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Winterization near fox lake il?


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Anyone have any recommendations for a shop that is reasonable to winterize a bu near fox lake illinois? I've had an ex bu mechanic winterize my last 2 bu's since 2005 but he recently moved. I was paying 170 for winterizing the boat and ballast tanks and 50 for an oil change. The local bu dealership wants 280 for the boat and 60 per ballast tank plus over a 100 for an oil change. I know with the economy they need to make some profit on service but this seems a little over the top...especially since this an hour job or hour and a half at most....I can live with 350 total to support the local dealership but 240 to winterize ballast tanks alone?

Anybody have a trusted place that is a little more reasonable?

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Why not do it yourself? It's not hard. Also ballast tanks do not need to be winterized, just get boat on a good incline and hit drain on all tanks. majority of malibu dealers will tell you the same.

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I'm on the chain and do my own winterizing. I've had it done for me twice in the past and was not happy both times. The first was by a Malibu dealer in Wisconsin. The boat came back to me dirty, with a bleach mark on the seat, and a ding in the prop after warranty work. The second time at a different marina on the northern chain, they didn't winterize the heater core and it was broken when I picked the boat up in the spring. I no longer have it stored and do the winterizing myself. Takes an hour including oil change and cleaning.

The only place I've been fully happy with is Mineola Marine on Fox lake. Although I've never taken the Bu there, only pontoon.

I'd be happy to do it for you for a price, but if you can follow directions and can used a socket wrench you should be able to do it yourself.

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It's not very hard. And FYI, I don't run antifreeze (like the video says) since I drain the engine anyway. I do however blow antifreeze through the heater core. If you have questions, just ask.

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