Mercruiser Bravo MPI - Winterization Question

[RedDog]

Mercruiser Bravo MPI

What is the best drill for winterization?

A. My manuals say to drain the manifolds, recirculation pump hose, block, and the 2 hoses that attach to the sea water pump. Reconnect all and then fill with antifreeze through the thermostat housing.
B. I have seen other suggestions that say get it warm, then suck antifreeze in through muffs on the drive. Then drain the manifolds, recirculation pump hose, block – no mention of the hoses to the seawater pump since I guess that portion has ample protection from what has sucked in. Reconnect all and then fill with antifreeze through the thermostat housing.
C. And just where is the seawater pump located? I am completely unfamiliar with these black engines so far.
D. And then how do you “fog” the cylinders since there is no carb to spray into?

And lets try to avoid those clever "move to Florida" suggestions :D

[MOP]

Most yards fill the blocks through the thermostat, the object is to make sure the block is full and kept wet during the storage period. The problem with running the anti freeze through is the cool mix of 50/50 antifreeze and water will close the thermostat leaving the block only partially full. Granted it will not freeze as long as you have drained it properly but it is not fully protected from corrosion. I do my boats in a slightly different way saving time and assuring a full block, I drain everything, pull outdrive, blow out drive water feed hose and pour a little anti freeze through for protection of the oil cooler and power steering cooler. I then pull the upper circulator pump hose and manifold water feed hoses. I fill the block through the large circ pump hose till anti freeze comes out of the thermostat housing assuring that the block is full, then pour anti freeze through the manifold hoses till antifreeze comes out of the exhaust. The object is not just freeze protection but also corrosion protection. I have been factory trained by OMC, Mercruiser and Volvo the all use the same basic procedure. You could just drain things as some do but you will have more internal corrosion and plugged elbows than those that do it the way the pros do.

[smoothie]

I warm mine up to operating temp then run anti-freeze at the same temp as the water(55 deg)Our winters are colder than yours and I dont have any problems with this way,Like you there is more to mine than just draining the block and manifolds and adding anti,I would have to take off my manifolds to get to all the drains eek! I feel safer running anti thru this way because Im getting fluid in all right places,If you dont think the thermostat is opening all the way then take it out and run it,it still would be faster than finding all the drain plugs,I leave mine in and dont see the anti coming out of the exhaust till the 5 gallon bucket is almost gone.

[RedDog]

MOP - thanks for the call - I think I have all figured out except the fogging. Found all of the drain plugs - 2 plastic ones to drain the block and 1 plastic plug for each exhaust manifold (yes plastic plugs with an o-ring???). Did not feel one on the sea water pump so I guess the plan is to remove the hoses to drain that path.

Now I keep missing the screw(s) or whatever it is in order to remove the spark arrestor. MOP recommends spraying the fog through this plenum rather than just hitting through each spark plug hole. It was near dark and flash light dead but it doesn't seem it should be so difficult to locate - manual is on order but won't come in until it is too late - maybe I need to see if another local vendor has it in stock. Any hints on how to remove on an MPI engine?

[Kong]

Regarding the fogging of a fuel injected engine. Our shop disconnects the fuel inlet line and we connect an outboard tank with a mix of fogging oil and gas and run until she smokes a bit. Crude but effective. Also I see a lot of talk about the 'Pink ' stuff RV antifreeze. We don't use it as we have had blocks blow freeze plugs with this in it. It's only minus 50 degree. We have had the best luck with STA-SAFE minus 100 degree. Don't dilute. It's also non-toxic for our furry friends safety.

Hope that helps all you late ones.

Kong.

[smokediver]

I still say the best way to winterize is taking your boat to 'Poodles house for the winter.. :D

[MOP]

Lets all go to Poodles first check for operational blender, O yeah and extra shades! :cool:

Kong thanks for the STA SAFE 100 I am going to check that one out, the yard is using that new no tox, not me still green after all its my toys. The fogging oil in the outboard tank does work we have done tha with a 1/2 1/2 mix you can tell when thse plain gas is gone and it does smoke a lot longer in the spring.

God bless the late ones, I have a few local Buds that were sweating it, I told them salt don't freeze hard till 15 degrees but to get their butts in gear!

[Pismo]

According to the 502 MPI owners manual regarding fogging and winterizing.

