Fair price for winterization and oil change

[The Hulk]

Just now, footndale said:

That's is a closed or partially closed cooling. Yikes, $500 for basically opening a few drains. I want that job.

Go to section 8-2 and do it yourself. http://www.themalibucrew.com/_files/engines/indmar_2016.pdf 

You basically just drain the water heat exchanger and change oil.

 

 

well my previous 555hp LSA must of been a rip off as well!! !@$1 i knew that one was closed cooled

[The Hulk]

Just now, footndale said:

That's is a closed or partially closed cooling. Yikes, $500 for basically opening a few drains. I want that job.

Go to section 8-2 and do it yourself. http://www.themalibucrew.com/_files/engines/indmar_2016.pdf 

You basically just drain the water heat exchanger and change oil.

 

 

the dealer said its easier than others, but he also mentioned on the 2017 they started numbering stuff to make it even easier yet, but again i never looked into such things in the past, but as i've seen whats happen at dealers on numerous friends and family boats in the past and knowing how rushed they are and my bad water-hose experience in the past i'm leaning to do more and more myself over time... I re-plumbed 90% of my lake house over last winter so this shouldn't be too terrible...was always just "scared" to work on my expensive toy!

[Michigan boarder]

23 minutes ago, The Hulk said:

are the newer 2016's easier to winterize? i'll be storing my boat in Heated storage at work which will be around 55F all winter long: my only fear is one of those weekends that go down to -10F and the building loosing power or something in an ice storm on friday night and not realizing i'm out of power until monday morning: although i may install a fire/power alarm with cell-notification at work to txt msg me if it goes out so i can turn on a portable heater if that happens.

What are the odds of that happening and you now knowing about it?  I wouldn't winterize it.  How far away is work?

Definitely change you own oil, very easy to do.

[Bill_AirJunky]

31 minutes ago, The Hulk said:

paying $500-600 for winterization each year gets a bit crazy... just wondering if i should even do it since i'm in heated storage? or do it myself.. 

if' i'm in heated storage should i only do oil change and other stuff with dealer and forget winterization stuff or do less of that stuff and myself? I kind of want to learn all about my boat this fall/winter , have some upgrades sub box/ballast/heater i want to figure out best way to install this fall/winter so might have to add winterizing myself to the list.

i also remember a video on YT with a guy installing a heater where he used a valve so he could easily open/close the water lines to easily blow out with a standard (air-pump) used for filling water-toys... so blowing the lines out via that method would seem super easy if you install the valves you would not even need to disconnect the hoses etc.. 

We had a big wind storm last winter & like 30% or 40% of the infrastructure in several counties went down... power, gas, water, etc. The guys who worked thru the aftermath said there were like 17 boats that had major damage from freezing inside their owner's "heated garages".

I sold a Mastercraft 205 to a guy a few years ago. I had the boat setup so it was really easy to winterize, and over 700 troublefree hours on it. When we were finalizing the deal, I was showing him how the process went, and he just shrugged it off & said, "Oh, I have a heated warehouse & won't need to winterize it".

That lasted 1 year. The following summer I saw him on the lake & asked how the boat was going. He said his warehouse lost power for a week & the engine block cracked.

It's such a cheap & easy process. Learn how to do it yourself. Create a cheat sheet so you can follow it easily. On my 05 Vride, it takes me about 4 or 5 minutes to drain everything, including the engine, heater, shower & ballast. I did it last night on the ramp on Lake Couer d'Alene. I think I'll be doing it again tonight on Liberty Lake.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Bill_AirJunky

[The Hulk]

Just now, Michigan boarder said:

What are the odds of that happening and you now knowing about it?  I wouldn't winterize it.  How far away is work?

Definitely change you own oil, very easy to do.

work is 15mins away, and someone is typically here or i am each weekend at some point to stop in for something....so it would be extremely rare, and only probably via ice-storm which means it would NOT be -10F but rather near freezing so heat would retain better at those higher temps. 

Just looked at the manual looks like i would only need to pull the anodes and few other plugs to drain the block and transmission so maybe 15 mins to drain 99% of the water. 

[The Hulk]

Just now, Bill_AirJunky said:

We had a big wind storm last winter & like 30% or 40% of the infrastructure in several counties went down... power, gas, water, etc. The guys who worked thru the aftermath said there were like 17 boats that had major damage from freezing inside their owner's "heated garages".

I sold a Mastercraft 205 to a guy a few years ago. I had the boat setup so it was really easy to winterize, and over 700 troublefree hours on it. When we were finalizing the deal, I was showing him how the process went, and he just shrugged it off & said, "Oh, I have a heated warehouse & won't need to winterize it".

