Just finished winterizing, did I get it all?

[geek]

The time has come here in the great state of Idaho to get my boat ready for winter. It is a sad day, but it was inevitable.

I would like to post a list of what I did, and hope that anything I may have overlooked will be seen and caught by you great people.

1. Fuel stabilizer in gas tank, ran boat for 15 minutes using homemade fake-a-lake.
2. Removed upper water lines going to exhaust manifolds, then removed manifold drain plugs. Blew compressed air through hoses to force all water out of exhaust manifold.
3. Removed knock sensors to drain block.
4. Removed water pump hoses and drained.
5. Removed water pump inlet hose, blew compressed air back through the water intake ( I put a bucket under the thru-hull to catch the water coming out, was able to collect about 3 quarts ).
6. Removed spark plugs one at a time and sprayed fogging oil into each plug hole.
7. Turned engine over by hand a total of 2 rotations.
8. Removed battery
9. Cleaned and waxed outside of boat.
10. Detailed entire inside of boat.

This is all I have done so far. I am relatively confident I won't have any freezing issues, but I am a little hesitant to call it good. I am debating with filling the block and exhaust manifold with antifreeze, my dealer says not to do this because it is unnecessary but I would like more opinions. On another note, this is a Marine Power 5.7 and my dealer told me that I could fog it by spraying fogging oil into the air intake, but I have read elsewhere that this can cause problems in fuel injected engines.

I guess more than anything I am looking for someone to say that I got it all and I can stop worrying. This is my first attempt at winterizing a boat engine, so as you can tell, my nerves are going to be shot for the entire winter.

Any thoughts?

[skippabcool]

Geek, whereabouts in Idaho are you?

The only other thing that I can think of is the transmission cooler drain or remove the hose. It sounds like you may have gotten that with blowing air though the water intake. Still may not hurt.

If there is water in the hull you may want to vacuum it up with a shop vac.

Others may recommend changing the oil and transmission / vdrive fluids now as apposed to spring.

Do you have a heater or shower?

Last year was the first that I winterized and I did not have any problems. I did not put in any antifreeze. I did leave all the plugs out till spring. I did not fog anything. That seems to be another area some do and some don't.

[geek]

Geek, whereabouts in Idaho are you?

I live in Blackfoot, which is on the southeast side of Idaho. Its about 25 miles south of Idaho Falls and 25 miles north of Pocatello.

The only other thing that I can think of is the transmission cooler drain or remove the hose. It sounds like you may have gotten that with blowing air though the water intake. Still may not hurt.

Forgot to add that to the list, I did remove the plug from the transmission cooler and drained that water.

If there is water in the hull you may want to vacuum it up with a shop vac.

I did do this as well.

Others may recommend changing the oil and transmission / vdrive fluids now as apposed to spring.

I have been thinking about this as well, but I changed all fluids in the transmission/vdrive late in the season so they are still fairly new. I changed the oil at the beginning of the season and used AMSOIL synthetic so I think I will just change the filter and then top off the oil, then do a full oil change mid-season next year. Think that will be ok?

Do you have a heater or shower?

No, my boat does not have either of these

Last year was the first that I winterized and I did not have any problems. I did not put in any antifreeze. I did leave all the plugs out till spring. I did not fog anything. That seems to be another area some do and some don't.

That makes me feel better already!

[IDBoating]

I recommend changing things like engine oil and transmission fluid before storage. If there's any water accumulated in there it's better not to let it sit in there for six months.

I'd disconnect the hose going to the transmission cooler, as recommended above. It's often a low point in the system and even if you've blow air through it, residual water could collect there and "fill" the cooler. Edit: I see by your later message that you've done this. Excellent!

I didn't read that you did anything with the fuel system and filters. Running treated fuel through it is good, but now is the time to change the inline fuel filter and drain/replace the fuel/water separating filter if your engine has one. Again, letting water sit in there for an extra six months is not a good idea.

Do you have a raw water strainer? If so, drain and clean it.

I think of winterizing engines as three subsystems: Lubrication, fuel, and water. All three should be given appropriate attention.

Just my $0.02. Glad to see you're giving your investment the love and care it needs!

