engine block and you are done. If no taps, then plugs which need a wrench to remove. Fords have them on both forward and aft ends of the block, chevy just in the middle. Adding antifreeze to drained engine unnecessary.

Fresh water cooling just drain the raw water out of the inlet pipes, open the water pump and remove the impeller (so you remember to put new ones in in the spring) and take the hoses off the risers. If it's a half system (block only) then drain manifolds too.

Fogging not needed unless you are laying up for a very long time. 3-4 months, no worries. Engine already has a fine coating of oil throughout, at least it better!
 
Last edited:
Hey Guys

I have twin chevy 350's 5.7 liter inboards. My marina is charging $200.00 to winterize each engine. $400.00 is quite ridiculous so I was hoping the "pros" here could help out! I have dual cooling systems. Antifreeze thru the T-stat, block, heat exchanger & osco exhaust manifolds. Sea water comes from sea strainer to sherwood sea pump to heat exchanger, tranny cooler & then through the osco 3 inch risers and out through the back of the boats exhaust. Being that my block & exhaust manifolds already have antifreeze in them, I was thinking all I had to do was run the engine (boat out of water) for a few seconds and let the seawater pump blow out all the seawater out of the system. Then disconnect the hose from the sea strainer and let the sea pump, pump the antifreeze through all the paths that would normally hold sea water and when the antifreze comes out through the back of the boat I'll know that all sea water vulnerable parts are now replaced with antifreeze. Besides fogging the carb and plugs with fogging oil & adding sta-bil to fuel is that all I have to do? Or is letting the sea pump push antifreeze thru the sea water passages not a good idea. This is the $400.00 question. PLEASE HELP!!!! (of course I will be removing batteries after this)

Thanks alot
EP
 
Last edited:
I will let the experts of the FWC engines tackle your winterizing...I have Raw Water Cooled engines...but I did notice you said you were going to remove the batteries. I have 8 batteries in my boat, and the two house batteries weigh close to 200lbs each........ and they stay there all the time as do all the other batteries. I do not remove any batteries, ..however I do ensure they are fully charged prior to walking away for the winter ..AND..all the batteries are disconnected.

Works for me.
 
Yeah I remove the batts. I only have 4 and our New York winters last from November 1st to april 15th. A long time to let the batts just sit in freezing temps. I bring em in the house for the winter and periodically charge them. Anyone have thoughts on my engine winterizing idea?
 
Your approach is mostly there....

DO NOT run the engines without a liquid source going to the sea water pump - the impellers don't like that. Just pump the RV antifreeze in...you'll dilute the residual sea water enough once the pink flows from the exhaust.

Also, consider spraying the entire drive line with a corrosion preventer, specially any V-belt pulley that isn't painted.

Don't forget any AC unit's cooling system (if you have one). Also, any pressurized fresh water system needs attention, too.
 
The first bit of info that should be provided, and the first question that should be asked is;
What Type Of Cooling system?
Raw Water cooled engines, or... Closed System Cooled engines?
It is difficult to get the correct help, until this is known.

This is none of my business chiming in on your thread here, but if open to hearing this, read on.


Please DO NOT think that allowing the sea water pump to pull Anti-Freeze up and into the system, and then seeing this come from the exhaust, is going to offer you protection!
It does NOT! Not in the way that many think that it does if you were planning to leave this in!

Those who do this are not considering "dilution" from existing sea water in the cooling jackets! (I.E., a complete "exchange" of sea water for "anti-freeze"!)
Nor are these guys considering the amount of "heated" Anti-Freeze that is required to cause the thermostat to open..... nor are they understanding that MOST all sea water (Raw Water Cooled engine) is By-Passing the actual engine demands.
Only that coolant (sea water) required for "Cooling" is allowed to leave the engine on an "As-Needed" or "On-Demand" basis as the thermostat dictates!
Meanwhile, most of this coolant (anti-freeze, in this case) is by-passing, giving these guys a "False Positive" when they see anti-freeze come from the exhaust system!
I see this all to often!

All looks good this time of year! We don't see the actual damage until Spring Time..... when we find cracked engine blocks and/or manifolds.... or both. :mad:

Always see your Engine Specific OEM manual, and follow it to the letter.
Remove all low point drain plugs, and leave her dry!
Air will not freeze, expand, and cause damage!
You can't go wrong if you do this.

Best tip that I could offer anyone:
Learn the entire path of the sea water..... from the pick up point, to the exit point!
Find it in schematic form..... and varify it physically.
Follow this path, and you will find all low point drains.
(block, manifolds, oil cooler(s), circ pump suction hose, belt driven or crank pumps, suction hoses, and so on.)
Probe your engine block and exhaust manifold drains with a wire or equivalent.
This dislodges any rust scale that may prevent the water from draining completely.
Drain these.... and if you want the "Feel Good" feeling, pour your anti-freeze in (temp sender port and/or thermostat port), but always drain this again afterwards.

As for closed systems......., the H/E will also have a drain in it that should be removed. This is usually your pencil anode as well.
Again, follow the sea water path on these closed systems also.


Some view fogging carbureted engines as optional. However, the added protection is never a bad thing.
Fogging can be done in as little as 8 to 10 seconds @ 1,200/1,300 rpm.
While the instructions make no mention of this....., if we Kill our ignition while we continue to fog, we prevent combustion from burning up the fogging solution during the last few revolutions as the components come to rest.

