How do I winterize an inboard and stern drive engine?

Question

How do I winterize an inboard and stern drive engine?

Answer 1

it is also a good idea to loosen all the drive belts

Answer 2

Take my advice. Coastie is the only one who has got it right

Answer 3

There many ways. I tell how I do.

First I add a fuel stabilizer (Auto Parts Store) run that and fill the tank for the winter. A tank without fuel can rust more than one with fuel (Unless it Aluminum), the stabilizer keep the fuel good.

Look at the engine, usually there 2-3 brass plugs about a 7/16 or 10 mm. Remove them and place somewhere safe. I lay by the engine, some people put in the glove box. One may be on the Starter side the other two on the big exhaust looking thing, on bottom. I remove the Hoses and pour out the water, spray with Silicon Spray, and re-install. Lower the lower unit (Mostly if it outside, water can get behind the prop and freeze, not good). Remove the Battery or at least disconnect one cable. Clean outside of battery with about a Table spoon or two of baking soda mixed in a glass of water (Baking soda neutralize acid, so, it will foam). Then open the battery covers if you can and check the water level. Use ONLY distilled water if you need to add water.Connect a trickle charger to the battery or I charge one day a month with 2 AMPS. Next spring check battery water level, install the plugs and connect the battery. Use some ear muffs and water hose (Never run engine without water, ruins water impeller/pump). Fire that bad daddy rat up and head for the lake.

Lower unit, I change every year before the summer. How I do this. Remove top and bottom plug (Have an oil pan or something the catch). I have a 1 gallon yard sprayer. I modified the end to fit in the "Bottom" s***w hole. Fill it will your lower unit fluid, pump it up and fill from the bottom up. When it full oil come out the top! This push air up and out! If, a little drain out when you put in the bottom plug, that OK, gives room for heat expansion.

Answer 4

I am a certified marine mechanic and work at a dealership in Montana.....it freezes up here pretty hard.

1. Change engine oil and filter

2. Change fuel filter

3. Change lower unit oil.......drain and fill from the bottom plug (filling from the bottom plug until you get oil coming out of the top vent plug ensures you have no air pockets) .

4. Drain all water from engine block , oil cooler, exhaust manifolds, and water pump, then reinstall plugs.

5. add stabilizer to your fuel tank to keep your gas from going bad during the winter.

6. purchase 5 gallons of RV antifreeze and run this through your engine untill you see it flow out of the exhaust. You can do this by attaching a set of flushing ears to your lower unit with a 4 ft. piece of garden hose. Stick a funnel in the end of the garden hose and hold it up higher than the outdrive unit. pour the antifreeze into the funnel while the engine is running at idle ( you may want to ask a friend to help you with this). Shut the engine off once you have plenty of antifreeze coming out of the exhaust. DO NOT DRAIN THE ANTIFREEZE OUT OF THE ENGINE UNTIL SPRING !!!!!! the antifreeze will keep the water passages from rusting over and also protect your water pump.

7. If you have any water systems such as a sink or live wells on your boat, you can also run the RV antifreeze through those syatems to protect them.

8. Disconnect your batteries for the winter.

9. If you have a transom plug remove it and store for the winter ( freezing rain water that sits in the bottom of your boat can crack your hull)

10. remove all spark plugs and FOG the engine with engine storage fogging oil, reinstall spark plugs.

If you need more information than this, I would suggest that you contact your local dealer and ask them for a copy of thier winterization procedures. FYI....we charge about $300.00 for the procedure I listed above and most inboard/outboard boats take 2 1/2 - 3 hours to complete. This also includes trailer maintenance.

Answer 5

Every other year, I drain the gear oil from the outdrive.  Drain it through the bottom plug, refill through the top.

For the engine.  Start it up, then spray fogging oil into the carb until it chokes the engine.  Then open all the drain plugs and let the water out.  I leave the drain plugs in but loose.

Then add stabil to your fuel tank.  It's basically parafin and floats on top of the gas keeping the ethanol (alcohol) from mixing with the air and forming water.  Alternatives are to simply fill the tank to capacity and achieve the same thing.

As an aside, try to use only gasoline that does not have ethanol.  I know most Shell's are pure gas.  BP is notorious for adding so many additives so avoid BP gas for long term (over winter) storage.  If you're already screwed with your gas, use a miracle product like Soltron which bonds to the water molecules and helps it to pass through your injectors w/o stalling or significant loss of power.  I use it and swear by it.  Took lots of research to find that cure.

If you have onboard water, heater, sink, etc. pump your water tank to near dry.  Then bypass the intake and have your pump drink from pink RV antifreeze.  It's save for drinking pipes.  Do this until you get pink out of each faucet for both cold and hot.  AFTER this, then open the drains on your hot water heater.

Don't forget to open the drain valve for your oil cooler (if you have one).

