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Un-winterizing?


Blindside_137

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Soo, this will be our second year coming out of the winter with our first inboard and last year was a big mess.

We had it winterized by a local company who sent a guy out to winterize for us. Well, we were under the impression that all you have to do to prepare for the summer is to drop it in the water and start it up.. But we instantly ran into overheating problems and it turns out the guy did a horrible winterization (unnecessary disconnecting of wires and such) and we ended up frying our impeller and melting part of the engine tray among other things. So the guy was fired, and we aren't ever doing anything with them again.

In November we had a different and more highly regarded company do the winterization and I'm planning to e-mail them and find out exactly what was done so we can create a checklist.

But my question is, is there typically anything that you all have to do before the first turn of the key for the year? Cooling hoses or something to check and make sure are connected? We used to have a Sea Ray and un-winterizing for us was just drop it in the water and go. Are inboards any different? I searched and can't find any info on this, only winterizing.

I'm a wakeboard wiz/guru and know everything about the companies and products they offer, same with boats... But when it comes to engines and repairs/winterizing I'm a complete noob :dontknow:

Thanks in advance!

Edited by Blindside_137
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Seems to be a little late to email that company. I think I would have created that list the day they did the winterization. Lots of things could have changed between now & then. And there are a number of things that some people do & others don't when winterizing these boats.

Also, do you have a heater or shower?

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"De-winterization" depends on where it was left with the winterization process. I winterize my own and half a dozen other direct drives for guys in my ski club. The only thing needed with boats that I winterize is to install the new impeller (I don't like it to be squished inside the pump housing all winter) and reconnect the battery.

If you're not sure...check for loose hoses, loose hose clamps, check the hoses that go to the heater as well (if you have one). Check the block drains and make sure they're closed. Check the raw water pump and make sure that there is an impeller in there.

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thanks,

yea I realize that Bill and might just have to go through blind looking for loose hoses and such as norcalibu stated. I wish I could have created the list the day of but I was gone at school when my dad had it done and for some reason he never got the info on what exactly they did.

No we don't have the heater or shower

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No heater or shower makes it a lot easier. Did your dealer give you a bag of plugs & stuff? Might have been a knock sensor in it? Goes in the passenger side of your engine block.

Theres 4 water hoses up by the thermostat, some of which he may have removed or loosened. Plus a couple more underneath at the raw water pump.

Plus two more under your back seat at the v-drive.

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blindside- good post - we take ours to the dealer - they do a great job of communicating what they do and attach the hardware bag to the steering wheel with a big notice about not dropping the boat in the water until... and then the service order details the specifics. I want to second the impeller comments posted earlier - alwasy best to keep an extra on hand -

Edited by FlatH20
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Thanks again guys,

yea the reason I ask is because of the scary situation last year.. but here's our situation.

My dad and uncle own the boat, it's kept at Unce's lake house year long 2.5 hours from dealer. I'm 3 hours from the lake at college while my dad and family is an hour from the lake. We could have sworn when we bought the boat they said they would come out and do service and winterizing for us, but that has never happened and we've just had to deal with it.

That means we can't take it to them for winterizing and such since it would have to be put back in the water to be stored at the boat house.

We had a local Sea Ray dealer who treated my aunt and uncle well in the past come do the winterizing in november but my dad wasn't around when it happened so we arent exactly sure what was done. Which is why I wanted to know if there were any specific things to look out for.

How hard is an impeller change on a v-drive? I hear it's miserable compared to D-drives. Is there a link anywhere to how to perform one on a v-drive? And what are your thoughts on the Globe Run-dry?

Thanks for all the input everyone

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For next year, learn how to do the winterization yourself. It really isn't that hard and there are some great how to's available to guide you. You will be able to find many DIY winterization/oil change/impeller change threads on this site if you do a search. Not only will it save you money and hassle, but you will know it was done right.

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For next year, learn how to do the winterization yourself. It really isn't that hard and there are some great how to's available to guide you. You will be able to find many DIY winterization/oil change/impeller change threads on this site if you do a search. Not only will it save you money and hassle, but you will know it was done right.

:plus1:

It's pretty simple, and if you do it yourself, you will

know exactly what's been done, what hasn't been done, and

what still needs to be done.

Edited by srab
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what would you have to do if you had a heater and shower???? luckly this year hasnt been cold enough to freeze for us................good thing???

And if it was cold enough, it's too late now.

It depends on what shower you have & how either of them are hooked up. If you have the basic Heatercraft shower, then it's just a matter of unscrewing all 3 hoses from the tap & blowing thru them.

There are a number of threads on here about how to setup the heater so it can easily be winterized. The heater core is almost always the first thing to blow when it gets cold. So it's absolutely important that the core is drained. Some people put garden hose quick releases on the heater hoses. I have a pair of radiator flush Ts in mine. I just pull the caps off & the heater dumps into the bilge.

