Draining the Engine WATER is ESSENTIAL for Winter storage.

[litescratch]

In case anyone else is new to this style boat...The cooling water sits in the block after you pull the boat out of the water. If you park it for the winter like that, the block or manifold is likely to crack from the freezing.

 

[GA_Boater]

Lesson learned? Hope your JB Weld fix works and the block has no internal cracks.

Winterization and poor results are probably the top subjects in the forum.

 

[Grub54891]

It's not pretty...

 

[Bondo]

In case anyone else is new to this style boat...The cooling water sits in the block after you pull the boat out of the water. If you park it for the winter like that, the block or manifold is likely to crack from the freezing.

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,...... Ya, Cracked block season runs from 'bout late April to early July,...

That's why there's drains in the blocks, 'n manifolds,....

Air don't Freeze,...

 

[tpenfield]

In case anyone else is new to this style boat...The cooling water sits in the block after you pull the boat out of the water. If you park it for the winter like that, the block or manifold is likely to crack from the freezing.

Most of us, I would have to say, are familiar with the winterization needs of I/O engines. Sorry that you had to learn the hard way. You should have joint up here back in the Fall . . . :grumpy:

 

[boatman37]

Sorry to hear about that. when i bought my boat i asked the PO about winterizing. he said he always did it himself. i looked at him like he was nuts. who in their right mind would do this themselves? well last year i tackled this on my own. i was surprised how easy it was. i used to build my own race engines but was pretty intimidated by this. i can have my engine and raw water all drained in about an hour. the hardest part is fitting my fat butt in there to get to the plugs...lol

 

[Baylinerchuck]

TRUTH!!! My mercruiser manual instructs you how to drain. It doesn't mention anti-freeze winterization anywhere. Like Bondo stated, air don't freeze.

 

[boatman37]

yep. i just drain everything. i do store it underground where it never goes below 55* so i could get away without winterizing but i do it anyway just to be safe

 

[Lou C]

Just make sure to poke the holes in the block to make sure they drain, and in the manifolds or risers as well. Also, you have to remove the lower end of the big hose that goes from the thermo housing to the front circulating water pump, because that area holds water that will not drain from the block drains. Finally, some late model 4.3s have a plug in the front edge of the intake manifold as you face it, on the left side that should also be removed.
Really these cast iron inboards should have all been closed cooled from the factory. What a lousy system, raw water cooling on an engine that can't self drain. Outboards are made to be self draining. Inboard engines were designed to be in Chevrolets and they should have a closed cooling system (like a Chevrolet)!!

 

[JoLin]

As of this past winter, I've also started (after flushing with fresh water, then draining it all out) filling the blocks and manifolds with corrosion inhibiting anti-freeze. Somebody on here pointed out that while it's true that air doesn't freeze, it's also true that rust never sleeps.

My .02