How much coolant to winterize

[mabbore]

I winterized my Supra 2 months back with 2 gallons of un-diluted antifreeze. I ran it till it started to come out pretty sweet. (I know this is soo back woods, and I should have totally used a hydrometer to check my work) Was this enough? How much undiluted does it take? I'm up in norther chicagoland and it gets pretty cold in the winter.

[matt k]

I believe what I do is overkill, but generally I pull the 5 plugs and let the motor drain. Then I put the plugs back in and suck up straight marine/RV antifreeze until that starts coming out the exhaust (make sure thermostat is out while you do this to get good circulation). When I start getting antifreeze out of the mufflers (usually takes about 4-5 gallons of it), I shut the engine off and drain it again. Yes, it's a waste of antifreeze, but it's only like $4-5 a gallon and environmentally ok.

[DAFF]

Not enough.... Pull the plugs on the sides of the block. Right now there are areas of the engine with very dioluted antifreeze water mix. These areas will freeze and crack the block.

[csuggs]

I'm going to assume you're talking about a 351. Drain water out of block and manifolds - there are 5 plugs. One on each side of the block, one on each of the exhaust manifolds, and one on the "U"-shaped hose connector at the front of the motor near the water pump. Also drain the inlet strainer (If equipped) and remove both ends of the hose that runs between the trans cooler and inlet side of the raw water pump. I then remove the raw water pump and take the impeller out to let the veins of the impeller "relax" so it's good for another season. Finally start filling the block with RV antifreeze through the inlet hose to the thermostat. It takes 2 gallons before the pink fluid reaches the exhaust manifolds and begins to run out of the manifold drain.
May be overkill, but it's always worked for me. Better safe than sorry.

[wotan2525]

I do Matt Ks method (pull thermostat, run engine until 5-6 gallons is sucked in.) I don't drain my block before or after. Never had a problem.

[csuggs]

I do Matt Ks method (pull thermostat, run engine until 5-6 gallons is sucked in.) I don't drain my block before or after. Never had a problem.

ONLY problem I see with that is you could still have water in your trans cooler and possibly raw water pump. But if its never been a problem . . .

IGNORE THAT . . . . I OBVIOUSLY WASN'T THINKING CLEARLY! :eek:doh!

[haugy]

None. In the last (oh god) 20 years of maintaining my Supras, I've never once put anti-freeze into their engines.

[csuggs]

None. In the last (oh god) 20 years of maintaining my Supras, I've never once put anti-freeze into their engines.

Do you at least drain the engine, or do you have a heated storage area? The winter I had my motor out I drained it but did not put in antifreeze. It was fine.

[skiman_61]

I've had my Saltare' for 15 years. I run a 60/40 coolant to water mixture through the block after getting the thermostat to open. Kein problem, knock wood.

[haugy]

Well I can cheat now......Shop with heat.

But, when I didn't have a shop, I'd just remove all the drain plugs and disconnect the hoses. That's it. That year it was 10 degrees for about 3 weeks, no problems.

The Comp I had spent all of it's years on a boat lift, hardly ever on the trailer. Same routine. And that engine is still running super strong today.

[csuggs]

Well I can cheat now......Shop with heat.

But, when I didn't have a shop, I'd just remove all the drain plugs and disconnect the hoses. That's it. That year it was 10 degrees for about 3 weeks, no problems.

The Comp I had spent all of it's years on a boat lift, hardly ever on the trailer. Same routine. And that engine is still running super strong today.

Haugy I like that idea. I may start doing that myself. The Sunsport stays inside the garage year-round, but it's not heated. It would be easier to just drain everything instead of using antifreeze.

[haugy]

I'm all for overkill, that's a given. But I'm not putting anti-freeze everywhere, my house, yard, or my lakes.

And I don't care how "environmental" it says it is on the box. That just means it won't kill you unless you drink a lot of it. It's still not good to pump into your lakes or home areas.

Boats have been winterized for years without it. What you're wanting to do is remove closed pockets of contained water. If there is a small amount in a pocket, it has room to expand. But if it's filled, then bad things happen. Just know how to drain your engine.

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now.

[5akman]

In 20+ years of boat ownership, I've never run any anti freeze in the engine. I simply remove all the drain plugs, disconnect a hose or two, etc. I put all the removed plugs in a zip lock bag that I then zip tie to the steering wheel. Next season I see the bag, replace the plugs and we're ready to go!

[mabbore]

I drained the block and thank god I went back and re-did this process correctly. After checking with a hydrometer, the coolant in my engine was only good till +20 degree F. I basically re-winterized the whole thing, then.....I shrink wrapped my boat too. I was a little wary about doing this myself, especially since I opted for the $20 propane torch and not the $500 option from Dr. Shrink. The whole process is actually pretty easy, just tedious. While I will admit it does not look quite as good as others it is tight as a drum head and nice and stiff (7mil material). The whole process took about an hour. I picked up enough materials for 5 years and it cost ~$320, not bad if you have to leave your girl out in the element like me. I was going to do a short video but we did all of this last night at like 8 and it was pitch black. Next order of bu11682siness is to rebuild the transmission (reverse went out).

[haugy]

Shrink wrap looks good. I'm thinking about doing my Salt while it sits in my shop as I'll be doing alot of grinding and paint prep work on another project and don't want the dust all in it.

Where did you get your material?

[mabbore]

Shrink wrap looks good. I'm thinking about doing my Salt while it sits in my shop as I'll be doing alot of grinding and paint prep work on another project and don't want the dust all in it.

Where did you get your material?

http://www.dr-shrink.com/home

this is the site, but if you reach out to the guy below directly he give your better pricing ~ %20. The only thing I would be careful of is that the shrink is technically flamable, and depending on the cutting/grinding you might be doing it might cause issues. if you allready have a asphalt torch you are good to go, the one they offer is nicer but not worth teh 1000% price increase.


tell him you want wholesale pricing

With Best Regards,
Michael Stenberg--Dr. Shrink, Inc.
(800) 968-5147 U.S.

[DKJBama92Mariah]

None. In the last (oh god) 20 years of maintaining my Supras, I've never once put anti-freeze into their engines.

+1 Since my boat was new in 92, it has never seen antifreeze. I've always just pull all 5 plugs in the motor and the lower hose off the transmission cooler. Stick the battery in the garage on a charger and put her away for the winter.

[tg0824SSVGG]

I only put rv antifreeze into the heater core and the shower, not the block. It gets pretty cold here in Colorado. This works for me


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[matt k]

This thread has been a good read. I'm thinking that especially now that I live in texas, I can probably get away with draining the block in the "winter" months, and not bother with antifreeze. That way if I happen to get a nice high-70s day I'm not so hesitant to put the boat back in the water. In addition to the 5 plugs and popping the hose off the bottom of the tranny cooler, is there anything else to worry about?

Usually I pull the impeller out, but I'm thinking that again, since the "off" season is so short here, it's hardly worth the effort. I suppose I could just back the bolts out of the raw water pump a smidge to let out any water trapped inside there...