Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

[harrisg]

Volvo Penta AQ125\270... I searched and didn't see this in archives. When I use the muffs with a water hose (water pressure), I lose some water out the sides but enough goes in the drive/engine to get a stream out the exhaust. If you put a "Y" valve on the muffs and after getting engine to temperature, switch to a hose in a 5 gallon bucket of antifreeze, will it pull the antifreeze into the engine? OR<br /><br />Since I live in the Northwest near Portland and it doesn't freeze but a few days a year, Will draining the manifold/riser be enough

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

You should drain the motor before antifreezing or there will be places in the system where the protection is weak. Draining is enough, but I still like to add antifreeze to mix with the water in those pockets that never quite fully drain. A gallon of RV antifreeze is about the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

 

[milkyway]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

from merctuff.com<br /><br />Remove 1 drain plug from the exhaust manifold. Use the wire and do the same.<br />On a in-line 4 & 6 cyl. there should only be 1.<br />On a V-6 & V-8 there will be 1 on each side.<br />. <br /><br />Remove 1 drain plug on the exhaust elbow which is mounted on top of the exhaust manifold. There will be 1 plug on each elbow. Use the wire.<br />. <br /><br />Remove all of the cooling hoses on the front of the engine and on the power steering oil cooler. Leave the back end of the hoses connected. Use a funnel and pour some antifreeze (Red Pop) down each hose until you see it coming out of the drain plugs which you removed. As the color changes at each plug and your sure the clear water is gone, you can replace the plug. Go to the next hose and do the same. Keep filling all of the hoses until the antifreeze comes out of all of the drain holes. On a V-6 & V-8 you should use about 2 gallons. Connect all of the hoses back up. The engine is done.

 

[rbezdon]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

harrisg, I dont think youll reliably pull the antifreeze up into the engine from the muffs. They work because the water feed is pressurized but the air leaks you will have by trying to capture the suction of the lower unit impeller does not work well and you'll wind uo damaging the impeller and not getting the anti freexe to flow into the engine. I just pull off the hose feeding the water flow from the lower unit to the engine and put a fummel in it and pour the anti freeze back down the reverse direction to fill the lower unit. Then I drain the block by using the block drains and exhaust manifold rubber caps, replace tham and fill the block with a gallon or so of antifreeze. I dont feel comfortable just draining as I have puled the engine after draining and there are always a few "pockets" that trap water and do not fully drain. I froze the old block once back in 1990 and severly cracked it. I drove for years after welding but it wasnt fun to get fixed.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

Take a look at the Camco set up at West marine.It is basically similar to what you describe with the y valve.Theirs is a t fitting that switches off the water as you switch over to antifreeze.I have used it at least 10 times and it works great!!!! Tips to use correctly are as follows.Make sure engine is warmed up to assure thermostat is opened or remove stat.Use room temp antifreeze mixed with warm to hot water 50/50.This wiil cause engine temp to rise as you are winterizing but will assure that the stat stays open.If you remove stat--any temp antifreeze will do.Have someone keep an eye on the level of the AF as it drops in the 5 gal container.When 1 1/2 gals of the 5 are left begin to for the motor.At 1/2 gal shut or stall motor with an overload of foging oil and you are done.Charlie

 

[Lou C]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

I do as vatter does. I know many do use the tank method and the issue is if the impeller is not in perfect shape the engine may not pick up the AF and will overheat. This is esp true on Volvos and Bravos with the engine mounted pump, which is a long way from the outdrive. With Merc Alphas and OMC Cobras with the OD mounted pump it can work, but your thermo HAS to be open or you will wind up with AF in the manifolds and not much in the block. If it is a cold day when you are winterizing, this tends to be more of an issue. So I just pull out the back seat and drain and backfill the old fashioned way. Plus it is good to remove the plugs every year since that way it is unlikely they will ever get rusted in place.

 

[Jilly - 5]

Re: Using muffs and "Y" valve to winterize?

Pockets are the problem. Whenever block makers thought the engine might have a hot spot, they created a cooling pocket in the block casting (some in tortured locations). They reasoned that high rpm would always flush those pockets with coolant when underway, with the large cooling galleries keeping overall temperature normal. Well, high rpm is also the way to blow water out of those pockets and fill them with anti-freeze. My Volvo (4.3 GXi/EFI/SX) has a factory flush hose to which I connect an anti-freeze bucket. After back-flushing the power steering cooler, I seal off the outdrive intake (masking tape) and introduce gravity-fed coolant into the flush hose. With the outdrive closed off (to not lose anti-freeze out that "back door"), I idle engine until thermostat opens (sucks clearly on the anti-freeze bucket). After thermostat opens, I make some quick revs to 1500 rpm, to blow the pockets. I have 5 gallons in the gravity bucket, with 5 more on hand in another bucket ($25). Must go in and out of 1500 rpm quickly , or you'll starve the RW pump impeller. Two or three revs does the trick. And I save some of the anti-freeze with a another bucket under the out-drive.<br /><br />If you don't have a flush hose, make one by inserting a "T" fitting before the RW pump.