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View Full Version : Misadventure winterizing my Donzi!



fasttrucker
12-01-2005, 06:32 PM
:stan: :stan: Well this year I decided to do my own winterization.I brought the boat up here this year. Now that I live near jackson marina,I figured it would save a little $$$ to learn how to do this myself.Bought 4-gals of minus60degree antifreeze and fogging oil.I went over with a freind on thanksgiving morning but they had the water turned off so I went home.:bawling: Next week I went over and brought two hoses to reach the non-frozen water outlet.:shocking: I hooked-up the water to my fresh water flush....Nothing..:propeller ..So I took off my sea stainer and saw that it was frozen.So we went back to my freinds house he had a heat-gun,stopped by my house got an extra ext-cord.Went back to jacksons heated up the sea stainer..water broke loose and started filling the bildge.Took drain plug out.Drained bildge.:umbrella: Heated the motor-up and all the hoses.Then started the motor, belts made a little noise but after stalling a few times it fired-up.Heated up the motor then hooked-up short hose to connection to bucket of anti-freeze.The antifreeze would not pump-up.Got back into car drove to west-marine bought a sub/battery pump $42.00 went to dollar store bought 4 d-batterys $1.00.Drove back to Jacksons marine.Re connected the water hose restarted motor to reheat engine.Hooked-up pump dropped into bucket started motor.Then sprayed fogging oil into carb.Shut-off motor....:yes:

mrfixxall
12-01-2005, 06:50 PM
I Hope You Drained The Block,risers And The Oil Cooler After You Warmed The Engine Up Before You Put The Antifreeze In.....

Rootsy
12-01-2005, 08:22 PM
you mean that's what those lil blue plastic plug thingies are for... :shocking: :eek!: :eek!: :eek!: :eek!: :eek!:

RedDog
12-01-2005, 08:39 PM
I hope you are OK - you're north of me and it has been cold here. First I fog the engine. I then pull those blue plastic thingies to drain block, oil/steering/fuel cooler, exhaust manifolds. Then I break loose the sea water pump and recirulation pump hoses to drain the rest. Then I pour in antifreeze mix through the hoses / thermostat housing. Spray down everything with a coating of spary oil (CRC656).

MOP
12-01-2005, 10:10 PM
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!:lightning

Mercrewser
12-01-2005, 10:32 PM
That is a very expensive, time consuming and improper way to winterize an engine. You cannot be sure antifreeze got into the block because t-stat may not be open enough. I do not understand why people go to the expense and effort to flush an engine with antifreeze when the proper way to winterize according to manuals is to drain block and maniflolds and re- fill with antifreeze. My neighbor destroyed his block last winter. Manifolds had antifreeze in them but block did not. This was from flushing. (Running engine with muffs hooked to bucket of antifreeze) Proper winterizing should take 10 minutes and 5 bucks worth of antifreeze. (Not counting fluid changes and fogging etc.)

MOP
12-01-2005, 10:59 PM
You must remove the Tstat as it will close a few seconds after the cold antifreeze water mix hits it leaving the block near empty.

Phil

Moody Blu'
12-02-2005, 12:12 AM
I warm the motor up on the hose so it idles, get a 2 liter bottle and connect it to the hose and fill up the cut 2 liter bottle. At this point I get someone to help(usually my dad) we fill the 2 liter bottle up with a premix .I use two antifreeze containers mixed 50/50. I start the motor and my dad watches the 2 liter bottle level and pours more in when it goes down. While he is doing that I am fogging the motor (for about 20-30 seconds) and he is watching the exhaust for green to come out the back. when the green comes out I pour 2 stroke race oil down the carb and the motor usually stalls out. Then i cap the hose off and im done.

On a side note, at 700-850 rpm's if i spray just fogging oil in the carb the motor just keeps running, rough, but keeps goin. If i dont use 2 stroke oil(maxima 927 castor oil). msd=good ignition

I dont know if you guys ever used 2 stroke castor type oil on winterizing a motor but I can tell you this. All the 2 stroke motors I Built/ran with the maxima castor 927 had a film of oil over all the internals, almost like it was absorbed. Great stuff

Mr X
12-02-2005, 06:26 AM
Me too.........I forgot my long sleeve tee shirt !

Rootsy
12-02-2005, 06:34 AM
i think i am gonna revise my winterizing method this year.. i'm just gonna take the motor out of the boat and set it in the heated shop... no worries eh :beer:

Rootsy
12-02-2005, 06:39 AM
honestly.. to winterize i run the motor and get it up to temp... for about 20 - 30 minutes.. this lets the stab-bil in the fuel tank make it's way to the carburetor...

then i shut her down.. turn water off, drain the block, manifold and tube on the water inlet hose... replace those blue plugs..

get 2 5 gallon buckets of mixed antifreeze @ 50/50 or until the stuff is good to -30 ambient...

put in my submersible, hooked to my earmuffs, attached to the water pickups on the sterndrive...

