Winterize Question

[schmitty66]

hey folks...i'm about to put my 17' ChrisCraft 3.0L OMC Cobra to bed for the winter. It'll reach at least -20 so i want to ge this right. I've read alot of the threads and i'm still confused as to how to get the antifreeze mixture into the engine. Can i hook my mufflers up to the engine and have the other end in a 5gallon pail containing 50/50 antifreeze and run the boat unitl antifreeze comes out? Will the pumps be able to properly circulate the mixture throughout the engine to protect my boat? I plan to have a tub under the prop to catch the overflow of antifreeze.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

Listen, don't bother with that muff jazz. Do it wrong & you'll be buying a new engine come spring. There are only 2 drain plugs on a 3.0 that you need to open. One each on the manifold & engine block. Get under there & feel around. They are both on your right side facing the engine aft. With the boat level, open both drains & let the water run out. Shove a coat hanger up in there to remove any blockages. Tighten drains. Now, remove the small hose from t-stat housing to manifold & fill with af 'till the hose if full. Reattach hose. Manifold is done. Now, remove the large hose on left from t-stat to water pump. Remove it from the bottom to drain. Reattach hose. Now, pull top end of same hose & fill slowly with af till hose if full. Reattach hose. Now remove the other small hose from transom to t-stat & fill with af 'till it runs out the bottom of l/u. Before you do this remove the drain plug on PORT side of lower unit to drain the lower unit water pump. Tilt the drive up to let it drain completely. Don't forget this step. If you do the water in there may freeze. Pull the coil wire & turn the engine over a few times to distribute the af mixture. By the way, make sure you fog the engine before you do any of the above. Once you add the a.f., don't run the engine. I've heard of that being done, & the results ain't pretty. Good luck. Any questions, post back.

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question

Thanks sea wolf...i'm confident i can do this. Should engine be warm to open t-stat? Can i use RV antifreeze? Since my boat didn't come with a owners manual...what is the correct procedure to drain/fill lower unit? and how much oil? Do you suggest a good after market manual?
Is there any special procedure to do in the spring before is start it up other than the basics. My buddy was told by his mechanic that there's a soap mixture they use to prevent seals from breaking during spring start-up. He was shocked that i started it up in my driveway with muffs on. This 'soap' is part of the 'springerize' and is rolled into the $350.00 package. Your thoughts on this?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Winterize Question

this is an I/O question, here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=178695

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

Thanks sea wolf...i'm confident i can do this. Should engine be warm to open t-stat? Can i use RV antifreeze? Since my boat didn't come with a owners manual...what is the correct procedure to drain/fill lower unit? and how much oil? Do you suggest a good after market manual?
Is there any special procedure to do in the spring before is start it up other than the basics. My buddy was told by his mechanic that there's a soap mixture they use to prevent seals from breaking during spring start-up. He was shocked that i started it up in my driveway with muffs on. This 'soap' is part of the 'springerize' and is rolled into the $350.00 package. Your thoughts on this?

Check ebay for your manuel. You need it. The t-stat does not need to be open to pour in the af. But, it sounds like you want to go ahead & use the muffs method to winterize? Well, it's your call. I told you how I've been doing it for the past 15 years. I'm not going to get into doing it the other way. The procedure is a pain in the a## & not worth the trouble, especially on a 3.0. There is no "soap" that I know of to protect seals. If the drive has the proper ammount of gear oil, that's all you need.
If you winterize it properly, there are no special procedures to do for spring start up.

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question

sea wolf....not sure why you think i'm going ahead with the muffs? your instructions are detailed and apparent you have experience and this is why we ask for advice. so...this weekend i'm putting my boat to bed for the winter following your advice. can your run me through how to change the lower unit oil or can i wait until spring?

thanks...schmitty

 

[scipper77]

Re: Winterize Question

Do not wait until spring to do the lower unit. If there is any water in your lower unit oil from a poor seal IT WILL FREEZE and do damage. Please search this site for how to winterize your boat. I'm sure you will find a more detailed explination of how to do your lower unit than I could ever give.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

sea wolf....not sure why you think i'm going ahead with the muffs? your instructions are detailed and apparent you have experience and this is why we ask for advice. so...this weekend i'm putting my boat to bed for the winter following your advice. can your run me through how to change the lower unit oil or can i wait until spring?

thanks...schmitty

Guess I misunderstood. There are 2 plugs on the Cobra on the right side facing forward. Make sure that the drive is level. Romove the bottom plug to drain the lower unit, & remove the dipstick on the top of the drive to vent it, which will help to drain it quicker. When the drive is drained down, replace the bottom plug & the dipstick. Tighten the dipstick so you don't suck air when your pumping the oil in. Then remove the center plug to add the gear oil. You will need a pump with a hose & a fitting that will screw into the fill hole, while the other end has a tube with a screw cap for the quart bottle of gear oil. Get the pump, it will make your life a lot easier. Just pump the oil in, it will take approx. 60 oz. Do not overfill the drive. When the dipstick reads full, put it back in the hole, but don't thread it in. Remove the fitting. You will lose some oil, but don't sweat it. Quickly replace the plug & recheck the dipstick. You can top off the gear oil from the dipstick hole if it is low. I usually wait a few hours & recheck the level in case the oil has drained down due to an air pocket. That's it you're done. By the way, check the o-rings on all the plugs. If they are bad, replace 'em to avoid water entering the gearcase. Also, do not make the mistake of filling the drive from the bottom hole. If you do, the top end will run dry & you can kiss your l/u goodbye. Good luck.