Dual plane intake manifold engines must be fogged equally into each plane. If we do not do this...., we leave 4 cylinders unequally protected.

For those who can remove their impellers for the layup duration, fogging can be done during this very last "dry-start", and with ZERO harm being done to any exhaust component.
Again, it takes about 8 to 10 seconds to do this!
This ensures that we limit residual water in our exhaust (possibly destine for a open valve/cylinder).
I've been doing this for as many years as I can remember. Never once had an issue!
Your call on that! :)
 
Last edited:
Raw water cooled motors and other parts should always be left with antifreeze inside to prevent rusting. (Air plus moisture = rust.)

I fog my engine with the coil wire out: Crank 'em over for 15 seconds while spraying the fogging oil into the carb.

Jeff
 
fastjeff said:
  1. Raw water cooled motors and other parts should always be left with antifreeze inside to prevent rusting. (Air plus moisture = rust.)
  2. I fog my engine with the coil wire out: Crank 'em over for 15 seconds while spraying the fogging oil into the carb.
Jeff
Click to expand...

1. Jeff, you give some good advice here, but I have to disagree! To suggest that you can we can introduce antifreeze, and that it has become thoroughly mixed with the residual water within the block, is a risk, IMO! If you trust in this method, then go for it. You may be OK.
I will not do this! Not unless I were to completely and manually drain the engine, and then NOT rely on the sea water pump to bring the antifreeze in! There are other means for doing this.

The amount of rust that will accumulate within an empty dry engine block will be paled by comparison to that which occurs during the year of operation in the water. It's really a non-issue.
If we want to give ourselves that "Feel Good" feeling, do the antifreeze thing...., just drain it again afterwards.

2. In my book, fogging is a dynamic procedure accomplished with the engine running.... preferably on a cold or cooler engine.
When oil is sprayed or applied into the intake during cranking only, this becomes a static procedure.... and one that will not render the better results that the dynamic process will.
It's called "Fogging"!
No offense..... just pointing this out!
 
DD - Mine are Salisbury (rubber) so no first-hand exp here - that said, if the water is deep enough, i'd expect the fiberglas to get cracked.

On the Fogging - i do it with the engine running and just choke it off. Have any of you ever sampled that "smoke" that comes out of the exhaust? it's rather sticky and I'd say it is nowhere close to fully burnt. The flapper over the exhaust outlet captures some of it, too, if not too wet. Agree that having the engine running will provide a better and easier distribution method.

On adding the antifreeze, the initial caveat in Rick's infamous post #13 really applies to RWC blocks. I've never had an issue doing the direct introduction of the RV antifreeze via the sea water pump on any FWC engined ever owned. If you are FWC and still in a temperate zone, I'd be hard pressed you could get into any trouble going this route. Again, RWC beasts have many more 'pockets' to be concerned with and following the shop manual is a prudent approach.

On the store dry vs wet topic, the Bossman at the shop did an experiment one year with some junk "cores" we had left over from some repower jobs. Executive summary: For both the blocks and the exhaust system components, he had some samples hot tanked to get them to the same state of "cleanliness" (and rinsed and dried afterwards). half went under a tarp but exposed to the air and the other half got the "wet storage" treatment. four months later, the samples were inspected. The "dry stored" cast iron was significantly corroded compared to the parts that had the pink stuff. At least in the mid-atlantic, I'll store my cast iron "wet" whenever feasible.
 
diver_dave said:
I don't need to "winterize", but just wondering: Is it ok that fiberglass mufflers freeze the bottom few inches solid?
Click to expand...

I would think it is NOT a problem as long as there is room for expansion inside the muffler. If the muffler was "sealed" and there was no way for air to get in or OUT then freezing a couple of inches may have an adverse effect.

I had an occurrence where I got a lot of water in the bilge, near the transom, about 12 inches worth and it froze solid but because it had room to expand and not "touch" anything.... nothing happened.
 
RicK:

On winterizing the motors, you are absolutely correct--I drain the block and exhaust systems FIRST. (Should have mentioned that step. I over-simplified.)

On fogging, the action of the pistons and valves going up and down distributes the fogging oil everywhere I want it go. Spraying it in while the motor is running merely burns most of it off--that makes no sense. How do I know this? By tearing down engines that were oiled for assembly, spin over, but not started up. The oil is EVERYWHERE!


Jeff
 
It's still lots better to run the motor before changing oil. This stirs up the crud that lying on the floor of the pan, and it will stay in suspension long enough to be removed with the oil. The way you did it there's a layer of crud still lying there.

Running the motor AFTER haul out presents problems (you need raw water to the pumps), but it's still necessary to warm the oil and motors up a bit. For that treason I do the oil and filter change at the slip, just before haul out.

Jeff

PS: I have a neat (literally) way to suck the oil out: I use an old propane tank (which you can find for nothing since the new type came out). One motor provides the vacuum via a hose to the PCV port on the carb. As it is pulling the oil out of the other motor, it's heating itself up. When it's its turn. I then reverse the hook ups and pull the oil out of it. Best all, the dirty oil is contained in the tank and, sealing the two hoses off (with some old bolts) keeps the clean dirty oil in the tank until I get back home. Got a single engine boat? I used to, so I used my car for the vacuum source.
 
Last edited:
Re: winterizing
was wondering if anyone had any specific thoughts about winterization of 350 crusaders with rear heat exchangers.
it seems like its either drain complete or leave full of antifreeze.
any help would be great.
 
Back
Top