For those of you getting ready to fire up for the first time this year...

[boatwakes]

Check your equipment prior to use this year!!!! I've been off FB since early October but have been selling some surplus stuff on marketplace recently and happened to scroll through the FB Tige owner's page to find several posts about milky oil, leaking freeze plugs and and how to easily replace them and sudden puddles of transmission fluid in the bilge. Just a quick heads up for everyone in Texas and elsewhere who did not winterize; if your engine is raw water cooled, the block is now cracked just above the oil pan and will leak water into both the bilge and crankcase. If you have a Raptor, your exhaust manifolds are cracked and/or your v-drive and transmission coolers/cases are cracked leaking water into both the bilge and exhaust ports of your engine and ATF into the bilge. Change the exhaust manifolds on the raptors but expect to buy a new v-drive as the cooler is located inside their respective cases. For those who need a new engine, I'll be posting what parts work and which don't later this week because so far this is worst year I've ever seen. I just sold my last machined block and rotating assembly last weekend for the above issues.

[KoolAid]

I think people are underestimating how many boats were damaged from the storm. When freeze plugs pop there is a lot more damage than people realize. Part availability is going to be the big issue this summer. People need to act fast on these repairs as any delay could keep them out of boating for the summer.

[BrentP]

Appreciate the PSA guys. Will keep an eye on the symptoms you listed. I pulled plugs, drained the raw water system, and had the boat sitting in the water the whole time. It ran fine after the freeze but I’m terrified - it was crazy cold.

Full fluid change is happening tomorrow. Will definitely find out then.


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[Bamer]

Have you seen any cases were all plugs were pulled, but still had damage in the raptor 400 setups?

I pulled my plugs in September-October time frame. Dropped it off at the dealer and they put them back in to run the engine. I picked back up in December and plugs were pulled. I have no way of knowing when they pulled them, but we never got much below freezing until in January.

Now I have a oil leak in my vdrive, hoping it’s just a seal otherwise how else can you avoid a freeze damage. I followed the drain process.


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[bsreid]

Sometimes even if you pull the plugs there might be something stopping the water from coming out. Most dealers up here in Canada tend to drain all the water and lift the bow of the boat up in the air to get all the water out. Or after you drain all the water put the plugs back in and run the boat with antifreeze.

If your weather was just slightly below freezing I would be surprised if anything actually froze especially if it was inside. Hopefully it's just a seal.

[dkyg]

Thanks for the information. I came to the marina to check these things and the heat exchanger on my raptor is definitely leaking. Nothing else appears to be leaking. Would it be obvious if the v drive case is cracked while idling in the slip?

[freeheel4life]

Heat exchanger is the common problem for Raptors. They bolt with a single bolt in the center so when they freeze the outer edge bows out from center point that is held.

You can save yourself a ton of time and hassle. Seakamp in Washington is the supplier.. they won't sell a whole cooler as they have a deal with Indmar but they will sell the heat exchanger end caps for like 3 bucks. There are different diameter end caps so pull you caps and measure diameter before you call.

I would still recommend removing the cooler and inspecting it's internals/pressure testing. Other wise you will have other issues down the road. Ive yet to see one crack but have replaced end caps on probably a half dozen now

[dkyg]

Thanks freeheel4life. Hopefully that works for me. All of the aftermarket heat exchangers I’ve seen so far online aren’t plumbed the same. I’d hate to have to replumb everything. I’ve never been inside one of these things but I assume its just coolant coils in a housing with fresh water flowed around them? The coils should be fine if it’s just the housing right?

[ebelizard]

I was away for work when the freeze hit texas. Boat was at the dealer. They said they pulled all the plugs and drained all the water, then ran it the day my buddy picked it up.

I haven't been home in nearly 2 months, not looking forward to the first time the boat fires up and see if there was any hidden damage. I can only keep my fingers crossed.

[freeheel4life]

Thanks freeheel4life. Hopefully that works for me. All of the aftermarket heat exchangers I’ve seen so far online aren’t plumbed the same. I’d hate to have to replumb everything. I’ve never been inside one of these things but I assume its just coolant coils in a housing with fresh water flowed around them? The coils should be fine if it’s just the housing right?

It's what you call a bundle type cooler. Looks like a bunch of straws stacked together inside. Attached pic is not the heat exchanger, but its the same style internally for reference. If you pull the exchanger you will find that Indmar used Oetiker clamps on everything. You will likely re-assmble with hose clamps. Or go source Oetikers and the tool. You will also need Propolyene Glycol and need to remove the thermostat housing and full coolant there or you will be stuck with an air bubble and will overheat.

[Surf406]

I’ve never understood why people even in other climates wouldn’t at least drain there boats in the off season. My boats are in a heated shop and they still get a full winterization just in case . Never had an issue yet . For the price of the boats it’s cheep insurance at least to drain it .

[h2o-ski]

In Texas, most boaters never think about it because we get below freezing a few hours at a time, not enough to cause damage. Geico marine insurance includes freeze protection as standard policy in the gulf states because of that very reason. To the credit of most of the dealers in the area, then have been sending emails to their mailing list letting most people know that if they did not winterize they most likely had damage and to have their boat checked before they start hitting the water.

[Bamer]

I’ve never understood why people even in other climates wouldn’t at least drain there boats in the off season. My boats are in a heated shop and they still get a full winterization just in case . Never had an issue yet . For the price of the boats it’s cheep insurance at least to drain it .

Once you learn where they are at, It Take less the 5 minutes to pull the drain plugs...


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[USWaker]

Once you learn where they are at, It Take less the 5 minutes to pull the drain plugs...

We’ve been known to go out on cold days and it’s 5-10 minutes to flush Marine antifreeze through the lake water side and, as stated above, 5 minutes to pull the plugs. I do this right in the parking lot at the ramp. This keeps us safe on the drive home.
Also for lake water cooled blocks, laying up your cooling system with antifreeze during the off season significantly reduces corrosion from what would otherwise be water sitting in you engine block all winter.

As far as insurance and freeze protection goes. If enough people file claims that their engine froze, the insurance company will just remove the freeze protection from your policy. Or they will make you prove that there was an effort to winterize your engine in order to make a freeze claim so they can deny coverage due to neglect.

[Bamer]

We’ve been known to go out on cold days and it’s 5-10 minutes to flush Marine antifreeze through the lake water side and, as stated above, 5 minutes to pull the plugs. I do this right in the parking lot at the ramp. This keeps us safe on the drive home.
Also for lake water cooled blocks, laying up your cooling system with antifreeze during the off season significantly reduces corrosion from what would otherwise be water sitting in you engine block all winter.

As far as insurance and freeze protection goes. If enough people file claims that their engine froze, the insurance company will just remove the freeze protection from your policy. Or they will make you prove that there was an effort to winterize your engine in order to make a freeze claim so they can deny coverage due to neglect.

That’s why when I pulled my plugs in October, I put them in a bag along with the keys and took a picture. The picture has a time stamp in the meta-data...


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