What I have

[stephmark]

I have a chevy 250 in-line 6 or 165hp mercruiser alpha 1 and the year of the boat is a 1976 and I believe I was told the motor is a 1979 I want to winterize it myself but was talking about it with my father and he asked if it was a closed system I want to know how can you tell if you have a closed system??

 

[ziggy]

Re: What I have

a closed system would have a heat exchanger mounted on it. likely the port side under the manifold. attachment on the left.
raw water system won't have a heat exchanger. attachment on the right.

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

Is a raw water system easier to winterize??

 

[ziggy]

Re: What I have

i don't know. i've never winterized a fresh water cooled engine. that said. it's not to hard to winterize a raw water cooled L6 engine. most impotant thing is to get the water out of the cooling system. all of the water. which isn't hard to do with a L6 engine. 3 drain plugs. the petcock on the back port side of the engine to remove water from the block. a drain plug just above the engine petcock located on the bottom of the manifold and a drain plug on the down side of the riser. probe the drain plug ones. especially the one in the manifold. i'll remove the plug from mine and nothing comes out till i probe it with a paper clip or the likes. then the rust scale and water flow out. fwiw. i don't like the petcock on the engine. ya can't probe it. also fwiw. i catch the water being drained out with a folgers coffee can (27.8oz can). i've found that i get one full can from the manifold and 3 almost full cans out of the block. also remove the big hose from the water pump and be sure it's drained out too.
all that said. go look at the oem service manual (click on link)on what needs to be done for winter layup. ya probalby want mercruiser service manual #2 for a '76. don't know about your alpha1 drive. in '76 it'd have come with a mc-1 drive (pre alpha). maybe yours has been replaced. alpha1 would be compatible with mc-1. also go check out the adults only sticky at the top of the i/o fourm. #6 has great info on winterizing your rig.

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

Thank You

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

after looking at the manual and checking my motor I don't see the heat exchanger but I just have a standard cooling system my next question would be should I use the rv/marine anti-freeze from walmart or use the mixed auto anti-freeze cause I read somewhere that the red or pink antifreeze does not have anti-corrosion in it??

 

[ziggy]

Re: What I have

see attachments for heat exchanger. port side of engine.

as for the anti freeze. i've given up on doing lay up that way. i store dry, w/o water. the way i get it is empty of water is ok. per mercruiser, anti freeze would be better mostly because of the corrosion resistance of the anti freeze. i've been reading these winter lay up questions for years and i'm convinced. air don't freeze. i suppose the corrosion resistance of anti freeze is good. but i can't say that i've ever read or heard of a sweet water boat having the engine rust out from the inside out. i suppose it could happen though. the word is get all the water out of the cooling system. then it don't matter, anti freeze or air. your choice and which ever you feel most comfortable with. either way, ya gotta drain the water from it.
if ya do use anti freeze. pink rv w/corrosion protection is the ticket. good to -50*F. i understand there is blue (?) rv anti freeze good to -100*F too. don't know where your at so don't know how cold ya get. we get down to -25*F or so around here on a bad winter. -100*F anti freeze might be worth while, i don't know.

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

Thanks again yeah, I don't have the heat exchanger I looked at the manual and it showed me three places to drain from I really appreciate the help though I think I'll save my money for an oil pump so I can get the oil out and back in just remember to put water back in block and such when winter is over.

 

[Bondo]

Re: What I have

and back in just remember to put water back in block and such when winter is over.

Ayuh,... When ya muff the drive, or back the boat into the water in the spring, the drive will refill the water in the motor in 'bout a minute....
It'll continue to replenish the water, replacin' it every few minutes....
Provided the rubber impeller in the raw water pump is up to snuff...

Don't forget to pull the Big hose off the circulating water pump, it hides 'bout a quart or so of water...

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

ok thank you

 

[thumpar]

Re: What I have

I have been draining mine every year since I got it. Never has froze with just air. The only thing to remember is to make sure the plugs are closed when you go to run it after winter. I forgot one year but always run it on muffs the first time and have the plug out so no harm.

 

[stephmark]

Re: What I have

That you so much for helping me and showing me how to save some money.