fire motor and turn on the sumbersible... gonna take a minute or two to get any water out of the exhaust...

i catch antifreeze from the pipes and toss it back in the bucket...

once she is up to temp again i fog her til she just about dies and smokes like a biotch...

turn key off. raise the drive... remove battery.. if the boat sits outside leave the drive down and bag it with a trash bag...

mattyboy
12-02-2005, 06:45 AM
only thing different I do from Jamie is i drain everything when done
plus I keep the boat warm with a fire made of palm trees coconut shells and all the junk mail i get from the sunshine state tourist board :p

Pismo
12-02-2005, 09:10 AM
If you have a fresh water only boat, then just pull the plugs, three or four hoses and skip the anti freeze. You don't need it, the engine will be empty, there is nothing to freeze. Merc/GM has worked out drain plugs very well and when removed they drain the engine completely. I have winterized hundreds of boats this way with never a problem. The problems always seem to occur when someone comes up with some clever way to refill the engine with antifreeze mixes. Now you have an engine full of fluids which can potentially freeze if not mixed in thoroughly. If you do feel the need to fill it with antifreeze, drain it completely before adding the antifreeze and the last thing you need to do is DRAIN IT AGAIN COMPLETELY, remove the plugs, 3-4 hoses and get it EMPTY. If salty or very corroded, then fill it and leave it, you need the antifreeze for corrosion purposes. Salt and corrosion CAN trap water as well. If fresh water only, it's easy, quick, safe, and will leave you with an empty engine. Best to do it with a warm engine as soon as you pull it out of the water.

Just Say N20
12-02-2005, 09:50 AM
I used to winterize all my stuff, until I almost sank my 18 2+3. If I had run it the first time of the season to check things out, this wouldn't have happened.

I had run the engine for about 15 minutes before introducing the anti-freeze, and then ran it for another 15 minutes, cycling the anti-freeze. I finally shut it off when the exhaust had been showing a constant green (way back before enviro-friendly anti-freeze).

I was lucky on 2 counts. When boating, it was getting heavier/lower in the back. I stopped to check why, and when I opened the hatch I got a shower. The water was deep enough, the belts were partially submerged and spraying water everywhere. It had popped a couple of freeze plugs from the block, and the water was just flowing out of the block. Lucky 1; didn't sink the boat. Lucky 2; didn't crack the block.

I just do my own outboards now.:wink:

MOP
12-02-2005, 10:13 AM
I used to winterize all my stuff, until I almost sank my 18 2+3. If I had run it the first time of the season to check things out, this wouldn't have happened.
I had run the engine for about 15 minutes before introducing the anti-freeze, and then ran it for another 15 minutes, cycling the anti-freeze. I finally shut it off when the exhaust had been showing a constant green (way back before enviro-friendly anti-freeze).
I was lucky on 2 counts. When boating, it was getting heavier/lower in the back. I stopped to check why, and when I opened the hatch I got a shower. The water was deep enough, the belts were partially submerged and spraying water everywhere. It had popped a couple of freeze plugs from the block, and the water was just flowing out of the block. Lucky 1; didn't sink the boat. Lucky 2; didn't crack the block.
I just do my own outboards now.:wink:

It did not run long enough to come to full temp and circulate the antifreeze, thankfully the block did not crack.

Phil

joseph m. hahnl
12-02-2005, 03:49 PM
I used to winterize all my stuff, until I almost sank my 18 2+3. If I had run it the first time of the season to check things out, this wouldn't have happened.
I had run the engine for about 15 minutes before introducing the anti-freeze, and then ran it for another 15 minutes, cycling the anti-freeze. I finally shut it off when the exhaust had been showing a constant green (way back before enviro-friendly anti-freeze).
I was lucky on 2 counts. When boating, it was getting heavier/lower in the back. I stopped to check why, and when I opened the hatch I got a shower. The water was deep enough, the belts were partially submerged and spraying water everywhere. It had popped a couple of freeze plugs from the block, and the water was just flowing out of the block. Lucky 1; didn't sink the boat. Lucky 2; didn't crack the block.
I just do my own outboards now.:wink:



Thanks SAE those freeze plugs work great:yippie:

mine is filled with anti freeze all year long . no need to drain! no worrys about salt or freezing the only thing i had to flushed with anti freeze was the
raw water line . i did this by pouring anti freeze thru the exchanger side of the cooler until it came out the out drive.


joe

joseph m. hahnl
12-02-2005, 04:17 PM
Phewwwww !!!!!
I picked up a case of Guiness Stout today..
Just in time, its supposed to get down to 58 tomorrow night :eek: :eek:

Whew!!!!!!!!! How can you bare it? nights like that you need the Jack D!!!



It was a blistering 30 up here today good thing I had sun block. That sun is brutal with out a shirt!!!!
I picked up a case of IPA , and never got around to winterizing the boat:beer:



joe

Rich
12-02-2005, 07:15 PM
The term " freeze out plug" is a misnomer. The holes in the block are from the manufacturing process and were never intended to protect the block from cracking by popping the plugs. If I remember, Ford Boss 302 engines had threaded pipe plugs. Old man winter would never pop those out.

