Winterization question

[RTS DC]

Anyone have a video of them pulling all the plugs on their 16 G23. I want to learn how to do this as we plan to go out in winter as well.


2016 G23

[charlesml3]

OK, I just did this on a 2017 230, but the process is pretty much exactly the same.

- Open all the rear compartments up and pull out the divider panels on either side of the engine.

- Over on the side you'll see a little "storage panel" for the blue plugs. See photo. Take a close look at this.

- The panel will have some number of open holes. This varies by engine and options. In my boat, it was 7.

- That meant I had a total of 7 plugs to find and remove.

- Examine the PCM Engine manual for your engine. It will give you an idea of where to look. It will not be a perfect match.

- Remove the plugs, but pay very close attention to where they go. Take photos if you need to because you'll need to get them back!

That's about it. It's possible a plug might be behind a hose or something. You'll need to look around carefully.

One of my buddies surfs year-round so he actually ended up replacing the plugs with permanent valves (technically they're petcocks) to make this process even quicker.


-Charles

[peter43]

The location of the plugs is in your pcm manual. You can use a flash light to look and see all of them except the one on the bottom of the vdrive. You have to feel for it. Each one has a place in the holder on the motor with one spare that should already be in there are marked as backup. It is the easiest system I have used. I pull all mine in 15 mins now. The first time I did it took longer.


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[Beg4wake]

Yup, they're all pretty easy to get to except the vdrive one. But it's not even that hard once you take the water strainer off...which, by the way, you should also be taking off and emptying anyways. It would actually prob freeze and crack before anything in the block does!


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[charlesml3]

Actually it's usually the heaters that freeze and split. They're much more exposed and the tubes inside the core are very thin.

[RTS DC]

Got it guys! Thank you. So no flushing with antifreeze?
I do have a heater. Does that drain with the aforementioned plugs or does the heater have its own plugs?
Also, any concern with the ballast pumps?


2016 G23

[charlesml3]

Got it guys! Thank you. So no flushing with antifreeze?
I do have a heater. Does that drain with the aforementioned plugs or does the heater have its own plugs?
Also, any concern with the ballast pumps?


2016 G23

The heater does NOT have it's own plugs. There's no easy way to drain it, either. The best way is to disconnect the lines from the engine and use compressed air to blow the water out. Or you could use a shop-vac to draw the water out. Either way, you need to get the water out of these lines if you have severe weather coming.

The ballast pumps should be fine as-is. With the boat out of the water, run them on "empty" for a few seconds to push as much water out as you can. If you're REALLY paranoid, you can remove the impellers.

The antifreeze thing is fine too. It's another layer of protection. I know when WLM winterizes here, they drain AND antifreeze. These engines are crazy expensive and it's just too risky to not do it.

That said, for this latest winter blast I pulled the blue plugs, emptied the raw water strainer and hung a 60-watt "work light" inside the engine compartment. If I had a heater I would have blown the water out of the lines.

I see you're in Georgia so that latest blast might be the last one for this winter. Hopefully.

-Charles

[Quinner]

The heater does NOT have it's own plugs. There's no easy way to drain it, either. The best way is to disconnect the lines from the engine and use compressed air to blow the water out. Or you could use a shop-vac to draw the water out. Either way, you need to get the water out of these lines if you have severe weather coming.

If using compressed air use low pressure, those cores are thin and can blow out pretty easily. If the heater is plummed similar to mine, one hose should connect to the water pump (not the impeller pump), find your closest blue plug below it and remove, then remove the other heater line line from the manifold and use your lungs on that end to blow the water thru the core and out the other end, you should see water coming out the plug you removed. That's how I do mine, pretty easy.

[DocPhil]

No reason to use antifreeze IMO. The motors come from the factory "winterized" with the plugs pulled and that is it. Nautique doesn't fill the block with antifreeze so I don't feel the need to either.

The heater hose is a red hose that is connected to the rear of the block on the port side. Pull both sides off and blow out with compressed air or your mouth. I was able to get all the water out with just blowing it out but I am full of hot air.

[Beg4wake]

Doc Phil hit it on the head. Antifreeze is an added precaution but def not necessary. And just like he said, undo the two red hoses on the port side at the block and blow (I used compressed air regulated to 30psi), that'll clear the heater. Just be sure that you also empty the water strainer along with all the blue plugs (which you'll likely take off anyways to get to the v-drive plug). Also, as a side note on those ballast pumps, it's always good practice that after you run them on empty to drain the tanks completely, always give them just a little bump in the "fill" direction. This sets the blades back to the direction that you will most likely be turning them on the next time when you first get in it. This can save you from tearing off impeller blades as much. I personally do fill mine back with antifreeze just for that added peace of mind and because it only takes me an extra 10 mins, including putting it through the ballast pumps.


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[Team230]

Great Thread! Thank you to all that contributed. I have a 18 G23 with the H6 engine and a heater. I found all the plugs and pulled them. Does anyone have a marked up picture of the hoses on the heater? I just want to be certain to pull the correct ones.

Based on the discussions I see here, I'm not going to you Antifreeze. I'm in Southern Ohio and my boat will be in an unheated barn.

Thanks in advance!

[Infinity]

The manual should show the heater lines. (I dont have an H6 or I would tell you). I also think this site has a downloadable copy of most of the Nautique engines if you don't have a manual for some reason.
If you are not going to use the RV anti-freeze, I would suggest that once you remove the plugs and drai, you use a shopvac (pressed against plug hole), for 2 reason....to get remaining water out and also to make sure there is no debris blockage keeping water from draining and creating a pocket of water that could freeze tho technically if it can expand when it freezes, it wont crack anything. Some people also pull the boat around for a couple miles with the plus out to "shake loose" any pockets of water. Personally I think its a good idea considering what cost would be to replace an engine like this.
I do suck up the RV anti-freeze...sometimes I leave it in and sometimes I then drain it. Usually I leave it in since I like the 2nd layer of protection along with the element of corrosion proection that it adds...tho I know many don't do that step. I also don't change impeller till Spring since I occasionally take the boat out during winter months if we have nice weather and I change impeller and fuel filters in Spring so the are "fresh" for the season.

[Team230]

Great Feedback! Thank you.