Excalibur 343 Winterization

[SuperSquirt]

Well, I started to winterize my 08 210 today and simultaneously watch the Titans/Packers game in my driveway. I had enough daylight to winterize the motor, but I didn't have time to mess with my ballast tank lines and my heater line. All of the plugs were easy to get to:

-Transmission plug was right by the hull drain plug (use a 1/2 inch ratchet drive)
-Exhaust manifold plugs on each side of motor
-Raw water pump elbow plug
-Engine block plugs hand-spun right off with knock sensor still attached

So I pulled all the plugs to drain the water and reattached. I then pumped some antifreeze through the motor to be on the safe side (i keep my boat in the garage).

Here are some pics I took:

[SuperSquirt]

So I do have a couple of questions about the remainder of this job......

*First pic is what I believe is my heater water line, and i'm not sure if just unhooking it will be okay or do I need to use antifreeze for it too?

*Second pic is of my ballast pumps and the two lines into each pump. What does the red tape represent on each pump? Which direction does the water flow? Should I just detach all 6 lines?

My third question is about the oil drain hose: It seems very hard to feed this line under the motor all the way to the hull drain plug, and I can't seem to get it completely straight to the drain plug. Does anyone have any tips on this problem? Thanks again

[Quinner]

The heater definitely needs to be drained, your pic is the manifold connection, there should be another one at the water pump (not impeller), disconnect both hoses and blow with your lungs to get all the water out.

Do you have a pump for draining the oil? The Suck-up pumps are the best out there. Pump all you can thru the dipstick tube and then put the hose into your drain hose as far as you can and get whatever did not come out thru the dipstick. One issue you will have is it is much easier to drain the oil when it is hot and its also better practice to run briefly with fresh oil prior to lay-up, may not be an option now if the motor is already drained and filled with A/F.

[j2nh]

Red Hoses

021.jpg is a photo of ONE of the TWO red hoses that run water to and return water from your heater.
You need to remove BOTH and drain the water from them. Also works to literally blow air into one hose and water will run out the other. Then add RV antifreeze but you don't have to fill it up. Make sure you lay the red hoses on the bottom of the boat to get the water out.
Can't help with the ballast pumps as I have a 196.
Oil drain hose can be a pain. I use an extractor and go through the dip stick hole on the top.

[IDSkier]

RE: Red Hoses

You can also remove the hose pictured in 343.021 and the drain plug from the manifold which I believe is picured in image 343.008 and blow it out. I find this easier than removing the lower hose in the water pump.

[AirTool]

RE: Red Hoses

Do the ballast hoses with red tape go to the hull fittings below the water line?

AirTool