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question

thanks sea wolf...love the detail...but me not being in front of my boat which is 5hrs away at our cottage...i can't picture the dipstick on the l/u....can you help me out to locate it?

you have the experience and it's great that you share it with others.....if you need an appendectomy.....email me

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

thanks sea wolf...love the detail...but me not being in front of my boat which is 5hrs away at our cottage...i can't picture the dipstick on the l/u....can you help me out to locate it?

you have the experience and it's great that you share it with others.....if you need an appendectomy.....email me

It's right on top of the l/u. Can't miss it. Don't forget the pump, you'll lose half the gear oil without it.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Winterize Question

I've been doing the "muff jazz" for years. I drain the engine and manifolds first, then pour in a 70/30 mix in a funnel on a short hose hooked to the muffs. I put a kiddie pool under the lower unit to catch the antifreeze that gets spit out the back. A quick test with an antifreeze tester confirms the mix is stout enough.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

I've been doing the "muff jazz" for years. I drain the engine and manifolds first, then pour in a 70/30 mix in a funnel on a short hose hooked to the muffs. I put a kiddie pool under the lower unit to catch the antifreeze that gets spit out the back. A quick test with an antifreeze tester confirms the mix is stout enough.

Yea, so what? You may have been doing it for years, but I'm not about to tell someone that is inexperienced in the ins & outs of proper maintenance & winterization to go ahead & give it a shot. I've been doing it my way for 15 years without a problem.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Winterize Question

Yea, so what? You may have been doing it for years, but I'm not about to tell someone that is inexperienced in the ins & outs of proper maintenance & winterization to go ahead & give it a shot. I've been doing it my way for 15 years without a problem.

I guess the so what is that it works. As long as you drain the block and manifolds before you suck the antifreeze in you got nothing to worry about as far a cracked block from freezing goes. Matter of fact, lots of people don't put any antifreeze in at all....Anyway, I learned about doing it with muffs when I was inexperienced in the ins and outs of proper maintenance & winterization.....I stopped by a dealer while they were winterizing boats and they showed me that was how they did it.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

I guess the so what is that it works. As long as you drain the block and manifolds before you suck the antifreeze in you got nothing to worry about as far a cracked block from freezing goes. Matter of fact, lots of people don't put any antifreeze in at all....Anyway, I learned about doing it with muffs when I was inexperienced in the ins and outs of proper maintenance & winterization.....I stopped by a dealer while they were winterizing boats and they showed me that was how they did it.

If it's such a great idea let's ask Don why he didn't include the procedure in his How To Winterize sticky in the i/o section. Better yet, I've started a thread in the i/o section. Let's see what others have to say. If I'm wrong, I'll eat my t-stat.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Winterize Question

OK, just my 2 cents but I like to do it the traditional way for 2 reasons.
1) I like to physically get into the engine to remove hoses and such. this is a good opportunity to find problems like swelling hoses or iol leaks os corroded wires.

2) There is a lot of rusty crud in the risers/manifolds that will block the drain passages. I like to git in there with a small screwdriver and knock that stuff out. I'm not sure if the crud i remove helps or if it is just the tip of the icegurg of whats in there but I like removing this garbage.

I'm sure that the earmuff flush method is just a case of work smarter/not harder. Or to use a different cliche let the tools do the work. However this technique is not for me.

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question

Just for the record....i did follow SeaWolfs instructions all woked out perfectly. Great tip about shoving a hanger in the drain plugs....top one only dripped until i cleared it. This approach made me have a really good look at the hoses and clamps. I'm posting a another l/u gear oil question in the i/o page.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Winterize Question

Just for the record....i did follow SeaWolfs instructions all woked out perfectly. Great tip about shoving a hanger in the drain plugs....top one only dripped until i cleared it. This approach made me have a really good look at the hoses and clamps. I'm posting a another l/u gear oil question in the i/o page.

What came out, rust or sand? I'm assuming u meant the manifold?

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question

yes the manifold plug.....it looked like a combo of silt/sand.

 

[schmitty66]

Re: Winterize Question-'lesson learned'

Re: Winterize Question-'lesson learned'

well guys...when i was at my cottage last fall...4 hrs from home...i had forgot my these instructions. i figured i read them enough and had all the right supplies that i could go ahead and do it by memory. all went great until i went to fill the lower unit. i couldn't remember if i filled from the botton plug until oil ran out the top or from the middle plug. I made a quick call to a local shop and she told me 'from the bottom until oil runs out of middle plug' and it should take 1litre.

most of you are making a face that looks like you've had a shot of really bad tequlia.....just like you said....10 minutes in the water and i lost power. i took it the same shop and argued with them...no progress....lower unit is okay but upper is questionable. i should have checked the dipstick again....i don't know what to expect for a cost.....she quoted $1000.00 for the following:
clean carb
rebuild starter
bearings and seals for upper unit

what your thoughts....when they water tested it...they ran it for about 5minutes then lost power. no noise, smells...just lost power. could bearings and selas be the issue or more likley the gears?



thanks

 

[DPForumDog]

Re: Winterize Question

..There are only 2 drain plugs on a 3.0 that you need to open. One each on the manifold & engine block. Get under there & feel around......

Looking at it from the front? There is no room to get beside the engine. They are hard to get to in our pontoon boat. Is there a trick to getting to them?
Thanks,
Granny DP
DPForumDog