Pink Stuff in the block, or just drain it?

[ch435]

I am wondering how many of you in the cold climates just drain your blocks vs how many add the pink stuff as well? I have had a few I/O's and have never added the pink stuff. I have always just pulled all the drain plugs, and disconnected the hoses at the low points. I've never had an issue. But I see many of you flush the pink stuff through as well. Some of you even leave it in there. (Which seems risky to me because it leaves no room for expansion if there is any water in there - a friend of mine had that exact thing happen).
So, what do you all do?

 

[tbirdvet]

On my previous boats (all V-8's) I would run pink through and then drain and I was not concerned about how much drained out since it was pink. On my present boat I just drain using the air pressure system (built in). This may be dependent on your specific engine design and requirements. What does Mercruiser state to do on the 4.3 engine?

 

[25thmustang]

I'm one of the ones who runs the pink through but does not drain. Hasn't been an issue yet, and I hope it never becomes one.

 

[Lazy Daze]

It's not just about freeze protection. Having the pink stuff (the right kind) helps to keep internal corrosion down. If your friend experienced a problem by leaving the AF in there, then it wasn't done correctly.

 

[wakeup 19]

In Minnesota you may need the purple stuff, -100 degrees protection!

 

[ch435]

In Minnesota you may need the purple stuff, -100 degrees protection!

We get cold, but not THAT cold. State record for actual temp is only -60F, and that was up north. Down here in the "south", record is only in -30's somewhere.

 

[Stray Cat]

Believe it or not, somewhere around 0, the Prestone pink stuff starts to turn into a slush. I left an untapped gallon set on my work bench one year, when it got below zero, the pink stuff remained a slush, but it didn't raise level in the jug or buldge the side of the jug. My mechanic pumps it in then drains it.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Believe it or not, somewhere around 0, the Prestone pink stuff starts to turn into a slush. I left an untapped gallon set on my work bench one year, when it got below zero, the pink stuff remained a slush, but it didn't raise level in the jug or buldge the side of the jug.

In case anyone is reading this and thinking about calling it BS - it's absolutely correct. Even the Camco stuff will do it. As you noticed, though, it didn't expand. It won't start to expand until past -50*. That's totally normal for it to turn to slush.

 

[ch435]

Ya, I noticed on the bottles I got today that slush can form around 0, but it wont get solid til -50

 

[ch435]

Well, after reading some of the responses, consulting the manual and marine max, and reading a couple good threads in here, I decided to put the pink stuff in, and leave it in for the winter. One important note, I took care to get the propylene glycol version of the pink stuff, with corrosion protection, per mercruiser recommendations. I used the t-stat method and poured it down the hoses. Took about 4 gallons per engine. I felt confident the block had very little water in it if any, and probably would have been fine, but I wanted the corrosion protection as well.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I drain using the silly little bicycle pump and then i add the pink juice. I only do it because it is really easy (I have a permanent engine flush connector), and it gets rid of any left over water.

Henry

 

[Bodkin Creek George]

Believe it or not I fill my engines with the purple stuff and then drain it before storage. Thinking about going to the proper pink stuff this year.

 

[Great lakes pirate]

Believe it or not I fill my engines with the purple stuff and then drain it before storage. Thinking about going to the proper pink stuff this year.

I like to take 50 dollar bills and put them in a pile and light them on fire. :huh:

 

[Henry Boyd]

I like to take 50 dollar bills and put them in a pile and light them on fire. :huh:

Good for you. What are you going to use when it comes time to pay for a replacement cracked block because all of the water didn't drain?

Henry

 

[Great lakes pirate]

Good for you. What are you going to use when it comes time to pay for a replacement cracked block because all of the water didn't drain?

Henry

I do drain all of the water before I pour about 4 gallons of -60 antifreeze into the thermostat housing. Thanks for asking though!

 

[Bodkin Creek George]

Sorry guys, I guess I didn't explain the whole process that I do. My boat is on a lift so the process is a little different. I have been doing this for years and never lost an engine yet do to a cracked block. We run the motors to get them up to operating temp. With the MPI's we run the cocktail mix in the fuel line and then we raise the lift and remove the sea water intake hose and run six gallons of AF through each engine. That's enough that it comes out the exhaust. We then drain the manifolds with the pump and the mufflers and sea strainers. This works for me. Always has and always will.

 

[Larry]

Sorry guys, I guess I didn't explain the whole process that I do. My boat is on a lift so the process is a little different. I have been doing this for years and never lost an engine yet do to a cracked block. We run the motors to get them up to operating temp. With the MPI's we run the cocktail mix in the fuel line and then we raise the lift and remove the sea water intake hose and run six gallons of AF through each engine. That's enough that it comes out the exhaust. We then drain the block with the pump and the mufflers and sea strainers. This works for me. Always has and always will.

Why would yould drain your block? The 8.1's you have are fresh water cooled???? Your only winterizing the raw water side of your cooling system....

 

[Henry Boyd]

"Fresh Water Cooling" is a bit of a misnomer. The 496/8.1 engine actually has two cooling systems. The main cooling system is basically like a car. It is filled with automotive anti-freeze that circulates through the engine block, moved by a tradition engine block water pump. However since an air cooled radiator is not used, the anti-freeze is circulated through a water cooled heat exchanger and the the coil of the house water heater. The water for the heat exchanger comes from a raw water pickup either in the sterndrive leg (496), or a through hull (8.1). The raw water is drawn by an external water pump mounted on the engine block. The raw water circulates not only through the heat exchanger, but also through the exhaust manifolds, powering steering cooler (496), or transmission cooler (8.1).

Flushing with anti-freeze and the draining, or draining and then flushing with anti-freeze insures that any trapped pockets of liquid contain anti-freeze. The risk is that trapped sea water in the exhaust manifolds would result in the manifold cracking and draining down into the engine cylinder, leading to more damage either in the form of cracks from re-freezing or the introduction of water into the cylinder the first time the engine is started up in the spring. Additionally anti-freeze gets deposited in the raw water pump, heat exchanger, and PS or transmission, cooler.

This may be over kill, but since a new/reman big block is somewhere north of $ 12K installed, spending $ 25-$30 on extra antifreeze is cheap insurance.

Henry

 

[Bodkin Creek George]

Sorry, I meant to say manifolds.

 

[Bodkin Creek George]

Thanks Henry. You said exactly what I was trying to say. Just replaced all my manifolds and risers this spring and the parts alone were a bunch.
George