Winterize outdrive question

[AnkorCraft79]

Does water pool in a prealpha 1 outdrive? I winterized the Mercruiser 120 engine when I was working on it and changed the drive lube and lubed the prop shaft but was worried that not sucking antifreeze thru the outdrive will hurt. Should I keep the drive in the down position when storing?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Winterize outdrive question

Should I keep the drive in the down position when storing?

yep, that's the ticket. have it full down and all the water will drain out of it by gravity.

or....

i remove mine and store it in the basement. there's pm to do that requires the drive to be pulled anyways.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Winterize outdrive question

It's a rule of thumb to store the outdrive down for long storage, to save wear and tear on the bellows. Also, there may be some drain holes at various locations on your drive, wouldn't hurt to ID them and probe with a wire to see if they are unclogged.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Winterize outdrive question

When you found that your drive would not suck up the AF was the engine also starting to run hot? If so you should take a look at the impeller which is in the drive on the Alpha. I do not like those winterizing kits for that reason (if it doesn't suck it up the impeller can get worn) and for the reason that if the thermostat does not open up the AF will not get into the block. If you tried to winterize your engine this way, I'd strongly suggest that you manually drain it, you can fill it with antifreeze through the big hose on the circulating pump if you want to use AF but make sure all the water is out first. Also do the same with the manifolds....