Winterizing...run antifreeze through or pour and fill block/manifolds

[Hentz]

If you pour antifreeze in through the heater hose outlet on top of the intake beside the thermostat housing it is much easier than removing the thermostat. If you have no heater there is a plug in place of where the heater hose barb fitting would be.

Is this true? Can you really pour the antifreeze through the top heater valve and it will run all the way through the engine filling it?

[skiguy]

Obviously there are multiple ways to winterize your engine. Our winters aren't too harsh in Texas but I like the extra assurance of adding environmentally safe Anti-Freeze to the entire cooling system. I find it takes a matter of minutes to pull the hoses from the thermostat housing and drain. Drain the engine block via the plugs. Drain the manifolds and pour a couple gallons of environmentally safe RV anti-freeze into the block and manifolds. Done. No worrying when we get a a cold spell. I always worry I'm not getting all the water out of the engine as my boat sits on a slight incline and determining level is purely a subjective estimate.

[martinarcher]

Why on earth people keep perpetuating this moronic and wasteful idea of filling their engines with toxins and antifreeze is beyond me.

Since 1996 I have been pulling all the plugs as well as the knock sensor and I have not had a problem.

Pull the intake, take out the knock sensor on the one side and take out the drain on the other. Take out the trans cooler plug for the trans, which is redundant cause you already pulled the hose and then let the water out of the exhaust manifold and you are all good. Worked for me for years and years.

I Don't want all that toxic antifreeze in my lake, If you are willing to waste your money and damage the environment that is my problem as well because you choose to be an idiot.

Edit to add, If you have a closed system then you need to drain that and blow it out as well. Still no need to fill it with toxic stuff. BTW, it can get -20F here as well. Again it is easy. No problems here

Like I said, I'm glad it works for you.

Anyone that uses regular antifreeze should be shot!

I use regular antifreeze every year and collect it in the spring and reuse it the following year after testing it's concentration and adding more as needed. It prevents corrosion in my engine block and exhaust manifolds on my 25 year old boat and engine and gives me added peace of mind over the 4 month layup. There are certainly different ways to winterize and my way works for me. Many others do that same. Don't disrespect others because they don't do it your way.

[Brett B]

I used this method and it worked well:

As far as being "moronic". When I started the engine back up, and used a pump to pump the anti-freeze in via the fake-a-lake, water came out first! That's right, I drained everything that the Indmar manual said to drain. All the hoses, exhaust manifolds, block, etc. When I started the engine up and ran the anti-freeze through it a small amount of water came out of the exhaust first before the pink anti-freeze began flowing out. The anti-freeze has now displaced those small remnants of water and I have much better piece of mind.

[zone 5]

I use regular antifreeze every year and collect it in the spring and reuse it the following year after testing it's concentration and adding more as needed. It prevents corrosion in my engine block and exhaust manifolds on my 25 year old boat and engine and gives me added peace of mind over the 4 month layup. There are certainly different ways to winterize and my way works for me. Many others do that same. Don't disrespect others because they don't do it your way.

My post about it was in a direct response to rjgogo who implied that people were starting their boats and dumping regular antifreeze into the lake or on to the ground. Those people should be shot! If you are going through the step of reusing your antifreeze and not letting it go anywhere but back into a bucket, then you are not in the group he was refering to.

[zone 5]

As far as being "moronic". When I started the engine back up, and used a pump to pump the anti-freeze in via the fake-a-lake, water came out first! That's right, I drained everything that the Indmar manual said to drain. All the hoses, exhaust manifolds, block, etc. When I started the engine up and ran the anti-freeze through it a small amount of water came out of the exhaust first before the pink anti-freeze began flowing out. The anti-freeze has now displaced those small remnants of water and I have much better piece of mind.

BINGO!

