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problems while winterizing

SippyRat

SippyRat

Well-known member
4.3 v6 mercruiser alpha 1

after i ran it with the garden hose, flushed the petcocks, removed and drained the hoses, reinstalled hoses and petcocks i can't get the motor to suck up the antifreeze. it won't even suck water with the garden hose attached. before i take off the water pump to check the impeller, does anyone have any suggestions? is it possibly air locked? this was supposed to take 30 minutes :brickwall:
 
Sounds like it's airlocked. You'll need to remove the thermostat cover and pour water/coolant in there i believe and i'd do it with the water on and t-stat removed. FWIW, i'm going about it by rigging a large funnel to my flush ears and pouring the antifreeze directly into the funnel. That way there is no need to drain the block or pull hoses.
 
My boat doesn't like to suck anti-freeze from that west marine winterizeing kit either. I do it the hard way and have had no problems. Drain and blow out each part, hoses, coolers, exhaust etc. and pour in antifreeze. This method is pretty close to the Merc procedure in my engine manual.
 
here's my method - drain all hoses, drain plugs etc. then pour non-tox through the hoses until it comes out the drains a nice pink colour. i use it to displace reamaining water in the system. i also leave all hoses disconnected until spring. this whole process takes less than 10 minutes. i do it while the lower unit oil is draining.
 
not to sound like an A$$ but did you open the breather hole on the 5 gallon container of anitfreeze to allow it to flow as well as elevate it?
 
Old Navy said:
My boat doesn't like to suck anti-freeze from that west marine winterizeing kit either. I do it the hard way and have had no problems. Drain and blow out each part, hoses, coolers, exhaust etc. and pour in antifreeze. This method is pretty close to the Merc procedure in my engine manual.
Click to expand...


That west marine kit doesn't use gravity to force it in. I hang my funnel up high on the engine hatch and pour away until green comes out the pipes. then i'm sure that every square inch of internal engine metal has been coated. By pouring it in the top of the engine and hoses doesn't guarentee that the anti-freeze will touch all the parts, esp. when you have air pockets here and there.
 
I hope everyone that is trying to suck water up has plans on changing their toasted impeller in the spring. They are not made to run dry for no amount of time. :shakehead:
 
Run it long enough to open the thermostat on the hose at 3000 then switch and run the antifreeze to it and it will suck it in. Never pull the other plugs. It keeps a flow goin and insure all areas are penetrated.
I use a 10 gallon container with A/F in it mounted on a stand taller than the transom. 3/4 hoe id. Been winterizin that way for 10 years and never had to remove the stupid plugs or had ANY freezin problems.
I also have a 110 gallon waterin troth on wheels to recover the antifreeze. I use a bilge pump to recover the antifreeze. I use a refractometer to measure the concentration going back into my bulk. Check the burst protection on your antifreeze also so you know you will be protected in a hard freeze., Some aren't rated for marine specs.
 
thanks all

I'm still puzzled! I winterized it this way last year with now problems. The only thing I did different this year is removed the drain plugs on the manifolds while it was running to get the sand and gunk out then replaced them while it was running. I did let the motor run for a few seconds after I shut off the water. I'm just going to take the pump off and check the impeller and go from there. :) Oh and she is FOR SALE after I resolve this issue of course. :) Check the listings soon
 
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location?

the guy at the parts store told me the impeller was located in the lower unit. is this true? i thought it was on the front of the motor in the housing.
 
SippyRat said:
the guy at the parts store told me the impeller was located in the lower unit. is this true? i thought it was on the front of the motor in the housing.
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yuppers. If it's an alpha series lower unit, which i'm sure yours is, the impellor is located in the lower unit. If it's a Bravo then there is no impellor in the lower unit, just the sea-water pick-up pump thats belt driven off the motor and the motors water pump itself. Likely you have a bad impellor in your lower unit. The water pump on the engine block is hard to hurt, even if run dry.
 
On a bravo with a sea pump can burn up just as quick as anything else. It only takes 15 seconds to heat the impeller because its rubber. Than when it starts to cool it sticks itself to the housing.
 
I have smoked a few just turning motors over that didn't even fire. I was anxious to hear if a few I bought in the past would fire and didn't hook water to em. They didn't fire but melted the impellers. Imagine now running at idle or higher for even a few seconds. I change impellers every year in my stuff-good insurance.
 
a hard lesson learned! shes going to the shop next week. check out my for sale ad and pics! spread the words "nice diplomat for sale" :thumb:
 
Going to the shop? It's not hard to change your alpha impeller. Just take off the lower half of the outdrive...................As far as winterizing goes...I guess it's like skinning a cat, there's more than 1 way to do it! As far as myself, I don't start the engine, I just remove all the hoses and petcocks and pour anifreeze through all the upper hoses untill it comes out the lower hoses and petcocks....AND DON'T FORGET YOUR POWER STEERING COOLER!!!!!! It is separate from the engine and is often overlooked.
 
yeah thats how i winterized it. so you think i should do it myself? i've been wrenching on cars my whole life but not too many boats. i guess it's "fear of the unknown" i am selling it and i don't what the new owner to have problems with it. but if it's as easy as you say it is......... maybe i'll tear into it. any pointers?
 
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