Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

[FluffyChicken]

I know how to winterize my first boat like its my job.. but that was a closed cooling system on my Merc 3.7. Now i have this raw water cooled 318 in my Trojan F-25. I'll be honest I probably can figure it out but i want to be sure before i drive an hour and half out there and i dont have the things i need to get the job done. Please advise asap im headed out there sunday.

A step by step would be great. It doesnt have a holding tank (I think it was removed for some reason years ago) and the fresh water tank was winterized when we bought it and we never used it so we should be good to go. Basically need info on
-Motor
-Exhaust
-Hull
Thanks
Ken

 

[ziggy]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

did ya go to the diy or adults only sticky at the top of the i/o fourm. inside you'll find some of the info you need in the winterizing thread..

the other best item for info on your engine/drive (assuming you have a drive and are not an inboard) package would be a oem service manual. where, or if, you can find that for a chrysler. i've no idea...

 

[cr2k]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

Basically the same except you need to pull the block drains and water hoses to drain them as well as the manifolds.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

It's an inboard. So there are actual drain plugs on the block then? as well as the manifolds?

 

[arks]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

My Crusader inboards don't have any block drains. I just warm up the engines, drain and replace the oil and filters, close the seacocks, pull off the raw water intake hoses, then put 'em in a bucket of pink antifreeze. Start the engines and wait until you see AF coming out of the exhaust ports. All done!

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

I love it. I was actually just reading about this. So just about 6 gallons of straight antifreeze (biodegradable of coarse) into the intake will flush the entire motor correct? should get into all the nooks and crannys? man i wish i would have just thought of this myself. i would have been so proud of myself!!!

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

also do you drain the antifeeze after you run it or do you just leave it? also should i take off the thermostat? Is it ok to run an inboard dry for a little bit? or is it bad for the water impeller just like the outboards? so this should flush everything including the muffler box as well. man this is going to be easy. change the oil, stabil in the fuel and fog and i'll be done in like 1 hour!!!

 

[arks]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

I've done it this way for 20+ years with inboards and stern drives.

- Leave antifreeze in the engine.
- Don't fool with the t-stat. Running the engine before winterizing will open it.
- Do NOT run the engine dry, even for a few seconds.
- Yes, the mufflers will have antifreeze in them (probably mixed with water).
- Add the Stabil BEFORE winterizing the engine so it will be in the carb.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

i see so just put the hose in the bucket and run it till the tstat pops open? that alone will keep the impeller wet and when its ready to cycle then it will on its own. i might put a 5 gallon bucket on the exhaust pipe and catch it and reuse it so i can do a few cycles. sound good??????? also how long is a few gallons going to last when it cycles the engine probably only a minute or so correct?

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

problem with the tstat is its been up on blocks for about 3 weeks now and i cant run it in the water right before they hoist it. too late

 

[Bondo]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

My Crusader inboards don't have any block drains.

???????????????? I can't believe that,... You have to Look...

Also, That technique is used by Many posters who show up here every spring with Cracked Blocks...
If you want to store with antifreeze, Drain the block 1st....
Otherwise, there's No way to be sure the T-Stat is open...

 

[arks]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

problem with the tstat is its been up on blocks for about 3 weeks now and i cant run it in the water right before they hoist it. too late

Sure you can. When my boat's blocked on land I put a plastic trash can under the exhaust outlet and fill it with water. Hook up a submersible sump pump using adapters that'll fit your intake lines.
Plug it in, make sure you have good flow, and start up the engine. You need to run it for at least 10 minutes (at idle) to make sure the t-stat opens. When fully warmed up, proceed with the antifreeze procedure I explained. I use a 5 gallon bucket and typically go thru 6 or 7 gallons of the pink stuff. If the boat is blocked you can recover it, but it'll be diluted somewhat.

Bondo- I figured you'd take issue with it, but this has worked fine for me for over 20 years. And yeah, it gets plenty cold enough to crack blocks around here....

 

[Bondo]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

Bondo- I figured you'd take issue with it, but this has worked fine for me for over 20 years. And yeah, it gets plenty cold enough to crack blocks around here....

Ayuh,... You've been Lucky 20 times....
You,+ I both know it's more Luck, than Right...

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

I am with Bondo, if its raw water cooled I ALWAYS drain the block PRIOR to using the engine seawater pump to refill the block and manifold assy.
I dont trust the T stat staying open with cold water entering and its very possible,I see a couple every year, to blow 5 gallons through the risers and none in the block as the risesr have water flow reguardless of engine temp or t stat position.
couple that with most engine manufactures DO NOT consider the engine to be warmed up until they have been run at a minimum of 3\4 load for a minimum of 30 min.
this method also protects clutch coolers and oil coolers and power steering coolers and other systems that have raw water in them.
on the hull systems hot water heaters,toilets,holding tanks and AC systems must be protected. Ice makers and some refridgerator freezers also have water systems that can freeze.
some hulls can take me 8 hours or more to winterize, they bite.

 

[arks]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

I'm talking engine winterizing here, not water systems- which is a whole other thing.
A couple years ago I watched a large Mercruiser dealer winterize boats all day long. Guess how they did it- they pulled each boat out of the water or off the rack, set the outdrive in a tank of pink AF, and idled the engine for 10 minutes. That's it. They didn't open an engine hatch, let alone a block drain. They charged 200 bucks a pop, which I thought was robbery. Never heard of even ONE customer with a damaged engine from their procedure, and they store well over 100 boats every year, both outside and inside (unheated).

Let me say that I respect both Bondo and Rodbolt's opinion and experience. They're way more knowledgable than me when it comes to boat repair, but I will continue to winterize my boats the way I do it becuse it works for me as well as dozens of my boating friends.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

Well I went out there and winterized it. Thing that is weird though is i put the hose in the bucket and it sucked it all out right off the bat. So was i just sucking water in and shooting it through the headers and out the back but it didnt go through the block? I guess you can say im confused on the "flow dynamics" of this thing. Or does the fact that water was coming out of the tail pipe mean that it went throught the block as well?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

Or does the fact that water was coming out of the tail pipe mean that it went throught the block as well?

Holey Moley,... Did you even Read this thread,..??..??

Unless you DRAIN the block 1st,... You have a 60/40 chance there's nothing but WATER in the Block....

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

im sorry edit that. it wasnt "WATER" coming out of the pipe it was pink antifreeze and i recycled it through twice. about 6 gallons or so. sorry about that.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

OK,.... 1 more time....
If you didn't Drain the block 1st,... The Odds are, the block is still full of WATER...

If the T-Stat was Closed, you've winterized Only the Manifolds...

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Need help winterizing my (new to me) 1978 Trojan w/ a Chrysler 318

Sorry sorry sorry.. Ok i just wanted to make sure. Looks like im going back out there this weekend I'll be honest we were rushing because we were going scuba diving after.


Side question. Is it possible to just take the Tstat out and let it flow fully???

Man my merc was so much less of a headache.