how 2 winterize my fresh water 318's

drbbqking · Post by **drbbqking** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:44 pm

how many gallons of anit freez will i need??????
has any one ever installed a "T" fitting with a ball valve on the water intake so you dont have to take off the hose from the intake petcock???
can i use 10/30w oil to fog fog them????
thanks and happy new year!!!!!

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:17 am

well to do my Merc 454's I open the strainers and clean them out, then shut ball valve ( on hard shut 1ST in water) have a 5 gallon bucket of Code Pink that has a hose and ball valve attached to it. Put the hose in the strainer open valve and start engine. 5 gallons per side so do you. I'd use fogging oil if you can't get it use a spray lube. NO penetrating oil or wd-40 ...

aweimer · Post by **aweimer** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:08 am

If you do your own i suggest you pull the thermostat before doing this method. Pumping a few gallons in without pulling the thermostat, the lower end of the engine will not circulate with anti-freeze and could cause you issues.

I'm lucky that my marina charges only $65/engine and $55/genny and I always let them do this since any issues with freezing will be on thier shoulders. They do a good job and use a freeze gauge. They run it in the sling until the thermostat opens and circulates the whole engine.

I would also suggest the -100f stuff instead of the -50f pink.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:26 am

Don't pull the thermostat ! you said its fresh water cooled , not raw water correct ? , drain as much of the raw water as you can , then run a few gals of the pink stuff thru them . As far as fogging them I use some light oil/ATF to do it , even WD 40 for a short lay up ,If you can the best thing to do is turn the eng over every week or 2 ( don't start ) 1 or 2 revolutions sea-cock shut

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 8:29 am

Don't pull the thermostat ! you said its fresh water cooled , not raw water correct ? so there is antfreeze in the engine drain as much of the raw water as you can , then run a few gals of the pink stuff thru them or you can use the -100 stuff but your area only gets so cold.. As far as fogging them I use some light oil/ATF to do it , even WD 40 for a short lay up ,If you can the best thing to do is turn the eng over every week or 2 ( don't start ) 1 or 2 revolutions sea-cock shut .

If your raw water cooled ten I would drain the block too first

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:13 am

If fresh water cooled (coolant in block) 5 gals is enough as Tony mentioned, and don't remove t-stat. You should drain all the low points in the raw water hoses, and don't forget to drain the oil coolers. The more you you get out, the less there will be to dilute the antifreeze. If your exhaust manifolds are raw water cooled, you need to drain those first also. I use a zip tie to probe the drain hole. This ensures the hole isn't blocked with crud that will prevent all the water from draining. Don't use 10/30 oil. Unless you are carefull and aware of how much you should/are pouring, you could hydralock the engine and damage internal components. Using a product that you spray in safer. Having said that I am also a believer that for the amount of time she will normally be stored, fogging is not needed. And I suspect my boat is stored much longer than yours is. I always do as Paul suggested earlier; crank the engines over a tad once a week. I don't like certain components sitting in the same place for extended periods like springs etc. It also helps prevent the impellers from taking a set due to being in the same position all winter.

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:05 am

what He added...