Cummins QSB 5.9 Winterization Question

Hello,
First winter with these engines. Anything special I need to do besides running Pink through the engines? Do I need to drain the raw water first? If so what's the best way to do that...pull lower zinc from aftercoolers, heat exchangers? Should I change the fuel filters now or in the spring. I'll obviously change oil before layup.

marks737 said:

Hello,
First winter with these engines. Anything special I need to do besides running Pink through the engines? Do I need to drain the raw water first? If so what's the best way to do that...pull lower zinc from aftercoolers, heat exchangers? Should I change the fuel filters now or in the spring. I'll obviously change oil before layup.

Click to expand...

This is a very detailed question. In a forum, you'll get pieces of answers from one person, other pieces from others. Do yourself a favor and check out Google. I just Googled "how to winterize qsb 5.9" and got several videos, a discussion of this exact topic on sbmar.com, and a few articles on winterizing diesels.

After you've read up and have a basic understanding, come back with more specific questions about the process or the various steps.

marks737 said:

Hello,
First winter with these engines. Anything special I need to do besides running Pink through the engines? Do I need to drain the raw water first? If so what's the best way to do that...pull lower zinc from aftercoolers, heat exchangers? Should I change the fuel filters now or in the spring. I'll obviously change oil before layup.

Click to expand...

If you haven't already done so, go to quickserve.cummins.com and register for an account; you'll need to enter your engine serial numbers. Cummins provides access to its entire library of engine documentation including maintenance and troubleshooting procedures. The winterization procedure does call for draining the engine of existing water from the zincs before adding antifreeze and instead of pumping pink through recommends just adding it via the heat exchanger hoses after removing the pump impeller. I don't know of anyone who does that including myself but I do think it's useful to understand the "book" solution. I do the zincs first which will accomplish the draining which I think is a good practice. I have a fitting for the sea strainer that enables me to draw antifreeze from a bucket. Right about 7 gallons per engine is all I need. I actually use purple (-60 degree) for a little extra insurance. I change the fuel filters along with the oil change.

Thanks Guys!