[geek]

This brings up an interesting question I have. I cannot find any inline fuel filter on my boat at all. The only thing I can find is a fuel pump ( I assume it is the fuel pump ). It has what I believe to be a canister on the top of it that I assume has the fuel/water separator filter in it. I cannot find anything else that I can identify as a fuel filter. I have debated taking this apart to see what is inside, but haven't done so as of yet. So, if you happen to know or can point me to somewhere that discusses this part of the fuel system, I would like to get that serviced before I put the boat away for good.

[Vicseek]

Looks like a list of Winterization I'm going to do next month or maybe Dec..
One thing I've been thinging about is what to do about the ballast tanks & pumps.

[geek]

I don't have an automated ballast system (planning on installing it over this winter). But, I would assume you would just want to make sure the tanks are drained, then remove the lines one at a time and blow air through them so you get everything dry.

[skippabcool]

I live in Blackfoot, which is on the southeast side of Idaho. Its about 25 miles south of Idaho Falls and 25 miles north of Pocatello.

I know right where Blackfoot is located. I am from Smithfield, UT and showed horses up in that area. I bought a truck in Blackfoot as well. The best car buying experience ever.

Sounds like you have everything covered for winterizing.

[Iwndr]

I don't have an automated ballast system (planning on installing it over this winter). But, I would assume you would just want to make sure the tanks are drained, then remove the lines one at a time and blow air through them so you get everything dry.

and make sure you get a little RV antifreeze in all of the ballast pumps

[chpthril]

This brings up an interesting question I have. I cannot find any inline fuel filter on my boat at all. The only thing I can find is a fuel pump ( I assume it is the fuel pump ). It has what I believe to be a canister on the top of it that I assume has the fuel/water separator filter in it. I cannot find anything else that I can identify as a fuel filter. I have debated taking this apart to see what is inside, but haven't done so as of yet. So, if you happen to know or can point me to somewhere that discusses this part of the fuel system, I would like to get that serviced before I put the boat away for good.

Do a search using the search button above for Marine Power fuel filter. There are a few threads with pics and description on how to service. If the engine has less then 250 hrs, I wouldnt sweat it.

I have been thinking about this as well, but I changed all fluids in the transmission/vdrive late in the season so they are still fairly new. I changed the oil at the beginning of the season and used AMSOIL synthetic so I think I will just change the filter and then top off the oil, then do a full oil change mid-season next year. Think that will be ok?

How many hours on that oil change? Used oil is caustic and can pit the soft metals of the engine such as bearings and piston. For this reason, I like to change the oil in the fall. This leaves fresh clean oil in the engine for the long winters nap. Servicing the trans and v-drive is easy to do while winterizing, but is not necessary every year. Is cheap and only adds a little more time to the winterization, so no big deal do it every year though.

[geek]

I know right where Blackfoot is located. I am from Smithfield, UT and showed horses up in that area. I bought a truck in Blackfoot as well. The best car buying experience ever.

Sounds like you have everything covered for winterizing.

Awesome, one of my parts stores is in Smithfield. I love going to visit that store because all the people in town are great.

[geek]

How many hours on that oil change? Used oil is caustic and can pit the soft metals of the engine such as bearings and piston. For this reason, I like to change the oil in the fall. This leaves fresh clean oil in the engine for the long winters nap. Servicing the trans and v-drive is easy to do while winterizing, but is not necessary every year. Is cheap and only adds a little more time to the winterization, so no big deal do it every year though.

There are 45 hrs on the engine oil. There are 15 hours on the transmission/vdrive oil.

Should I change the oil?

[chpthril]

There are 45 hrs on the engine oil. There are 15 hours on the transmission/vdrive oil.

Should I change the oil?

Yes, its recommended to change every 50 hrs. And it needs to be run for a couple of minutes after the fresh oil is in so it flushes the very parts we dont want the old oil sitting in all winter.

[zad0030]

If you have a heater make sure to blow out those lines as well

[geek]

Yes, its recommended to change every 50 hrs. And it needs to be run for a couple of minutes after the fresh oil is in so it flushes the very parts we dont want the old oil sitting in all winter.

LOL. That means I am going to have to run the boat, which means I am going to have to re-winterize all over again. Oh well, at least it will give me an excuse to hang out in the boat for another saturday.