Re: [OMC-Boats] RV Anti-Freeze for winterizing?

You're in luck, Nexi, because this is absolutely the easiest boa t in the world to winterize.  The key points are that there are things you HAVE to do and things you should do.  Let's start with what you have to do:

1)  Lower the stern drive all the way to ensure there is no water trapped inside

2)  Open (I remove them and tuck them into the pockets on each side of the carb) the petcocks on each side of the block.  It will take a bit of looking and feeling around to find them.  Both valves are a few inches below the manifold and slightly rear of center.  If you take a mirror and angle it right you should be able to look around and find them, otherwise just feel with your hands for something akin to a "flat" wingnut.  You shouldn't have to reach beyond your forearm so if your elbow goes past the manifold you're reaching too deep.   On my boat the port side screws right into the block while the starboard side is on a stand-off tube 2-3" from the block.  Once you find and open them you will know because a LOT of water will come out (I've never measured it, but I'd guess about 1-2 quarts per side)

3)  Run your bilge to drain all the water from the block that just poured into the bilge then run it again to ensure its dry

4)  Remove the battery and store in a place safe from freezing

That's the bare minimum to avoid freezing damage.  There are many other things you should do, here's a partial list from memory:

Before you drain the block, you should:

- Put a good fuel stabilizer in the gas and top off the tank

- Run the engine to circulate the stabilizer and warm up the engine (make sure you have water circulating!), turn off the fuel line once the engine is warm, and spray a fogging oil into the carb (my owner's manual actually says use SAE 30 oil) before the engine runs out of fuel and stalls (spray/dump oil as it stalls).  Spray/dump a little extra oil into the carb after the engine stalls.

- Drain the oil, change the filter and refill oil (its best to do this at the end of the season to remove contaminants/impurities and cover components in fresh oil to prevent rust)

- Pull plugs and spray fogging oil into each cylinder.  Before you put the plugs back in, cover the plug holes with a rag or paper towels and crank the engine for ~ 1/2 second to distribute the oil.  Put plugs back in and tighten.  (Note:  If your battery is near the engine as on my boat, be sure to cover the + terminal with a thick towel so you don't short it out with the wrench when pulling plugs).

- Drain the block, drive and bilge per above, remove battery

- Disconnect the water pump hose where it meets the water pump

- Check the upper and lower stern drive gearcases for water intrusion (oil will be a milky brown if water is present).  Even if there's no water in the cases, you may want to change it anyhow.

- Check condition of the FEAD (front end accessory drive) belt; replace if cracked or wo rn and/or adjust if needed

There's other things you could/should do (check all hoses, grease fittings, check trailer bearings/tires, put trailer on jack stands, replace lines, etc.) , but that's the bulk of it.  Others can chime in with anything I might've missed.

Andy

'67 Reveler 155

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nexi" <ohnoitsnexi@...>
To: bchowk@..., "Evinrude & Johnson Boats of the 1960's and 70's" <omc-boats@...>
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 8:05:27 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [OMC-Boats] RV Anti-Freeze for winterizing?

I honestly have no idea. My service manual hasn't arrived yet and I've only got 2 or 3 days before the temp hits 32 degrees at night. I don't even know where the petcock valves are. Some may say I shouldn't be working on my boat in the first place but everyone has to start somewhere. I've called a few local places and they won't touch my boat because it's too old. Doesn't leave me with much of a choice.

I figured the hose I connect to the stern drive when I normally run her in the driveway should suck the anti-freeze in from a bucket.

From: BC Howk <bchowk@...>
To: omc-boats@...
Sent: Tue, October 13, 2009 2:10:46 PM
Subject: Re: [OMC-Boats] RV Anti-Freeze for winterizing?

Where would you put the antifreeze in? I usually just open the petcock valves and drain the block, no water to freeze...

On Oct 13, 2009, Nexi <ohnoitsnexi@...> wrote:

A neighbor suggested using RV Antifreeze for winterizing the block because it's the least expensive. Any thoughts?

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Received on Tuesday, 13 October 2009