Dewinterize Check-List

I clean up the battery terminals, hook it up, start the engine and make sure I have oil pressure and cooling water. This of course is if all the drain plugs and hoses were reconnected after winterizing!

Oil (both engine and transmission- probably v-drive too) should be changed in the fall, regardless of engine hours. You dont want it sitting in your engine all winter with acidic byproducts. Probably too late now, but worth thinking about for next year! For this year, yes, Id change it before the season.

jackkloepfer wrote: Thanks! Also, and I'm embarassed to admit it, I did NOT pull the plugs before winterization. I was under the impression that I simply had to run an antifreeze/water mix into the engine. Should I be concerned?

Yes, you should be concerned but also what part of the country are you in? How cold did it get and for how long? Was it stored inside?

Hopefully you'll be good. Next year plan on a drain and fill with antifreeze. There's some great threads on the process. It's pretty simple. We do not recommend the "pump through" method. Too big of a chance you won't get all the areas of the block protected properly.

You said you used a water/anti freeze mix. What was it and what type?

Yea I be worried, if you did not pull them plugs.. You could have cracked the block, or manifolds.. Hell, if I dont winter my boat in Houston, I get worried.. We got global warming going on down here!!

Not to be a "glass half empty" guy, but you might want to start praying.
There are many threads about the winterizing process. I won't give my opinion, but even with a pure antifreeze going into the engine, there is still the chance of having an issue. Hopefully you ran about 40 gallons of the 50/50 mix through, and the antifreeze that you mixed with water was a gel consistency.
Then again, with a little luck, and clean living, you might be OK.

jackkloepfer wrote: Brainard, It did hit some pretty cold temps here over the winter. I'm out of Indianapolis, and the boat was kept with the cover on, and wrapped in a tarp outside. I did 50/50 water and antifreeze. I'm not sure what type it was, but I asked around for what to look for, and autozone pointed me to some. It was red in color, if that helps.

The first mistake you made was going into Autozone and asking them what to use!! They don't even know anything about cars/trucks let alone boat winterizing!! Did the instructions on the container tell you to mix it with 50% water? Was it red or a pink color? The red color does tell me it was a propylene glycol (RV-non toxic) which is proper for not killing anything in your neighborhood or lake when it comes out. Red and mixing with water may be of IF the container stated to do it. Pink means no water and you need to be REALLY concerned. It needs to be used full strength.

Keep your fingers crossed and a close eye on the engine when you start it up. Monitor the oil for signs of water.

79, I will check the dipstick tonight.

Your offer to meet up is really, really generous. I might take you up on it. How would you like me to follow up? you can email me at jackkloepfer2@hotmail.com or I can contact you.

Thanks.

So was the antifreeze the RV/marine stuff or auto antifreeze? I hope you are OK.

I don't know if you would notice the water in the oil on the dipstick if there was only a small amount of water wouldn't the water sit on the bottom of the pan and the oil would sit on top?   
I say this because I remember when I got my boat and I had water in the transmission from the PO leaving it in the water I didn't notice it on the dipstick until after I had run it, then it looked like a strawberry milkshake but before I ran it, it looked fine.

Welcome aboard. Stick around, you will learn a lot.

jackkloepfer wrote: god, honestly, It's been so long I don't remember. I just recall asking my dealer what to look for, and relaying the info to the guy at autozone, and him giving me the red stuff.

Relying on the guy at Autozone was your first mistake!

Was it in a round jug or one of those rectangular jugs???

im partners on some BBC stuff,exhaust manifolds, blocks and to the likes and my other partner on these keeps pressuring me to sell on e-bay. I keep telling him im holding off because you have to wait until boat owners pull thier covers back and notice all the cracks from not winterizing, I know i at least do 3 a year on average (engine swaps)

one side note, drain and catch your GREEN anti-freeze before you head to the lake

You have mail,

But Randy makes a good point oil sitting on top of the water another possibility is that the crack hasn't opened up to allow the water to get to the oil and is just waiting for some heat to expand the crack and then let the water mix with the oil so you'll want to keep a close eye on the oil and check it as it's running for any signs of water.

You don't want to damage the bearings you might get lucky even if it is cracked if the crack is in the intake or head, then it's just a top end rebuild and the rest of the parts will be fine provided they don't get damaged.

storm34 wrote: I have some of the pink stuff in my Ski Tique this fall and ended up running it out and pouring in green. I caught all the pink stuff and let it sit in a bucket all winter and sure enough...it froze. It wasn't solid, more like a strawberry Icee. But I'm still glad I got all that out!

Chris,
Did you drain and then put the RV pink in? Asking to determine if it was watered down when you purged the pink out. The pink will freeze but not solid to the point of breaking anything. Full strength the stuff is fine.

I switched years ago to the non toxic RV because my boats are stored in the boat house. It's difficult to catch all of the antifreeze so the change was made so I wouldn't be accused of killing any fish!

79nautique wrote: you really should read the fine print on the back of the pink stuff, I would never use the pink stuff unless the boat was garage kept as you saw it does freeze and Pete in your area at the lake I bet it's solid and not a slushy if left outside. Use the purple or green non-toxic anti-freeze from west marine or boaters world much better and twice the freeze protection.

Chris, I do read the fine print! BTW, -50 degree does come in the pink color too!! I use the same stuff when I drain and winterize my house. I've always used it due to the septic system. I buy several gals, keep it outside in the "instant" vinyl garage with the door wide open until I'm ready to use it. There have been some overnight temps of -20 and out of curiosity I have checked it. Guess what, it doesn't freeze solid!!! You need to get out of Indiana and visit the northwoods sometime!!!

I used the -80 stuff the last winter. It is stupid expensive, but probably worth the extra sleep you get. I used the pink stuff this year and feel comfortable as we only hit -20 a couple times as Pete stated. Always drain first. Always.

Of course, if you have the special -100* stuff...... wait. Never mind.

Pete the pink stuff that is availible around here might be a little different maybe not but I was looking at the burst temps ratings mainly and after reading it I decided I didn't want to take the chance but it was no where near -50F rating.