215 express cruiser 1997 winterizing ....

[veetek]

Hi just wondering if anyone did winterize that model of sea ray , and if anyone could give me any tips on it.

It has a mercruiser 5.0mpi from (2008) with alpha gen 2


also , does anyone know where the freshwater pump is located ?

Thank you,

 

[Ididntdoit]

WAAAAAAAAAAY to early for a thread like this.....You may get kicked off the island for this LOL - Welcome to CSR

 

[veetek]

WAAAAAAAAAAY to early for a thread like this.....You may get kicked off the island for this LOL - Welcome to CSR

not really a helpful answer here , but thanks for a welcome note anyways.

V

 

[CliffA]

Hi just wondering if anyone did winterize that model of sea ray , and if anyone could give me any tips on it.

It has a mercruiser 5.0mpi from (2008) with alpha gen 2


also , does anyone know where the freshwater pump is located ?

Thank you,

it does seem a little early to be discussing winterization, but i will try to help you out.......there is also a dedicated forum to this subject which may be a good read for you.....

- insure the fuel in the tank has been treated with both an ethanol treatment such as Startron and a stabilizer such as Sta-bil
- run engine to warm up the oil and then change the oil and oil fliter
- change the fuel/water seperator filter
- drain the drive fluid from the outdrive - replace water pump impeller if needed - put new fluid in outdrive
- drain the water from the engine block and exhaust by removing the 5 blue colored drain plugs - stick a thin piece of wire into each of the 5 water drains to insure nothing is blocking the water from draining out
- remove the water hoses from the thermostat housing - use the exhaust from a vaccum cleaner to blow through each of the water hoses to insure all the water has been cleared out of the engine and exhaust
- put the 5 blue drain plugs back in place
- remove thermostat housing and thermostat and pour pink antifreeze into the hole where the thermostat was - continue unil the antifreeze starts to overflow
- reinstall the thermostat and thermostat housing and reattach the water hoses to the housing
- drain water from the portapot
- drain fresh water tank by disconnecting the water line at the bottom of the tank
- remove the spray nozzel on the galley sink - disconnect the water supply line on top of the fresh water pump - use the vaccum cleaner exhaust to blow through the end of the water supply line at the pump to clear out any water in the sink water supply line - reattach the sink sprayer nozzle - if you have a transom shower repeat this process for that sprayer line

if i have forgotten something someone will chime in......


good luck....

cliff

 

[veetek]

Cliff,

Thank you for your help on that.

 

[sigsmaster]

Cliff what are your thoughts on the RV fresh water system antifreeze? I have used it for two seasons now with no problems. I empty the water tank, put in the antifreeze run it through the back sprayer and front then rise twice for spring commissioning.

Plus other than running antifreeze with rust inhibitor through the engine is there anything else you can do to prevent/minimize rust and scale build up in your block and headers?

 

[CliffA]

Cliff what are your thoughts on the RV fresh water system antifreeze? I have used it for two seasons now with no problems. I empty the water tank, put in the antifreeze run it through the back sprayer and front then rise twice for spring commissioning.

Plus other than running antifreeze with rust inhibitor through the engine is there anything else you can do to prevent/minimize rust and scale build up in your block and headers?

Bryan,

There are strong beliefs about using antifreeze or not during winterization by various members of the forum.....you should read some of the archived post about this subject to gather the thoughts and proposed facts and make a decision for yourself.....

Since our winters are relatively mild and short i do not use antifreeze in either the fresh water system or the engine block.....i use the fact that air does not freeze as the basis for my winterization process....as long as there is no (or very little) water in either the fresh water system or the engine block that is all the winterization needed.....rust prevention during winter storage is a topic that has been debated here before.....some believe that adding antifreeze to the engine block will slow down or prevent rusting in the water passages in the engine.....logic says this 'should' be the case but i am not sure anyone has presented hard evidence to comfirm this.....i believe the amount of rust that forms in the water passages during winter storage is minimal and not enough to be concerned about....if you think about it the rust is also forming in the engine during the boating season while the boat is not being used....no one puts antifreeze in their engine after each time it is being used....that is just not practicle....i am not convinced that the practice of using antifreeze for 3-4 months of winter storage has enough positive affect on rust prevention to warrant the time, effort and cost involved.....keep in mind i boat in fresh water so if you boat in salt water rust formation may be more of a concern.....as far as the fresh water supply is concerned the same thing applies....i just drain all the water out of the tank and lines and call it good....then there is no water to freeze and cause any damage.....using antifreeze will certainly not hurt anything....i assume you are not using the fresh water supply as drinking water, so a simple flushing of the tank and lines at the start of the next boating season should be all that is needed.....

again, these are just my thoughts....everyone will develop their own opinion about this....

cliff