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Just purchased a 1982 Ski Nautique. I was wondering what steps to take to winterize the boat. I am aware of changing the oil, filling the tank all the way up but am wondering waht has to be done to the cooling system? And what about using marine anti feeze? Why not just drain the system of all water? How does the antifreeze stay in the system anyway wouldn't it leak out? As you can tell I have never owned a boat before so I am just trying to figure out what a impeller, raw water pump, ans strainer are. Please held, John
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John-
I just drain everything. There are two schools of thought on this, one school says use antifreeze, the other says drain it and leave it. Both have valid reasons. I just leave it drained because I feel secure knowing no liquid is in the engine, and it is easier. Some think it will corrode more this way, but with the winters here chemical reactions go SLOW. In this case there are 5 plugs to pull- one on each exhaust manifold (at the back of the manifold, comes undone with a half inch square socket), one on the bottom of the elbow in the front of the engine that leads up to the T stat housing, and one on each side of the engine block.
The impeller is inside the raw water pump which should have a hose that goes to the trans cooler and eventually the raw water intake on the bottom of the boat. If you have a 351 it is a sherwood pump- if you are looking at the engine from front to back it is in the lower-left front of the engine driven by a belt that goes to the crank and the water pump. 2 bolts hold the pump to a bracket. Undo the lower hose that goes to the intake from the pump and let the water drain out. You may have to wedge a screwdriver in there to loosen the hose. Then unscrew both bolts holding the pump in place, and you can leave the top hose connected to the pump. 3 smaller screws hold the pump housing together. Unscrew all three and it will break apart. You will see the rubber impeller inside. Take it out, and stuff a new one in with petroleum jelly if you have trouble. Keep in mind there is a small "key" that fits into a groove on the driveshaft of the pump. Try not to lose it when you replace the impeller- it is pretty vital to the pump's operation! There is also a tiny gasket that seals the pump. A new one will come with the new impeller. Replace that too. Screw it back together, but not too tight. If you strip those brass threads out, a new pump is 180.00.
Antifreeze will not drain out of the engine. You have two seperate zones of water in your inboard. One zone is the engine block. Once it is filled with antifreeze, it is not leaking anywhere. The only route out of the engine block is through the thermostat bypass area where water goes into zone two- your exhaust manifolds. Each one is jacketed and that jacket fills with water to cool the manifolds. It eventually exits out of the engine at the very end of those elbows at the top of each manifold. When your boat is filled with antifreeze (or water, after a ski set for example) the whole engine is filled with coolant as are the exhaust manifolds. It shouldn't leak anywhere!
The strainer, if your boat has one, is towards the rear of the engine and is somewhere between your raw water intake on the bottom of the boat and your trans cooler. If you have it, the clear plastic portion just unscrews. It should be emptied periodically anyway as it will collect crap from the lakewater.
Another important step is fogging the engine. This is really easy on our inboard boats. I buy the stuff in an aerosol can because it is simple to administer and makes it tough to hydrolock the engine. Take the flame arrestor off the top of the carb (one screw at the top of the engine) and set it next to the carb on the valve cover (or just take it all the way off, whatever). Start the engine and let it idle for 20 minutes to let your treated gas (another step I forgot- use Stabil in your gas) get to the carb. Then, spray your fogging oil mercilessly into the two primary (forwardmost) intake holes on the carb. The engine should take it in and start to cough and miss. Black exhaust will come out in large quantities. If your engine doesn't die, turn it off at this point. You are DONE.
The antifreeze people can put their techniques in here as well if you want to try that method. -
M3Fan,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I am a car guy so I understand what needs to be done. Just was not sure how the anit freeze would help if the system is drained. The boat is in Michigan so It is going to get cold. You are right the corrosion process is very slow at those temps. Thanks again, JohnComment
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