Mercruiser Closed cooling system

Engine winterization is an even more advanced procedure now. Catalytic converters and ethanol-laced gas add essential tips to the procedure.

Place your vessel on a trailer or haul it and prevent it level. This helps to ensure that the raw-water side of the cooling system will strain. Any liquid kept in may frost, increase and break the cooling system components.

Don’t empty the closed-cooling region of the system, as it’s filled up with an antifreeze-and-water answer, though it should be flushed and refilled in accordance with the engine’s upkeep routine. In addition look at the antifreeze/water proportion into the closed-cooling side; the owner’s handbook will record the correct one for your area. A drop within the focus may indicate a leak inside heat exchanger. Gauges for examining this can be obtained at car components stores. If proportion has fallen, possess temperature exchanger inspected for leaks.

Let’s consider the procedure of winterizing a V-8 with a closed-cooling system. Next month we’ll address winterization of the drive part of a stern-drive package.

1. Gasoline Program and Fogging
Add fuel stabilizer towards the container and run the motor therefore the treatment circulates. Shut it off and let it cool off. After that, “fog” the motor from a six-gallon remote tank. Include five gallons of gasoline, two quarts of TC-W3 two-stroke oil and five ounces of fuel stabilizer. Disconnect the hose from the main tank within filter. Link the remote container and run for 5 minutes at 1, 300 rpm. Power down and replace the oil, filter and gasoline filter.

2. Draining the Natural Water
Completely empty the raw-water part of a closed-cooled engine, including the manifolds, seawater pump as well as heat exchanger. Drain-plug locations vary by engine, so check your manual. Disconnect the raw-water inlet hose, after that take away the drain plugs. Utilize a stiff line to clear any deposit blocking the strain. Additionally, bump the ignition key to crank the motor — without starting it — to purge the seawater pump.

3. Air-Activated Draining
Motors like MerCruiser 350 MAG MPI offer air-activated drainage making use of a supplied hand-pump. Lock it onto the actuator fitted and pressurize the device before the green signs increase. (No need to pull strain plugs; the atmosphere should purge the water. If you don't, deplete as explained in action 2.) Then, crank the engine without needs to purge the seawater pump. Take away the hand pump.

4. Completing the Raw-Water Side With Antifreeze
After draining, replace the plugs. Fill with a propanediol antifreeze containing rust inhibitors to safeguard nooks and reasonable places in which natural liquid might remain. Spot a motor flusher (“earmuffs”) over the water pickups, plumbed to-draw the antifreeze from a bucket. Operate the motor in your winter-mix gasoline container through to the red antifreeze solution exits the fatigue.

5. Battery Storing
Eliminate the battery packs from watercraft and fee all of them. Should they don’t hold a cost, hold back until recommissioning in the spring to restore them (watch out for product sales across wintertime). Clean the terminals with a line brush using water and baking soft drink to neutralize acid; coating with light grease; check the battery pack cables for cracked insulation and deterioration, and change when they reveal signs of wear and tear.

6. Inspecting Everything
Seek advice from the owner’s manual regarding other maintenance actions. Additionally, supply the motor, drive, steering and tilt-and-trim systems a comprehensive evaluation. Check the belts, wires, move cables, exhaust manifolds and hoses, and bellows for use, splits, corrosion or other harm. Check the hydraulic substance levels in the power steering and trim pumps. Additionally inspect the gasoline hoses and replace if necessary.

To Fill or otherwise not to Fill
With ethanol-laced gas, not every person agrees on the proper process of winterizing a fuel container. According to MerCruiser, whenever you can find ethanol-free gas, fill the container and address it with gas stabilizer. Usually, the tanks must be drained as little as possible after which addressed with fuel stabilizer from makers such as Sierra, Sta-Bil, celebrity brite and ValvTect. These are formulated to fight the deleterious aftereffects of ethanol. In any case, MerCruiser warns the container should not be run completely dry, because running out of fuel may damage catalytic converters in more recent machines.