I know this has been discussed till everyone is sick of hearing it but it seems like there are so many opinions and no straight answers.
I am new to boating and this is my first boat which is a 1993 7.4 -454 Mercruiser Bravo 2 . I do have a manual and can't seem to find any drains( I think) on the block which is covered in rust from below the manifols to the bottom of the motor!
There are no petcocks on the manifolds just a fitting with a hose. The manual says there are two block drains at the base of the block and from what I can see there is a small , maybe 3/8" plug on each side but they are completely covered in rust and I think it would be a very bad idea to touch them. I have seen on here, other boards and the guy from west marine say that all I have to do is fill a bucket with 5 gal of the pink stuff, put it on the transom and use the muffs to winterize. I have also seen people say NEVER use mufffs and just drain the block. Anyone know how I should drain this block WITHOUT touching those 2 rusty plugs? I did take off the 2 hoses from the bottom of the manifolds and got dirty water with alot of rust chips which surprized me because I had already flush the motor with fresh water on the muffs to warm it up to change the oil. thoughts? Can I get away with putting antifreeze in hoses and the thermostat? or do the bucket thing? or both? I am very worryied about this motor frezzing on me during our cold winters. any help would be greatly appreciated and yes I have read just about every post on winterizing which is very confusing.
thanks all
S
PS oil is done, oil filter done, fuel filter done, and outdrive oil done.
I am new to boating and this is my first boat which is a 1993 7.4 -454 Mercruiser Bravo 2 . I do have a manual and can't seem to find any drains( I think) on the block which is covered in rust from below the manifols to the bottom of the motor!
There are no petcocks on the manifolds just a fitting with a hose. The manual says there are two block drains at the base of the block and from what I can see there is a small , maybe 3/8" plug on each side but they are completely covered in rust and I think it would be a very bad idea to touch them. I have seen on here, other boards and the guy from west marine say that all I have to do is fill a bucket with 5 gal of the pink stuff, put it on the transom and use the muffs to winterize. I have also seen people say NEVER use mufffs and just drain the block. Anyone know how I should drain this block WITHOUT touching those 2 rusty plugs? I did take off the 2 hoses from the bottom of the manifolds and got dirty water with alot of rust chips which surprized me because I had already flush the motor with fresh water on the muffs to warm it up to change the oil. thoughts? Can I get away with putting antifreeze in hoses and the thermostat? or do the bucket thing? or both? I am very worryied about this motor frezzing on me during our cold winters. any help would be greatly appreciated and yes I have read just about every post on winterizing which is very confusing.
thanks all
S
PS oil is done, oil filter done, fuel filter done, and outdrive oil done.
