Winterizing a 1997 VP 5.7 GLi

[doctorhawaii]

Newbie here. I have a '97 190 BR and have always had it winterized at a local marina service shop. The Dixie Fire took that option off the table for me this year, so it's DIY time. On draining: I drained/poked the manifolds and block plugs, drained the raw water pump (removed it to replace the impeller next spring) then drained the bypass hose on the T-stat housing and at the port riser. I dumped pink AF into the T-stat housing until I had good color coming out of the block plug holes. My question is about the PS oil cooler. It is a PITA to get to and work on, mounted horizontally at the rear of the engine, with about 2 inches of clearance above and maybe four inches to the rear. How do you drain the residual water from that thing? I was thinking of pulling one of the cooler hoses and dumping AF directly into the side of cooler (funnel and hose) to displace the water. Any ideas? Thanks also for any other tips and suggestions...I'm guessing a lot of you have been doing this every year for years.

[AsLan7]

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Hey DrH. So glad you found us!

I’m curious why you are not just running 5 gallons of AF thru the outdrive….around the block and components…and back out the exhaust?
Add stabil to the gas.
Fog.
Change fluids/filters.
Winterization complete.

Any pics?

And welcome aboard mate!

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[doctorhawaii]

Ahoy, AsLan and thanks for the welcome.
Well, a few reasons:
1- My boat shop has always drained rather than running AF. They swear by this and say it's how they were trained. Cobalt dealer agrees.
2- No need to waste all that AF (I realize leaving the AF in there could conceivably help resist corrosion, though I haven't seen convincing evidence.)
3- The only level place I have for winterizing is in my garage at the cabin, since my driveway is really steep and that's the only other place for me.
I stabil-ed the gas and fogged.
Thanks for the reply.

[AsLan7]

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Sure thing my friend.
Our various boat dealers throughout the years (Donzi, Fountain, & Cobalt) including our current Marina mechanic winterize with AF as per the Merc and VP manual instructions. Not sure where your folks are getting their information. This prevents ALL the components from suffering damage due to freezing temperatures.
We use the eco safe blue antifreeze which protects down to -100 F. Our marina also recommends this over the pink antifreeze. It works for the tundra that is Erie PA in the winter. Never had any issues the past 26 years of boat ownership. Yes it also offers some corrosion protection.

Post a pic if you can. We loce them here.

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[Big Block Power]

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Sure thing my friend.
Our various boat dealers throughout the years (Donzi, Fountain, & Cobalt) including our current Marina mechanic winterize with AF as per the Merc and VP manual instructions. Not sure where your folks are getting their information. This prevents ALL the components from suffering damage due to freezing temperatures.
We use the eco safe blue antifreeze which protects down to -100 F. Our marina also recommends this over the pink antifreeze. It works for the tundra that is Erie PA in the winter. Never had any issues the past 26 years of boat ownership. Yes it also offers some corrosion protection.

Post a pic if you can. We loce them here.

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Really is that something new that coolant offers corrosion protection?

[doctorhawaii]

The tundra of Erie PA...classic!
Yeah, our '97 VP manual calls for draining only--and leaving the plugs and hoses off until summerizing time. And it says to remove one hose and loosen the mounting bolt on the oil cooler, and then tip the cooler to one side to drain it. That's virtually impossible with the location and with the oil lines and everything else tight up against that thing. I'm totally comfortable with everything else that's drained and I'm not overly worried about the cooler but think I'll purge it with AF since I can (barely, and with a lot of f-bombs) get the port hose off...then I can just pump some AF into it. I'll leave the rest of it dry and open. The boat will be stored in the garage, but it's not heated. At least it will be in a dry, if cold, place.
By that crack about coolant offering corrosion protection, I'm guessing that's gotten some colorful discussion over the years.
Thanks guys.

[AsLan7]

The tundra of Erie PA...classic!
Yeah, our '97 VP manual calls for draining only--and leaving the plugs and hoses off until summerizing time. And it says to remove one hose and loosen the mounting bolt on the oil cooler, and then tip the cooler to one side to drain it. That's virtually impossible with the location and with the oil lines and everything else tight up against that thing. I'm totally comfortable with everything else that's drained and I'm not overly worried about the cooler but think I'll purge it with AF since I can (barely, and with a lot of f-bombs) get the port hose off...then I can just pump some AF into it. I'll leave the rest of it dry and open. The boat will be stored in the garage, but it's not heated. At least it will be in a dry, if cold, place.
By that crack about coolant offering corrosion protection, I'm guessing that's gotten some colorful discussion over the years.
Thanks guys.

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Hey at least you are doing something to protect it. Many don’t even do that. Our insurance policy also has freeze damage protection just in case but never had to use it. Something to consider anyway.

Our ‘95 Donzi manual called for antifreeze for long term layup and the Marina walked us through the procedure as it was our first new boat back then. After following the manual we have done that ever since.

We now use the air pump to blow the water out of the internals of our 496MAG HO …then pump the blue antifreeze into it as per the manual which also offers some corrosion protection since the passage ways are filled verses exposed to air.

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