More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

[Bass-by-you]

Okay, I have been researching the posts on winterizing and honestly, I tried to be thorough. But I just can't help it, I have a couple of questions left in my thick skull. This is all new to me so please accept my apologies for redundancy and skull density. This summer I acquired a boat with a 5.0 Gm and Alpha I O/D. I believe I have what is reffered to as an open water cooling system (no heat exchanger,etc.) To date the boat has been used in fresh water only. But this winter I am moving to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where of course we have two conditions, 1) VERY mild winters and 2) saltwater. So, my remaining questions are:

1. What are the actual requirements for winterizing a open cooling system ?
2. Do the mild temps in Gulf Shores still require a winterization process?
3. For an open water cooling system do I just need to open the freeze plug on the side of the block? Do I need to put in AF? Do Ireally need to pull the lower unit? I'm just not clear.

Thanks to you guys who take the time to provide us with this quality info. Us noobies would be nowhere (except the repair shop ) without ya!

 

[Bondo]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

1. What are the actual requirements for winterizing a open cooling system ?

Ayuh,... It's called Raw Water Cooling,.... Just Drain it, All of it....
#2,... That's Your call.... Just remember, it only takes 1 Freeze to destory the motor....
#3,... You need to remove the Drain Plugs,... All of them,... And make Sure they Drain...
The Outdrive is pulled for Annual Servicing,....
If you're a Run it & Gun it kinda guy that does No Maintance,.... Don't worry about it,...
It'll Break all by itself eventually....

 

[Bass-by-you]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

Thanks for the input Bond-o. Any thing special I should consider with a raw water cooling system in salt water? I have planned on leaving the boat in brackish water for upto a month at a time. Would flushing the system with fresh water once a month or so be adequate? Or should I consider pulling it out more often than that? Salt buildup and all that. Just wondering.

Thanks a bunch

 

[Bass-by-you]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

Oh.... and should I replace the thermostat annualy?

 

[Bondo]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

Ayuh,... You'll have to wait for a Saltwater Wrench to find your questions,...
I don't know....
I live on 1 of the 5 largest Sweetwater Seas in the world.... Lake Ontario....

I boat in the Salt off the coast of Maine maybe every 2 or 3 years....
Usually only a few hours at a time,...
Whenever I Do,.... When I get it back on the wagon, I haul it to Chemo Pond to spent a few days boating in sweetwater...
That pretty well Flushes everything out...

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

in my experience there are regular maintenance items, and 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' items.

and again, in my experience, thermostats don't wear out, they work, or they don't, and when they fail, they usually get stuck open, which means your engine wont heat up, which is much better than over-heating.

I wouldn't worry about replacing the thermostat unless you're happy spending $15 you really didn't need to spend.

If you want to flush the coolant system and/or fill with antifreeze when you winterize, its pretty easy to fill from the thermostat housing, so you'll get a chance to at least inspect the thermostat yearly.

 

[Bass-by-you]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

Thanks for the input Soggy feet. What do think about the frequency of flushing out the salt water on an engine with raw water cooling. 5.0 GM w/Alpha 1 raw water cooled sitting in brackish water for upto a month at a time. Would salt build up enough to mess up the cooling water flow rate?

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

You're not worried about salt building up, you're worried about salt rusting the cooling passages inside the engine.

Someone else will have to chime in in the frequency of flushing it. All my saltwater experiences were on family members boats who only put the boat in the water when they wanted to use it, and it got the muffs when it got back to the garage to flush it out that same day. I'm really not sure leaving it in saltwater is a good idea.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: More winterizing confusion-Extreme noobie

in my experience there are regular maintenance items, and 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' items.

and again, in my experience, thermostats don't wear out, they work, or they don't, and when they fail, they usually get stuck open, which means your engine wont heat up, which is much better than over-heating.

I wouldn't worry about replacing the thermostat unless you're happy spending $15 you really didn't need to spend.

If you want to flush the coolant system and/or fill with antifreeze when you winterize, its pretty easy to fill from the thermostat housing, so you'll get a chance to at least inspect the thermostat yearly.

A-men to that, but there's always someone who's going to say why take the chance just replace it.