Winterize

[shemandr]

My boat is recently on the hard. I cannot run the engine to warm it up before putting antifreeze in the salt water cooled engine because there is no water available. There's a procedure in the manuel, which is on the boat, for clamping a hose so that the antifreeze goes into the block and not just through the bypass. Which hose is that and where should it be clamped? I don't understand why the antifreeze will go into the block while the thermostat is still closed. I hope to do this this afternoon.

[Don Moyer]

The hose to clamp off in the procedure you're describing is the small hose between the "T" fitting on the water jacket side plate and the inlet to the thermostat housing (laying directly over the starter). It's probably best to remove the thermostat, but in most cases the thermostat is not sealed sufficiently to prevent the antifreeze from passing through with the bypass hose clamped off. You should know very quickly whether your antifreeze is passing through or not (by the bucket emptying), and if it isn't, you'll have to remove the thermostat.

Don

[shemandr]

Thanks for the timely response. I'm off to get that stuff in before the snow flies. I guess the season really is over.

[shemandr]

Clamping the hose was more difficult than I planned. Next time I would use a screw clamp instead of the spring clamp I tried to use. It didn't close the hose as much as I would have liked. I couldn't get the thermostat out because I couldn't get the housing off. I put two gallons of anti freeze somewhere and I hope that's good enough. I may go back with a screw clamp after the snow, and I can get back at it.

[shemandr]

I went back with a screw clamp and closed the bypass completely. 2 more gallons of antifreezed were drawn into the engine and presumably into the block. I'll be able to sleep these upcoming freezing nights.
I doubt that I've been this diligent in past years. Was I just lucky I didn't have freeze damage? Does salt water freeze solid at temperatures we have in the N.E.? Has anyone actually seen freezed damage?