When your draining the block and manifolds, put a piece of wire or small screwdriver in the drain holes and move it around to make sure some debris didn't block the hole preventing all the water from draining.

MOP
12-02-2005, 08:27 PM
The term " freeze out plug" is a misnomer. The holes in the block are from the manufacturing process and were never intended to protect the block from cracking by popping the plugs. If I remember, Ford Boss 302 engines had threaded pipe plugs. Old man winter would never pop those out.
When your draining the block and manifolds, put a piece of wire or small screwdriver in the drain holes and move it around to make sure some debris didn't block the hole preventing all the water from draining.

Glad you brought that up, I have seen a lot of cracked blocks. I do not remember one that blew out the so called freeze out plugs!

Phil

joseph m. hahnl
12-03-2005, 09:50 AM
Glad you brought that up, I have seen a lot of cracked blocks. I do not remember one that blew out the so called freeze out plugs!

Phil

Really I knew a guy had a plymouth satalite it froze up and blew out 3 of them. maybe luck huh. Gee I wonder why they call them freeze plugs then?
maybe a marketing scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

joe

BUIZILLA
12-03-2005, 09:57 AM
I am going to winterize everything I own this weekend... shouldn't take tooo long...

I need to replace the summer air in the tires, with winter air... :D

JH

mikev
12-03-2005, 11:27 AM
I have always just fogged the engine after running it for about 15 min with stabil in a full tank of gas. then just pull the 4 drain plugs and pull the hoses loose and leave it. its always worked fine for me. then just put the plugs back in and clamp the hoses back on in the spring fire it up and its fine. oh yeah and store it with the drive all the way down to drain the water out of it.

Ed Donnelly
12-03-2005, 12:11 PM
Buizilla; Obviously you are not keeping up with the modern technology.
Keep the summer air in your tires. By putting winter air in,you now have less humidity and the tires will dry up and crack........Ed

Pismo
12-03-2005, 02:36 PM
mikev........You got it! That is all you need to do, 5-10mins tops, no freeze risk.

Moody Blu'
12-03-2005, 02:48 PM
the reason why i fill the motor with a 50/50 premix is to inhibit rust. motors in fresh water rust as well. Draining all the water out allows the water passages to rust. Maybe not as much as in salt but still does.

boxy
12-04-2005, 03:34 PM
Buizilla; Obviously you are not keeping up with the modern technology.
Keep the summer air in your tires. By putting winter air in,you now have less humidity and the tires will dry up and crack........Ed

Ed, SHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!

Don't tell them that, I was planning on paying for a trip to Florida in March charging MadDog and Jim for some Artic Racing Air for their tires, I was going to bypass the import ban by driving it down in my truck tires .... :jestera:

Ed Donnelly
12-04-2005, 05:16 PM
Boxy; I am sure they will both still go for it. After all, our air is like our beer.
Import only(for them), stronger,and pure........Ed

Moody Blu'
12-04-2005, 07:31 PM
wow, did you guys happen to send tabs of acid to each other cuz the craziness is spreadin:biggrin:

Ed Donnelly
12-04-2005, 11:16 PM
Madpoodle; Metric? I don't use no stinkin Metric
When I fill up, I divide the litres by 4.55 to find out how many gallons.
Then I do the kilometers by each 100 K = 63 miles.........Ed

MOP
12-06-2005, 12:30 PM
Really I knew a guy had a plymouth satalite it froze up and blew out 3 of them. maybe luck huh. Gee I wonder why they call them freeze plugs then?
maybe a marketing scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
joe

The core plugs are used during the manufacturing to get the sand out of the cavities after the castings cool!

MOP
12-06-2005, 12:48 PM
I can tell by the calls and emails I got on this one that winter has officially set in! You back ground guys could get me in trouble so I kept this extremely short!!!!

Want some good winterizing tips use the search feature, I dug up a few in a matter of a minute or two! Look them over pick out what fits your boat.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2253&highlight=winterizing
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2194&highlight=winterizing
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=975&highlight=winterizing
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37009&highlight=winterizing
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37427&highlight=winterizing
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=33&highlight=winterizing

You guys that called and mailed and asked me to comment now have it, I fooled you and kept it mild but still will suffer some wrath!

POST submitted comments and ideas intentionally left out as not to offend, besides many were way to harsh(well not really)! But I do feel the same lets keep this section informative!

Thank You Very Much!!

M.O.P.

fasttrucker
12-11-2005, 09:38 AM
I used the purple -60 antifreez from west marine(4-gals) it has rust corrostion inhibiters.I think that might work better then leaving it dry to rust?but hey this was my first year doing this?

mattyboy
12-11-2005, 09:46 AM
I have done my boat 5 times so far running up to temp with antifreeze then draining surely if there were a build up of rust somewhere in the block even a light coating I would see it when I summerize a hint of orange???
well i haven't