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Preparing for cold nights


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This is my first fall with the Malibu. Living in MN, the nights will start getting cold soon. How cold is too cold to leave inboards on the lift? Can anything be done to quickly drain the engine after every outing? Can the heater unit under the dash be drained easily? I will hold of asking my "how to perform a full winterization" questions for now as it is much much too early to be even thinking about that.

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put i 75 watt lightbulb in the engine compartment. it will keep the area toasty warm overnight (especially if you have run the engine during the day). drain the heater.

get FWC, no worries :-)

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It takes a hard freeze before you need worry about draining the block. I would think you would be off the lake long before then. But I have put a trouble light under the engine cover during hard frost warnings just to be safe. The heater is a little more susceptible. You can just pull the hoses and blow the core out if you are worried about it. I've had inboards for years here in Michigan and I have never had a problem arise from a hard frost while the boat was in the lift.

I would recommend letting your dealer winterize your boat. Especially a newer boat. Up here it costs me about $150. I sleep well during the long winter knowing it was done by a professional.

My $.02

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I'd probably never have a problem either, as Rip mentioned. However, when it looks questionable I drain it. Two plugs on either side of the block, quick disconnect coming from the exhaust manifolds, hose connecting impeller to tranny cooler, and the circulation hose. The heater core will freeze first. Disconnect those two hoses and blow through the higher of the two.

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Ok then I am off to get a FWC. But I have no clue, what the heck is a FWC? Crazy.gif

ok, i am being a bit fasicious (sp??)

FWC is fresh water cooling, and it would be a bit expensive to run out and get it...we brackish water people need it though so our engines don't fall apart after a couple of seasons. the boat is running antifreeze in its internal components (including the heater).

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