Winterizing Question

[LeeOrlando]

I'm a Florida guy so know nothing about winterizing but now in NW GA so I need to know! Is there anything wrong with dropping my Mercruiser out drive in a 5-gal bucket with water & antifreeze mix & running it a few minutes? I'd like to run it every few weeks & seems a pain to drain it every time. It's a classic 1969 120hp.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Hard to believe that draining it would be more difficult than dragging a tub and several gallons of antifreeze (which would become more dilute if used over and over). There's also the problem of knowing whether the thermostat opened and actually allowed antifreeze into the block.... and these considerations are just a few of many.

There are probably hundreds of threads that exhaustively address the merits of draining vs. anti-freeze... just do a search in this forum for "winterization" or "antifreeze" and you'll have about a week's worth of reading!

 

[Bondo]

I'm a Florida guy so know nothing about winterizing but now in NW GA so I need to know! Is there anything wrong with dropping my Mercruiser out drive in a 5-gal bucket with water & antifreeze mix & running it a few minutes? I'd like to run it every few weeks & seems a pain to drain it every time. It's a classic 1969 120hp.

Ayuh,.... That's almost a guarantied cracked block,....

Yer motor has 1 drain, portside down low on the block,...
The manifold drain is just above the block drain, upside-down,....
There's probably a riser drain, down low, aft corner, either inside, or outer side,...
'n pull the Big hose of the circulatin' water pump, along with lowerin' the drive,......

Why would ya wanta run it, while it's mothballed, anyways,..??

 

[Starcraft5834]

Lee,,, just drain it..........take 5 mins grab some pliers and follow Bondo's recommendation........... it will take you more time to screw around with trying to stick a tub of antifreeze under the drive than it will to turn (2) screws..

 

[JASinIL2006]

Okay sorry to hijack your thread but apparently I'm too stupid to post a new one.

Pentawarrior,

Just go to the main page of this forum, and right under the large, bolded text that lists the forum's title (Non-Repair I/O and Inboards) you should see a greyed box that lists some of the first threads in the forum (the 'sticky' threads that are always visible at the top of the forum list). Right above these sticky threads is a button that says "Create + New Topic".

Click on that button and you'll have your own thread.

Oh, and welcome to iBoats!

Jim

 

[thumpar]

If you did the bucket most of the AF would just go out the exhaust since the engine is cold. AF is a waste of money IMO but even if you do want to use AF the correct way to do it is to drain the engine and then fill through the thermostat housing. I had my last boat for 7 years. It had a 2.5l. I would just drain it and forget it. It gets down to the -F here for at least a few days a year. The boat was fine every spring. If you think a 2.5l is hard to drain try a 5.7l under a sun deck.

 

[HT32BSX115]

I'm a Florida guy so know nothing about winterizing but now in NW GA so I need to know! Is there anything wrong with dropping my Mercruiser out drive in a 5-gal bucket with water & antifreeze mix & running it a few minutes? I'd like to run it every few weeks & seems a pain to drain it every time. It's a classic 1969 120hp.

DON'T DO IT! You'll be replacing the engine next Spring if you do.

Just pull the plugs and drain it!

 

[UncleWillie]

Antifreeze or not, you still need to drain it before adding the Antifreeze.
You do not add water to the antifreeze unless you are buying the full strength -200F antifreeze.
You do NOT use Automotive (Ethylene Glycol) Antifreeze, You want to use RV/Marine (Propylene Glycol) Antifreeze.
You will need about 6 gallons (~$30) of it. If you plan on doing this every few weeks, it is going to get expensive.
Just drain it and be done.

 

[LeeOrlando]

ok all your comments convinced me!! So I'll drain & be done with it! Thanks for all the comments.... Lee