Did I screw up my winterizing?

[LoudDog]

I got my boat home from the shop for winterizing and I was skeptical that they did it for a few reasons. Anyway, stupid me went and pulled the drain plugs on the engine and drained all the antifreeze, thus verifying they actually did winterize it... Please don't ask what I was thinking because I do not know.

Is it a big deal to leave it empty? Or should I open the t-stat housing and and remove the manifold hoses to fill it back up?

I thought I heard somewhere that some people winterize them dry?

Note: it's a merc 350 stern drive, and we typically dip down below freezing a handful of times over the winter.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Did I screw up my winterizing?

Hey - no harm in checking these things out for yourself. The cost of not draining that motor had it really been just water would be far higher than what it will take to refill it. So way to be proactive and eliminate the doubt.

Now -- you've got a choice to make. Either leave it empty or fill er up again. Neither choice is particularly earth shattering in terms of consequences. The big deal is ensuring there's no regular H20 left in your motor and you've established that. Some folks say filling with anti-freeze will prevent rusting but there's no way a single winter sitting empty is going to cause undue harm to that big old block.

So...if you're feeling ambitious, close those plugs, pull a hose off and put a few litres of antifreeze back in. Or leave it and relax. Not really a big deal either way.

 

[amanphoto]

Re: Did I screw up my winterizing?

I think you did the right thing. I run antifreeze threw my entire engine also. Then I remove the drain plugs and empty the block. This way, I'm sure I have all the fluids (water or antifreeze) out. I'm sure that the antifreeze did it job and got into the paces where the water is hiding and would not drain.

I'm thinking that the water in the engine could of diluted or not mixed completely the antifreeze and still could of froze up.

 

[LoudDog]

Re: Did I screw up my winterizing?

Thanks! I feel a little less like a bonehead now.

 

[amanphoto]

Re: Did I screw up my winterizing?

Don't feel bad. During the winterizing process I ended up braking one of the brass drain plugs off (it was seized up good) and had to pull the exhaust riser off and drill it our and put it back together. Ops.

 

[MRS]

Re: Did I screw up my winterizing?

It is like many say here air can't freeze so you are good to go.....