WINTERIZING

[ST.TIGE]

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP.

[NICKYPOO]

I pull all the blue drain plugs and tow the boat up and down a really steep street, twice. This will get any water to slosh around and drain. It stays in my garage all winter which never really gets below 50 degrees, so... Never had a problem in 10+ years of owning it.

[boatwakes]

If you don't do the antifreeze you must pull the block plugs on the engine. 9/16 hex head brass plug located near the middle of the engine block just above the oil pan rail on both sides. The trans cooler will be slightly in the way on the starboard side. IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT YOU DRAIN THE BLOCK BY REMOVING THOSE PLUGS. I replaced two engines this year for customers who winterized their own boats without removing those plugs and insurance WILL NOT PAY for that loss.
After those are pulled, remove the blue T handle plugs on the cool fuel system and the bottom of the elbows on the exhaust manifolds. IF you don't have drain plugs on the exhaust manifolds, remove the hoses on both sides and let drain/leave off. Same for the cool fuel system(it's the lowest point in the system and is at the bottom of the run from the raw water pump so all water will be removed). Remove the hose clamp on the circulating water pump where the 2" hose goes to the thermostat housing and let drain/leave off and that's it for water. DON'T fog the engine with fogging oil but rather hook up a small fuel tank with 2 cycle engine oil in it at 30:1 ratio and stabilizer (book says 50:1 but I like rich), thats 4.3oz oil per gallon of gas, and run it for 5 min on the fake a lake. Stabilize the fuel that's left in the tank (leave it as empty as possible, preferably none) and let it be. She'll smoke for a few seconds upon start up at the beginning of season but that's just the 2 cycle burning off out of the injectors. Change the oil prior to firing up for the first time next season, that way any condensation has already migrated to the bottom of the oil pan. Use either Mercury/Quicksilver 25w-40 standard petroleum oil or Amsoil 10w-40 synthetic marine engine oil (it's actually cheaper than the Mercruiser synthetic and has WAAAAAYYYY better protection) and DO NOT USE FRAM OIL FILTERS because they cost $3.50. Wix, Baldwin, Quicksilver, Mercruiser, AC Delco etc... just not Fram.