Freeze plug replacement ?

[moneypit434]

Hi guys, new to the forums. Over the winter, i "winterized" my boat myself. Went to replace my starter a few weeks ago and found the freeze plugs knocked out of a couple of holes. After having these replaced, I've hooked up and ran it here at the house for about 10 mins each time. Idling and running up to about 1800 rpm. so far, no water in the oil. BUT, i have heard sometimes it doesn't show until you actually run the boat under a load ? Any truth to this ? Boat is a Horizon 180 with Volvo/Penta with 4.3 vortech.And yes, i know they aren't actually freeze plugs but glad they serve that purpose when needed.

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

Welcome to Iboats. Sorry to hear about your winterization snafu. Hopefully you dodged a bullet and all is fixed.

To answer your question though, yeah, a lot of those cracks won't show up until you run your engine under load. Check your oil again after running it under a load and hopefully, your oil will still be clear.

 

[moneypit434]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

Uggghhhh, hope I didn't get my hopes up too soon. I really don't want to pull this motor.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

It begs the question, how did you winterize it?

 

[moneypit434]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

I guess I didn't let the thermostat open and cycle thru the rest of the motor. Opened the manifold drains up but was unaware that there are also drains in the block. Pretty cold winter here in NC this yr. took the boat out for about 30 mins today. Temp got up to about 170. Still no water on the dip stick. Ran it about 3k rpm and sharp turns putting some stress on it I would think? Fingers still crossed!

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

If you ran it for 30 min then your gonna be ok.
Get a MANUAL!!!

 

[moneypit434]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

If you ran it for 30 min then your gonna be ok.
Get a MANUAL!!!

I searched a few places with nothing definite. Do you know where i can get one of theses manuals? i have one for my four wheeler and its very convenient. Thanks

 

[further]

Re: Freeze plug replacement ?

Boatinfo - The library, containing manuals, brochures and other technical documents from the last hundred years!

you can also find hard copies on eBay.

 

[Burdav]

Where did you find the freeze plugs? I need 2 for a 5.8FI. Thx

 

[kenny nunez]

Ford engines are cast from nodular iron. I have had several come to my shop with some of the core plugs out. No cracks other than the exhaust manifolds. The Chevys will explode first every time. That is a good thing if you are in the marine business! One year I replaced 15 engines $.