Like Srab said.... learn to winterize the boat yourself. We have all the info here. I do it 5 or 6 times a year, so we can ride late fall, winter & early spring. We know it was done, done right, and we can do it again in a heartbeat so if it warms up, we'll probably go out again. That Globe impeller really makes it easy.

BTW, rode on Saturday, 41 degree water, 48 degree air. Winterized the boat sitting on the ramp in about 2 minutes. Brought it home & plugged in the on-board bilge heater & on-board trickle charger. We saw some sub 20 degree nights this week. But the engine compartment has never seen below 40. I think we're riding this Sunday again.... supposed to be pushing 50! Gotta love all of that. :rockon:

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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:plus1:

It's pretty simple, and if you do it yourself, you will

know exactly what's been done, what hasn't been done, and

what still needs to be done.

I would love to learn this! There simply wasn't enough time for me to do it a few months ago but this year I would definitely be interested in the DIY.

Is there a link to winterizing a v-drive though? All I found on this site was how to winterize the shower.

And again any opinions on the globe run-dry impeller?

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And if it was cold enough, it's too late now.

It depends on what shower you have & how either of them are hooked up. If you have the basic Heatercraft shower, then it's just a matter of unscrewing all 3 hoses from the tap & blowing thru them.

There are a number of threads on here about how to setup the heater so it can easily be winterized. The heater core is almost always the first thing to blow when it gets cold. So it's absolutely important that the core is drained. Some people put garden hose quick releases on the heater hoses. I have a pair of radiator flush Ts in mine. I just pull the caps off & the heater dumps into the bilge.

Like Srab said.... learn to winterize the boat yourself. We have all the info here. I do it 5 or 6 times a year, so we can ride late fall, winter & early spring. We know it was done, done right, and we can do it again in a heartbeat so if it warms up, we'll probably go out again. That Globe impeller really makes it easy.

BTW, rode on Saturday, 41 degree water, 48 degree air. Winterized the boat sitting on the ramp in about 2 minutes. Brought it home & plugged in the on-board bilge heater & on-board trickle charger. We saw some sub 20 degree nights this week. But the engine compartment has never seen below 40. I think we're riding this Sunday again.... supposed to be pushing 50! Gotta love all of that. Rockon.gif

hmmmmmmmm, now how can i tell if the heater core has blown???

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What all needs to be done to the transmission as far as winterizing and un-winterizing?

I don't believe there is anything for the trans itself. There is a hose that goes from the water pickup, into the v-drive, then out of the v-drive & into the trans cooler, then to the raw water pump & then the engine water pump. I just lift up the rear seat, pull a hose off the v-drive, and let it all drain into the bilge. Done.

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hmmmmmmmm, now how can i tell if the heater core has blown???

The driver's feet feel like he just peed all over them. :crazy:

The core is usually up under the driver's side dash. If the core blows, it'll leak water under the dash. There are threads about this too. You can get replacement cores either from Heatercraft(.com), from your dealer, or take the core in to your friendly local Napa Auto shop. They can cross reference it with all the car heater cores & figure out which one it is. As I recall it's like a 90s Mustang core & available for under $20....... yea, I've done a few of them.

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Winterized the boat sitting on the ramp in about 2 minutes.

I'm no expert but,

I wouldn't be draining all the water out of a hot block after just putting the boat on the trailer.

I'd wait until I got the boat home to let the boat engine go through it's heat soak.

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I'm no expert but,

I wouldn't be draining all the water out of a hot block after just putting the boat on the trailer.

I'd wait until I got the boat home to let the boat engine go through it's heat soak.

Definitely not ideal right out of the lake. But we didn't wait more than 20 - 30 minutes or so & got it done (beauty of using a private ramp). It was daylight & still relatively warm out (mid-low 40s). By the time I got home it was dark & well into the 30s.

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Agree learning to do it yourself is the best way to go. That's been on my 'list' for a few years, but hasn't made it to the top of the list yet. Unsure.gif

Next best thing imo, is to make sure whoever winterizes for you puts everything back together and the boat is ready to drop in the water.

I've done it that way the last few years. We are ready to go, no trip to the dealer and no 'summerize' fees.

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I don't believe there is anything for the trans itself. There is a hose that goes from the water pickup, into the v-drive, then out of the v-drive & into the trans cooler, then to the raw water pump & then the engine water pump. I just lift up the rear seat, pull a hose off the v-drive, and let it all drain into the bilge. Done.

There is water in the v-drive. You should either drain it by pulling the plugs or do what I do, pour some low-tox antifreeze in there and be done with it.

Edited by Laycon Row
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