Winterize - Indmar 409

[jeremiah.hough]

Any suggestions/help on winterizing a 2014 Indmar 409? I also have ballast and heater. Should I just pay to have it done? I like doing stuff myself but will need some direction on placement and number of plugs to drain. Thanks in advance for any help!!

[boardman74]

First problem I see is Indmar doesn't make a 409?? Better check and see if you have the 350 or the 415. I have walk you threw it once I know what you have. I summerized about 40 of them.

[kx250frider617]

First problem I see is Indmar doesn't make a 409?? Better check and see if you have the 350 or the 415. I have walk you threw it once I know what you have. I summerized about 40 of them.

The indmar 409 uses the 6.0 block and have the tube headers. The chevy based indmar engines went from 330, 350, 409, 450, 550. I believe 330/350 uses 5.7 block, 409 is 6.0 block, and 450/550 uses the 6.2 block.

To the OP i would just youtube some inboard boat winterizing videos, they are basically the same concept on ever engine.
I don't have any experience with winterizing, I live in Socal and have a A22 with a salt package LS3 which is closed cooling.

[boardman74]

Indmar never put a 409 in a Tige thats why I asked. in 2013 PCM put a 409 in a Tige. Indmars for 2014 were: 335(or 330 depending on where you asK), 350, 415, 450, 550. Pcm 409, indmar 350, and indmar 415 all drain differently thats also why I asked.

[jeremiah.hough]

my bad! it's an Indmar M60 415HP.

[boardman74]

I can tell you the way Tige does it. There are 2 hoses that connect to the side of the block about 4-6 inches below the manifolds. Pull the brass plugs out of the end of them. Then pull all 3 hoses off the water pump at the back of the engine. Pull both heater hoses off at the engine if you have them. On the 415 they are close in length so mark them. If you hook them up backwards your engine will over heat. Blow them out. Tige also unhooks the heater lines at the core. In front of the drivers console under the black divider/ wall. After that put everything back together and run coolant(RV type) thru the motor. There are a number of ways to induce the coolant. Some people drain that back out and some leave the coolant in.

If your not comfortable with it I would suggest having it professionally done. Its around $300. If you do it wrong it can cost you upwards of 15K. When I worked at the dealer we had a 13 PCM 343 that wasn't winterized and froze everything. For a complete motor from PCM, shipping, labor, etc ended up close to $15K. Not worth the risk to me, if your not comfortable with it.

[Dandy]

If your not comfortable with it I would suggest having it professionally done. Its around $300. If you do it wrong it can cost you upwards of 15K.

I agree. For the cost vs. risk I would rather put out the extra cash to assure it is done properly, or at least be assured that if it was not done correctly, the repair/replacement cost from improper winterization is the responsibility of the dealer. Call it "cheap insurance"

I have also found value in storing our boats with the dealer. In our area most of them will maintain the batteries, hook everything back up and do a Spring run out on the boat. With the short seasons in MN, this has allowed me to get to the dock in the spring, turn the key and everything is up and running + I can then use my storage unit for other summer stuff that normally is outside or in the garage that needs to be swapped out for winter gear.

[jeremiah.hough]

thanks for all the help! anything i need to do with ballast pumps? it will be stored inside a hanger and i will probably run a small heater on a low setting in the engine compartment but i want to be safe. i will take a look at it and see if i want to tackle it or not. i'm assuming i need to drain the v-drive also?

[Stingreye]

http://www.indmar.com/Libraries/Manu...al_1.sflb.ashx

Isn't the 6L closed cooled? Boardman am I reading that right that you guys drain the coolant in the block and replace with RV antifreeze?

EDIT: I am another socal boater that doesn't really worry about winterizing much, just curious more than anything.

[chpthril]

Closed systems have automotive coolant/antifreeze in the block, but the v-drive, transmission, heat exchanger and exhaust manifolds still are cooled by lake water. They need to be drained.

[IDBoating]

i will probably run a small heater on a low setting in the engine compartment

Not sure how small a heater you have, but a 60-100W light bulb laying on the bottom of the hull should be sufficient if the hatches are closed. Heat builds up fast in an unvented volume (I'm an Engineer and dissipating heat is one of electronic design's biggest headaches). Just an idea.

[chpthril]

thanks for all the help! anything i need to do with ballast pumps? it will be stored inside a hanger and i will probably run a small heater on a low setting in the engine compartment but i want to be safe. i will take a look at it and see if i want to tackle it or not. i'm assuming i need to drain the v-drive also?

If you do a complete winterization, then a heat source is a liability that out weighs the benefit.

With the boat out of the water, 90% of the water in the fill plumbing will run right back out through the intake. Tip the nose up and run the drain pumps until no more water exists. With a flexible funnel, pour about .5 gal down the each drain t-hull. With some layup fuel additive in the tank, run the engine and change the oil prior to draining, and you should be good.

[boardman74]

Indmar 415 is not closed cooling. The 450 and 550 are I believe.