"Let the engine sit for at least 2 minutes, place 1 oz of 2 cycle oil in the fuel injection reservoir, turn off the fuel supply, restart the engine and let the engine run until it runs out of gas" The fuel reservoir is on top of the engine toward the back and has a plug that is easily removed. It works great and is very easy.

As far as draining, with the engine level, just remove the plugs, two block, two manifold, remove the recirc hose from the lower end, remove the two hoses on the raw water pump, it is belt driven and easy to find. You also need to drain any oil coolers by removing the hoses from them. Oil cooler layout varies greatly from engine to engine, some are vertical and don't need draining, most do however. Crank it over a couple seconds to get the last bit of water out of the fins of the raw water pump. Make sure the drive is totally down and it will self drain.
It is easier to do when warm, easier to get the hoses off and the tiny skim of remaining water will steam away more quickly when warm.

After doing the above, refilling the engine with 50/50 anti-freeze is useful for corrosion protection if your are running a salt water boat, if clean fresh water only, forget the anti-freeze you simply don't need it, the engine will be empty, nothing to freeze and corrosion is not an issue. Even the Mercruiser owners manual says it is not necessary and can be done only for "added protection"

Remember antifreeze mixtures still freeze solid if not thoroughly mixed, don't risk cracking your block by not draining it completely first, then consider adding anti-freeze.

Cheers

[mattyboy]

No Cliff and Di had nothing to do with it,
I whipped up a "I HATE THE !@#$% MARLINS SEND THE
DAMN YANKEE COLD WEATHER CURSE YOUR WAY!!!!
on second thought Di is a big Yankee fan she might have something to do with it wink :D

Matty
properly coated with antifreeze and drained, fogged, re-oiled, cleaned ,covered and tucked in.

[Air 22]

Poodle's back yard works well for winterization....Sun, Palm tree's, 85deg's, lawn chairs and a blender....hmmmmm :D


Oh yeah... for those cold nites an electric heating blanket works very well... wink

[RedDog]

Air 22 - pay attention. You missed the last paragraph of my original question. :p

[Air 22]

Red Dog...didn't miss anything...see the last part about the heating blanket? wink It works...sorry about the palm tree's etc...Poodle just has it so damnn nice this time of year... :D

Pismo has it right..my Dad did what he posted for the last 15 yrs up in Lake George, NY Where the winters are mighty cold -20F nites and colder are possible in mid Jan w/ a 454 330hp....and it ran every year no problems. Your owners manual is the best idea then this site as u can already see.. wink

Good Luck...

[Kong]

M.O.P. - We are still dragging boats off the lake. Could you pleeeeeze winterize my boat??? The lifts and the railways are now in real shallow water and we have a hell of a time getting them off! Especially the Nautiques w/the fins!! A week and a half ago we were on Seneca Lake East Side (NY) w/60MPH winds with the boats in the hoist warming the engines up! Nice 3-4 footers slamming the transoms. God I love this job! I used to be a Glass Engineer!

BTW - We had a real tough time getting the blue stuff this year. Back ordered 2 weeks.

The Kong.

[MOP]

Been super lucky here on the island, weather has been good to us. The yard I'm at only has a few more boats left to do. Glad I only do a handful anymore, had enough of that mess over the years. Bless you younger guys! wink

[RedDog]

OK, lets make this perfectly clear: We don't want you to move to Florida.. Just send the boat :) :) [/QB]Yep - just the kind of response I expected from those childish Florida people - watch out or you may wind up with both the boat and me for the winter. Does Ms MP like extended company? Maybe she'll want to ride in my Classic instead of one of those old Criterions :D

[terry]

Hmmmm.... "Potless in Miamuh" now thats an oxymoron. :) Me thinks you aint talking about that kind of pot.... :D

[mattyboy]

Potless,
I am quite impressed with the new avatar,I believe that is an early print from the famous Russian artist Uri Nata, that was his impressionistic stage, nice to see you are expanding your horizons, and not just collecting
natucal items wink wink wink :D


Matty
enlightened or enriched what the difference???

[BUIZILLA]

Ted, things have been a little *foggy* around here lately... I think someone lost their bong. :D wink

J

[Hanker]

It's only foggy because we need a ride down to the Keys. Get those Criters in the water, and let's go.

We can let our beautiful wives sit anywhere they want....hhuuummm...... Well as I was saying,......... What the hell was I saying......

Gotta go, I got a hankering :D