Answer 6

This is the true list of things to do!!!!!

Prepare a checklist



As with laying-up your boat for the season, it is essential not to miss a step. If your owner's manual includes winterizing instructions, that is the procedure you should follow. In the absence of manufacturer's instructions, here are two generic checklists for engine winterizing, one for outboards and one for inboards. Some steps on these lists may not apply to your particular engine.

The only items you will need, other than your engine's normal

lubricants are:

- an aerosol can of fogging oil,

- a fuel stabilizer (gasoline engines) or a fuel biocide (diesel engines),

- and, for inboards, a gallon or two of non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze.

.

Inboards

Change coolant--fresh-water cooled engines only

Coolant loses its anticorrosion properties over time. Replacing it every year with a fresh 50-50 mix protects the inside of your engine.

Change oil in engine and transmission

First take the boat out for a ride to get the oil hot and contaminants in suspension. (This also distributes the fresh coolant throughout the engine.) Replace the oil filter.   Remember that there is no drain plug at the bottom of the boat! You need to take the oil out of the engine. Go to a website such as www.westmarine.com for winterizing gear.

Top-off fuel tanks and add biocide--diesel engines only

Keeping the tank full inhibits condensation, a serious problem for diesel engines. Treat the fresh fuel with a biocide to r****d bacteria growth. A stabilizer is unnecessary unless you expect to run the engine during the winter since the paraffin that precipitates out will be reabsorbed by the fuel when warm weather returns.

Run engine out of fuel--gasoline engines only

Shut off the fuel supply and let the engine run until it stops.

Fog the intake--gasoline engines only

While the engine is running, remove the flame arrestor and spray fogging oil into the air intake. Give it an extra heavy shot just as the engine starves and dies.

Drain fuel tank and supply lines--gasoline engines only

Adding stabilizer is an alternative but less effective way of avoiding engine problems in the spring resulting from stale gasoline.

Flush raw-water circuit

If you have a fresh-water flush connector, use it. Otherwise, close the intake seacock and disconnect the hose on the outlet side of the raw-water pump. Disconnect the cooling-water discharge hose from the exhaust manifold or riser. Run fresh water into the discharge hose to back-flush raw-water passages and rinse out salt deposits. You can extend the disconnected pump hose outside the boat or let the bilge pump handle the flush discharge.

Protect raw-water passages--raw-water cooled diesel engines only

The raw water circuit must be drained to prevent freezing, but air exposure promotes corrosion. Reconnect the water-pump outlet hose. Insert a funnel into the disconnected discharge hose and pour a 50-50 mix of propylene glycol antifreeze into the funnel until the hose will not accept more. Allow the mixture to remain inside the block for several minutes, then open all raw-water drain plugs and drain the engine. This treatment leaves behind a layer of corrosion protection on the water-jacket, and it freeze-protects any water that might be harbored in low spots inside the engine.

This treatment is also applicable to protecting the heat exchanger on a fresh-water cooled engine.

Remove raw-water impeller

Antifreeze swells some rubbers, so rinse the extracted impeller as a precaution. Some grease the impeller and reinstall it. My preference is to leave it out until spring so the vanes don't take a set.

Fog cylinders--gasoline engines only

Remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into the holes. "Bump" the starter to spread the oil on the cylinder walls. Regap or replace plugs, as required, and reinstall.

Fog intake--diesel engines only

Spray fogging oil into the intake manifold and turn the engine over slowly by hand to draw the oil into the cylinders and spread it. Do not use the starter, even with the stop control pulled out; the engine can start on the fogging oil.

Drain muffler canister

The less moisture the engine is exposed to, the less corrosion will occur.

Degrease, derust, touch-up

Maintain all painted surfaces to keep corrosion at bay.

Grease control cables

Extract control cables from their housings and coat them with grease. If you cannot remove them, tape an oil-filled bag tightly around the high end of the housing; the oil will work its way down the cable. Lubricate linkages and pivots.

Coat unpainted parts with an anticorrosion spray

Seal all engine and tank openings

Keep moist air from getting inside your engine and tanks. Seal air inlets, crankcase and transmission breathers, exhaust outlets, and tank vents. Fabricate caps from plastic containers and tape them in place with plastic tape to create an airtight seal.

Tighten stuffing box

If the boat will be stored in the water, tighten the stuffing box to eliminate all dripping. Tag it to remind you to loosen it in the spring.

Stern Drive

A stern drive is, in principle, an inboard engine married to an outboard drive system. If your boat has a stern drive you will need to follow the inboard list for protecting the engine, but add to that several items from the outboard list for protecting the lower end. An additional requirement is filling the drive shaft housing with the appropriate lubricant.

Remember that a stern drive needs to be in the full-down position for draining the water passages and for checking or adding gear lube. Store it in the down position.