Dang it! 2 weeks before I move to Florida it's gotta freeze on me. Antifreeze questio

[rs2k]

I'm going to add antifreeze to my engines just to be safe, but will draining the block of a 350 using the petcocks on either side of the block actually get ALL the dangerous water out? It seems to me there's a chance it wont.

While draining the block, I almost forgot the manifolds!

 

[Don S]

Re: Dang it! 2 weeks before I move to Florida it's gotta freeze on me. Antifreeze que

It seems to me there's a chance it wont.

If you have the engine level, and drain the block (and manifolds) and pull the big hose off the circulation pump and drain it, there will probably be a little water still in there. The thing is, there can not be enough to expand and crack anything. The water that freezes and breaks things is trapped and no place to expand to. The drains are all down low. You may have a 1/4" of water in a corner, but that isn't enough to hurt anything.
To many newbes think a couple of drops of water will destroy and engine, it won't. It just can't happen.

 

[rs2k]

Re: Dang it! 2 weeks before I move to Florida it's gotta freeze on me. Antifreeze que

I'm actually more worried about something clogging the drain while draining. would a block half full of water still cause a crack?

If you leave a glass of water in the freezer sometimes the water can break the glass and other times the expansion just goes up. I assume iron strong enough to just let the ice go up instead of out then?

 

[Don S]

Re: Dang it! 2 weeks before I move to Florida it's gotta freeze on me. Antifreeze que

I'm actually more worried about something clogging the drain while draining.

That is why the manuals and most of the people here always say use a wire or something to make sure the openings are clear. If you have those wingnut looking petcocks, remove them completely so you can clean out the opening. Then install a brass pipe plug.
This is also a real problem to Mercruiser single and 3 point drain systems with hoses. You can't check to see if something is plugged or not.
That is a recipe for disaster (aka cracked block).