winterizing: antifreeze without draining first?

That is how we do the flat head motors or motors with out thermostats. We also have a customer that did it that way with a modern 318 and never got it up to temp with held slot of water in the block.......... New manifolds and New freez plugs in the block

I agree with Chris^. Start over - drain and pour. The T stat does NOT need to be removed nor does the engine need to be warmed up to open the T stat. The antifreeze will enter the block through the bottom block ports.

Welcome to CCfan. How about posting some pictures of the boat?

Two general assumptions that I see people get wrong on a regular basis are that 1. the T-stat needs to be open to let fluid into the engine and that 2. the exhaust is the "end of the line", such that if something is coming out of the exhaust it must have circulated through the entire motor. Both are incorrect.

If you guy's are winterizing already and it's still in the 80's did the Doctor put his away in August???

Nice looking boat!!
I love the looks of that tower on the boat and how it follows the lines of your windshield...

Can anyone tell me what brand it is? Or is it custom made?

Francois,
That is the correct hose to pour the antifreeze in. You are using the RV type correct? Did you find all the drains? There are 5 on the engine. 1 on each side of the block. 1 on each exhaust manifold and 1 in the J pipe next to the water pump. Don't forget to drain the trans cooler.

I and several other members have equipped their drains with these removable stem drain cocks. I put them on all my boats. The stem being removable allows you to still probe the drain with a piece of wire to make sure it's not plugged with sediment. McMaster has them up to 3/8" pipe size so reducing bushings are needed on the manifolds.

8122pbrainard wrote: Francois, That is the correct hose to pour the antifreeze in. You are using the RV type correct? Did you find all the drains? There are 5 on the engine. 1 on each side of the block. 1 on each exhaust manifold and 1 in the J pipe next to the water pump. Don't forget to drain the trans cooler. I and several other members have equipped their drains with these removable stem drain cocks. I put them on all my boats. The stem being removable allows you to still probe the drain with a piece of wire to make sure it's not plugged with sediment. McMaster has them up to 3/8" pipe size so reducing bushings are needed on the manifolds.

thanks

well I originally used green prestone but now I got the pink stuff at west marine today. I drained the prestone and collected it in buckets underneath both exhausts.

before I drained it, I noticed some of if ended in the bilge. I cleaned everyting on sunday after I was done pouring it in. so where should I look for the leak? is there a more likely leak path? it's been only 4 days and some leaked...



yes I found the 5 drain locations but the manifold brass plugs tricked me, as I was expecting using a allen key to unscrew for some reason.

looks like half inch square, can you use a 1/2" drive ratchet without socket? I guess I'll finish up the draining operation tomorrow!!

I also removed the impeller. do you think it's still good to go or should I replace it?




and for you guys curious about the tower, the guy said he made it himself, arm not included!

Another tip - The green auto AF & pink RV AF do not like each other & will congeal into goo if mixed.

Make sure & get all the green out if you are switching to pink.

Nice looking boat. Your going to enjoy it. If you ever need anything, there is lots of wonderful info on here.

Bob - Take out the cooler, plug 1 end of water circuit & pressurize into the other end with 5 PSI of air pressure. Use hoses & clamps, etc for plugging.

Put it underwater, oil ports down (so they don't fill with water) & wait for bubbles. No bubbles after 2 minutes - you have a good cooler.