'Nother winterization Q

[jmo]

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What are you guys doing to get the green antifreeze out in the spring when it's time to ride again?

This is why most people use the pink marine/RV antifreeze that is non toxic and hence you don't have to worry about flushing it all out before you put your boat in.

If I had put automotive (green) antifreeze into the block, in my driveway I would manually drain the block to get as much as I could out and then use the same trick of running a tube from the intake of the water strainer and into a bucket and cycle water through it until all the residual is out. Just put a hose in the bucket and make sure the flow rate is enough so it can keep up with the demand.

HTH,

jmo

[chief351]

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[quote="jmo"][quote="C-Money"]What are you guys doing to get the green antifreeze out in the spring when itJMO - I will be flushing in spring with hose water. When the exhaust starts driping clear I know the antifreeze is pretty much gone. I have been told to keep this antifreeze and use it for winterizing. But not before testing it to see if it is retaining the correct properties to protect as it should for another season.

[chief351]

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Another question. I found what looks to be the shower in my boat while winterizing it. It was a flexibe white hose coiled up neatly near the gas tank and had a chrome head on it. I don't think it has ever been used. What is the procedure for using it? Just turn it on? Or are there other connections/valves that need to be opened?

Thanks
Chief

[slob02]

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Make sure the "pink" is for marine ENGINES..........not marine plumbing. I usually use the Blue.

[Quinner]

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Chief,

That sounds like a shower, there should be a switch most likely on or near the dash to turn the pump on/off and something on the chrome shower head to turn the water flow on/off at the head. Typically the motor need to be running for the shower to operate properly. To winterize Start by running the pump/head w/o the motor running, this should get most water out of the shower system. I Winterize with the engine running with anti-freeze through the intake, doing it this way just turn the pump and head on while running and you should eventually see the anti-freeze come out the shower head, then turn the head off, otherwise you could disconnect what should be a red and blue hose coming out of the block and water supply, these should be your hot & cold feed to the shower and pump, and fill both with anti-freeze.

[MiracleDriver]

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never used antifreeze. -35 to -40 some nights during winter where the boat is.

1 frost plug on my old boat with 351. only time in 15 years had a problem from this method of just removing all the drain plugs and turning it over a few times to get all the water out.

add stabil, fog the cylinders and carb and it fires right up in the spring.

[TRBenj]

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Make sure the "pink" is for marine ENGINES..........not marine plumbing. I usually use the Blue.

Ive read that the pink/red marine/RV antifreeze doesnt have the corrosion inhibitors, but I just cant see that it makes a big difference. Just having the water passages filled with SOMETHING is better than leaving the block empty where air can start the rusting process. I cant imagine that the pink/red stuff has any less corrosion resistance than the lakewater that sits in the block all spring/summer/fall.

never used antifreeze. 1 frost plug on my old boat with 351.

It hardly seems like a foolproof method to leave the block dry. Why take the chance of blowing another freeze plug?

[M3Fan]

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I cant imagine that the pink/red stuff has any less corrosion resistance than the lakewater that sits in the block all spring/summer/fall.

Great point.

[WakeSlayer]

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This thread has got me thinking about draining my block prior to adding the anifreeze. Maybe it will keep my gut from twisting up in knots when the mercury plummets to -30* F. Not sure, as I never have. But......

[Quinner]

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Slayer,

Years past I have added without draining and had no problem but now I always drain then add the anti-freeze to ensure it does not become too diluted.

[WakeSlayer]

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My hesitation is purely access related. working on my motor is such a drag. i have always used the bucket method, recirc it a couple times and test it. I leave it undiluted and figure that by the time it has run a couple minutes, at least half the straight water is gone, and the leftover water combined with the 6-8 gallons of antifreeze comes up to about 75AF-25W mix. So far so good, but like I said, this thread has got me thinking.

[slob02]

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Probably right about the PINK not being any worse than water itself. I don't know of anything in it that would accelerate a problem??

[coloradonautique]

I always drain before filling with antifreeze.

However, if it is a pain to do in your setup, I believe WestMarine (and others) sell a minus 100* version of the pink AF that is meant to be diluted. I actually think it is blue or green but is still a non-toxic AF. Using that stuff would ensure if it gets diluted by the water in the engine you will still have the freeze protection.

I always drain for peace of mind because I would worry how, where and to what degree the antifreeze mixed with the water in the various passages

Similar to other folks, I use the RWP suck up method after draining since I have a shower and heater that I want to force the AF into. After everything is filled, I remove the RWP impeller and strainer.

[coloradonautique]

Anyone have some neat tricks / procedures for changing the transmission oil? Do you guys use a drill pump or something to get it all out? Our old '91 did not have a drain plug but I have not looked on our current '01.

[79bombi]

On my 2000 Sport Nautique I bought a device at NAPA for about $12 which looks like a grease gun with a 12 inch plastic tube attached to it and pulls the fluid out. I was only able to get a 1/2 quart out but the fluid looked good. I could not get the tube far enough down into the transmission - there was a piece of metal that the dipstick goes thru that I could not get the tube thru.

79bombi