It last 1 year. The following summer I saw him on the lake & asked how the boat was going. He said his warehouse lost power for a week & the engine block cracked.

It's just a cheap & easy process. Learn how to do it yourself. Create a cheat sheet so you can follow it easily. On my 05 Vride, it takes me about 4 or 5 minutes to drain everything, including the engine, heater, shower & ballast. I did it last night on the ramp on Lake Couer d'Alene. I think I'll be doing it again tonight on Liberty Lake.

i'm not so lucky so...this would probably happen to me if i DONT do it... "murphys law"..

[Bill_AirJunky]

Just now, The Hulk said:

i'm not so lucky so...this would probably happen to me if i DONT do it... "murphys law"..

Sorry, I don't buy it being "lucky". The guys on these forums taught me how to do it. I have a cheat sheet. I set out to learn how to do it. Now it's no more difficult than docking the boat or getting up on the foil. Just another aspect of owning the boat.

[footndale]

Winterizing a normal engine takes  about 30 minutes, without oil change. With oil change, 1 hr.  If it takes longer, you are enjoying your beer to long.

Closed system, 10 minutes..

[The Hulk]

@footndale  is this seriously all i have to do is pull these plugs and drain it on my boat?

[MadMan]

7 minutes ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

We had a big wind storm last winter & like 30% or 40% of the infrastructure in several counties went down... power, gas, water, etc. The guys who worked thru the aftermath said there were like 17 boats that had major damage from freezing inside their owner's "heated garages".

I sold a Mastercraft 205 to a guy a few years ago. I had the boat setup so it was really easy to winterize, and over 700 troublefree hours on it. When we were finalizing the deal, I was showing him how the process went, and he just shrugged it off & said, "Oh, I have a heated warehouse & won't need to winterize it".

That lasted 1 year. The following summer I saw him on the lake & asked how the boat was going. He said his warehouse lost power for a week & the engine block cracked.

It's such a cheap & easy process. Learn how to do it yourself. Create a cheat sheet so you can follow it easily. On my 05 Vride, it takes me about 4 or 5 minutes to drain everything, including the engine, heater, shower & ballast. I did it last night on the ramp on Lake Couer d'Alene. I think I'll be doing it again tonight on Liberty Lake.

If nothing else, at least do a semi-winterization, pull the 2 block  plugs and drain the block.  The rest of the stuff that can be damaged is bolt-on/cheaper to replace.

[The Hulk]

5 minutes ago, The Hulk said:

@footndale  is this seriously all i have to do is pull these plugs and drain it on my boat?

and the antifreeze coolant in the engine is antifreeze so no need to drain that correct? other than replace it?

[footndale]

3 minutes ago, The Hulk said:

@footndale  is this seriously all i have to do is pull these plugs and drain it on my boat?

Yes it is.  The manual tells you what to do and it is that simple.  

Make sure you test your anti-freeze with the correct tool and that it registers for cold weather.

[Bill_AirJunky]

11 minutes ago, MadMan said:

If nothing else, at least do a semi-winterization, pull the 2 block  plugs and drain the block.  The rest of the stuff that can be damaged is bolt-on/cheaper to replace.

This is basically all I do... a routine I picked up from guys in here & TMC, and at HO Sports when I lived nearby. Dump some Startron in the gas tank, pull the knock sensor, separate the hoses on the exhaust manifolds, pull 2 caps off the heater lines, pull the 3 hoses on the shower valve, cycle the pumps on the ballast, shower & heater, pull both hull drain plugs, bump start the engine for a second. Finish my beer.

No anti-freeze. The dealership doesn't use it either.

When I'm done for the year, I'll pull the hoses off the v-drive & blow them out too.

 

Edited October 12, 2016 by Bill_AirJunky

[The Hulk]

@footndale - awesome: i owe you a beer! just saw there is a quick drain for oil you could swing down into a drain pan or possibly out through the drain plug on back of boat> so that looks easy to drain as well!

[The Hulk]

4 minutes ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

This is basically all I do... a routine I picked up from guys in here & TMC, and at HO Sports when I lived nearby. Dump some Startron in the gas tank, pull the knock sensor, separate the hoses on the exhaust manifolds, pull 2 caps off the heater lines, pull the 3 hoses on the shower valve, cycle the pumps on the ballast, shower & heater, pull both hull drain plugs, bump start the engine for a second. Finish my beer.

No anti-freeze. The dealership doesn't use it either.

When I'm done for the year, I'll pull the hoses off the v-drive & blow them out too.

 

is it safe or best to actually disconnect all the stuff and bump the engine on for 1 second? i thought i read somewhere that some people doing this at the ramp before launch was a NO-NO without water coming in? but if just for a sec wont it just bump all water out?