[Irishman]

I don't think anyone touched on the fact that thermostats let water in, but they don't let water out until the thermostat has opened (usually at 160F). This is why people like Zone 5 stated rhat you must drain the block first if you're going to add antifreeze. I know the manual says just drain, but two of my local marine dealers say they always use antifreeze in tournament style inboards.

All that said (and I did run it with antifreeze), there should be nothing wrong with just draining if you leave the hose and block plugs out. Yes, there may be a bit of water left, even after turning the engine over to get any water out of the water pump, but as long as water that freezes has a place to go, you won't crack your block.

Oh, and the 8:50 min video by Performance Product Tech that someone shared above is really good, I use it.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Irishman
Add info

[oldjeep]

If you leave the block plugs out, the threads tend to rust.  

[Slayer]

On 10/4/2020 at 11:11 AM, oldjeep said:

If you leave the block plugs out, the threads tend to rust.  

I always spray fluid film or WD40 on the threads and don't have a problem.  I also clean the threads each spring before putting the drains back in and use anti-seize on the threads prior to installation.  Never had any issues.  

[oldjeep]

I just put them back in.  My boats are ready for use when put away.  Pull out of garage and drop it in lake.  Not a big fan of having to re-assemble things 6 months later.

Edited October 5, 2020 by oldjeep

[Slayer]

I understand that point.  When I pull my boat for the season, it gets a detail and fresh fuel before going on the hoist, so the 5 minutes to reinstall is no big deal for me.  

[YeloBlammo]

Never thought of that before....

Some run the antifreeze into a bucket (from the exhaust) and then pump it back up to the intake/ fake a lake/ etc so you can run the motor up to temp letting the t-stat open.

It would be much easier to just run a few gallons through the motor then just pour some into the hoses at the t-stat to fill the blocks, accomplishing the same thing in just a few minutes.

[oldjeep]

7 minutes ago, YeloBlammo said:

Never thought of that before....

Some run the antifreeze into a bucket (from the exhaust) and then pump it back up to the intake/ fake a lake/ etc so you can run the motor up to temp letting the t-stat open.

It would be much easier to just run a few gallons through the motor then just pour some into the hoses at the t-stat to fill the blocks, accomplishing the same thing in just a few minutes.

It's much easier to just pour it all in

[Malibuzer]

I like to set up a kiddy pool with about 15 or 20 gallons of antifreeze on a small sump pump.  FIrst we drain everything, then put the discharge from the pump into the water intake hose and start the pump.  After that start the boat, have 2 beer, shut it all down and repeat for the next guy!  The beer time allows the engine to warm up and circulate through everything including the heater.  We usually have beer and pizza while winterizing about 20 boats .  Actually becomes a good social event.

[dcarl]

14 minutes ago, Malibuzer said:

I like to set up a kiddy pool with about 15 or 20 gallons of antifreeze on a small sump pump.  FIrst we drain everything, then put the discharge from the pump into the water intake hose and start the pump.  After that start the boat, have 2 beer, shut it all down and repeat for the next guy!  The beer time allows the engine to warm up and circulate through everything including the heater.  We usually have beer and pizza while winterizing about 20 boats .  Actually becomes a good social event.

Two beers per boat? if so... I'd arrive super early to be one of the first boats to get winterized.

[Malibuzer]

7 minutes ago, dcarl said:

Two beers per boat? if so... I'd arrive super early to be one of the first boats to get winterized.

Maybe!  Could be just one!

 

[YeloBlammo]

4 hours ago, oldjeep said:

It's much easier to just pour it all in

Excuse my stupidity, pouring antifreeze into the two hoses at the t-stat will work its way everywhere that was just drained? Vdrive and all?

[oldjeep]

27 minutes ago, YeloBlammo said:

Excuse my stupidity, pouring antifreeze into the two hoses at the t-stat will work its way everywhere that was just drained? Vdrive and all?

