RE-Winterize or not?

Purchased a 2007 Tahoe 204 with a 4.3 Mercruiser this past weekend. Engine had been winterized and boat stored for the winter. We took a test drive with the owners before purchase. I have drained the water from the engine but wondering if I need to go through an entire winterization process. We live in Central Arkansas and temps will drop as low as the mid 20's at night for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Any help and or advice greatly appreciated!

Re: RE-Winterize or not?

flynakd said:

Purchased a 2007 Tahoe 204 with a 4.3 Mercruiser this past weekend. Engine had been winterized and boat stored for the winter. We took a test drive with the owners before purchase. I have drained the water from the engine but wondering if I need to go through an entire winterization process. We live in Central Arkansas and temps will drop as low as the mid 20's at night for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Any help and or advice greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

Congrats on your new purchase and welcome to the site...... Great first post asking for very important guidance right off the bat.

If you are new to boating/maintaing a boat, first thing you should do is to buy or download the manuals for your engine and drive and start reading up on what needs to be done and exactly how to do it. (Stay away from the auto parts house boat maintenance manuals, as they are generally leave a lot to be desired). Stick with the Mercruiser manuals. 1,000 times better. A great resource is right here on iboats: http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...tdrives/adults-only-no-exceptions-288430.html


1st, which out drive unit is it? You WILL need to drain ALL the water, not just the engine. Drain the exhaust manifolds and risers completely, as they WILL freeze and crack if there is any water in them and it gets cold. Coolers need to be drained, if there are any (oil / PS coolers). Water left in raw water pump needs to be drained (inside the drive unit for an Alpha, Bravo is attached to the engine). Water circ pump on the engine, pop off the lower large hose to drain. If stored outside, be sure to drain the lower drive unit and cover the prop area to prevent water coming in from snow / rain. Drive unit should be stored in the down position to ensure no water build up and keep bellows from taking a set while expanded in up position. (I take mine off and store in the garage on a drive stand / dolly, since I do an engine alignment check every spring startup and it needs to come off for that anyway..)

While draining anything through a plug, use a wire or something to poke aound in the hole to be sure the hole is clear and not being plugged by sand/rust/debris from the inside, preventing total draining. Trust me, it happens.

I wouldn't worry about the rest, like oil changing and such, since your winter should be over shortly. A lot different up North.

Re: RE-Winterize or not?

I wouldn't worry about all the oil and filter changes if they were done before. And since it's drained, too late to refog the engine.
The only thing I would be concerned about is water in the gear lube, or in the bellows. You can just pull the drain plug and let just a little oil out to see if there is any water in it, that's easy enough. But the only way to find water in the bellows is to pull the drive.

Re: RE-Winterize or not?

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the information. I posted a reply weeks ago but for some reason it didn't post. I'll try it again. Didn't want you guys thinking I read your replies and then bailed. Got all the water drained and hopefully warm weather is just around the corner. Thanks again for the help, I'm sure I'll have more questions!