[Bill_AirJunky]

1 hour ago, The Hulk said:

is it safe or best to actually disconnect all the stuff and bump the engine on for 1 second? i thought i read somewhere that some people doing this at the ramp before launch was a NO-NO without water coming in? but if just for a sec wont it just bump all water out?

This site had a group buy for a few years on Globe "run dry" impellers. The point of using them is that they are good for 15 minutes of run dry time over the course of their lifetime (a couple seconds at a time). I've been using them for a few years now & like them. I haven't seen the group buy in a while, but see them on Amazon, plus other sites have them for a bit less, including Bakes. Prices have gone up a bit, guess their more popular now. Anyway, I have been running them for 2 years at a time, or maybe 100 - 125 hrs each, and had no problems. In fact, I kept one of the old ones around for emergencies & last summer a guy camped nearby lost his impeller on his Supra. I gave him my old impeller & he continued to ride all weekend with it.

BTW, the "umbilical cord" on my boat is no where near long enough to get thru the drain hole. I use a 12v pump to suck the oil out of it.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Bill_AirJunky

[oldjeep]

As an aside, not sure how you "bump the engine" on the newer boats with keypad start.

[Bill_AirJunky]

1 minute ago, oldjeep said:

As an aside, not sure how you "bump the engine" on the newer boats with keypad start.

The newer boats have a key too. I think there was a couple years in like 2010 or 2011 that did not.

[The Hulk]

1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

As an aside, not sure how you "bump the engine" on the newer boats with keypad start.

in other words start it and turn off right away

[The Hulk]

1 hour ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

This site had a group buy for a few years on Globe "run dry" impellers. The point of using them is that they are good for 15 minutes of run dry time over the course of their lifetime (a couple seconds at a time). I've been using them for a few years now & like them. I haven't seen the group buy in a while, but see them on Amazon, plus other sites have them for a bit less, including Bakes. Prices have gone up a bit, guess their more popular now. Anyway, I have been running them for 2 years at a time, or maybe 100 - 125 hrs each, and had no problems. In fact, I kept one of the old ones around for emergencies & last summer a guy camped nearby lost his impeller on his Supra. I gave him my old impeller & he continued to ride all weekend with it.

BTW, the "umbilical cord" on my boat is no where near long enough to get thru the drain hole. I use a 12v pump to suck the oil out of it.

havent checked yet but i'm guessing this is the case... wish there was a 3rd drain hole in this area like on older BU's!

[slap]

20 hours ago, NMMalibuFamily said:

What's a fair "turn key" price to winterize an '09 LSV?  How about oil change?

Just had my '00 SS Lxi winterized, oil changed, and shrink wrapped for $425. Work done in my driveway. Way cheaper than dealer, way less hassle than doing it myself (plus I dunno how to shrink wrap).

[Pnwrider]

I was gonna let it go, but the fact that two people bold font'd the phrase incorrectly... Peace of mind...

 

[Bill_AirJunky]

5 hours ago, The Hulk said:

havent checked yet but i'm guessing this is the case... wish there was a 3rd drain hole in this area like on older BU's!

The same drain holes are there. But they have ballast pickups in them now.

[footndale]

So the 95 Response has been winterized last night, not my boat but I maintain it.

Night before open oil drain - 5 minutes

Last night - 

Change oil filter - add oil

Did Mercury's fuel closing and replaced fuel/water filter

Drain all water

Add RV antifreeze to heater and engine block.

Took my time and it was about 1.5 hours.

In spring will replace impeller and thermostat, unless I get the parts earlier. Might add the water line  hook up option and maybe a quick disconnect on heater hoses. Just makes it a little easier in the future.

Now just have few cleanup area within boat before it gets cover on and sits all winter, maybe another 1/2 hour.

 

 

[shawndoggy]

On 10/12/2016 at 9:47 AM, The Hulk said:

well my previous 555hp LSA must of been a rip off as well!! !@$1 i knew that one was closed cooled

Dude, c'mon, Hulk don't make us dredge up that friggin thread where it was determined that your LSA was indeed NOT closed cooled.  It only had a heat exchanger of some sort for the supercharger, but the engine itself was raw water cooled.  We went through all of that after you overheated it.

Also on (most) closed cooled motors remember to drain the vdrive/tranny cooler/exhaust manifolds in addition to the heat exchanger.  Really the only parts you don't do are drain the block and drain the heater (if so equipped).  The partial exception would be indmar salt series which also have closed cooling on the exhaust manifolds.

Edited October 14, 2016 by shawndoggy