Pouring will get it into the block and heater.  No water typically remains in the v drive unless you close the through hull.  Everything under the raw water pump self drains 

[shawndoggy]

1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Pouring will get it into the block and heater.  No water typically remains in the v drive unless you close the through hull.  Everything under the raw water pump self drains 

I think I know what you mean but so as to disabuse newbs from not draining their v-drives, you are not saying that you don't drain your v-drive, but rather that when you do it drains the "in" and "out" circuits (raw water in / raw water pump out) right?

[oldjeep]

2 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

I think I know what you mean but so as to disabuse newbs from not draining their v-drives, you are not saying that you don't drain your v-drive, but rather that when you do it drains the "in" and "out" circuits (raw water in / raw water pump out) right?

I pulled the drains on my v drive and 2 others once.  No water came out of any of them. In my boat it is all downhill from the raw water pump through the v drive and out the intake thru hull.  I have no filter basket or flush device .

Edited October 6, 2020 by oldjeep

[PURDUEskier]

It is much easier to just fill from the hoses at the t-stat.  I always drain the block and all hoses including exhaust cross over hose then close and fill with RV antifreeze. There is a single large diameter hose at the t-stat that goes straight to the block.  I fill it all the way up. Usually takes a couple gallons. The only downside to this method is you dont push antifreeze thru the mufflers and you can get trapped water in the baffles.  So I pour antifreeze in the small hoses at the T-stat that go to the exhaust risers.  Keep pouring in until water runs out the exhaust at the back.  I keep pouring until the water running out the back is pink.  Then I know I got the water out and replaced with antifreeze.   Do this for each side then done.  Quick job.  

[YeloBlammo]

So I was in a rush to winterize this weekend and couldn't find a hose I needed.

After I drained the V-drive, garden hose exhaust link, both block plugs, j-hose, and exit from the impeller (to drain the oil cooler )I was going to run the boat on antifreeze. I was going to collect from the exhaust and pump back to the intake using a transfer pump until it warmed up, so I could change the oil after (and the block would have antifreeze.)

I ended up just using the pump to pump antifreeze in the raw intake until it came out the exhaust (boat was not running).

I then went to disconnect the hoses at the T-stat (see pic) to fill the block and there was already antifreeze there.

Confused, I pulled one of the block plugs and antifreeze came gushing out.

I know I drained all the water already and antifreeze is unnecessary, I'm not trying to start that debate.

How did that fill the whole motor?

 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by YeloBlammo

[Steve B.]

24 minutes ago, YeloBlammo said:

So I was in a rush to winterize this weekend and couldn't find a hose I needed.

After I drained the V-drive, garden hose exhaust link, both block plugs, j-hose, and exit from the impeller (to drain the oil cooler )I was going to run the boat on antifreeze. I was going to collect from the exhaust and pump back to the intake using a transfer pump until it warmed up, so I could change the oil after (and the block would have antifreeze.)

I ended up just using the pump to pump antifreeze in the raw intake until it came out the exhaust (boat was not running).

I then went to disconnect the hoses at the T-stat (see pic) to fill the block and there was already antifreeze there.

Confused, I pulled one of the block plugs and antifreeze came gushing out.

I know I drained all the water already and antifreeze is unnecessary, I'm not trying to start that debate.

How did that fill the whole motor?

 

 

 

 

Your pump must have pushed the antifreeze by the impeller and onto the rest of the motor. Wow. What kind of pump did you use?

Steve B.

[footndale]

Block was empty, it needs liquid right away. So it it took it.   I'll let someone else be more technical.  Negative pressure, I think.

 

[YeloBlammo]

5 hours ago, Steve B. said:

Your pump must have pushed the antifreeze by the impeller and onto the rest of the motor. Wow. What kind of pump did you use?

Steve B.

 

 

I’ve notice when I put the garden hose on the intake it pushes through to the exhaust. I usually wait for it before I start the motor because I know I have water in the engine.

The full block was a surprise and nothing I would ever check w/ the garden hose

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by YeloBlammo