Where are the oither drain petcocks on this motor? 454 w/ pics
I tarted winterization today and I can only find the outside petcocks on the block. hey actually don;t feel like the ones I am used to. They are close to the front freeze plug and are like 1.5 inches long. As you can tell the center is very very tight area. I never run this thing in salt water so is it really necessary to drain the block or can I just run antifreeze through it? I know there is one on each oil cooler also.
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*ISN'T IT FUNNY THAT WAR AND LOSS OF JOBS BUILT SOME OF OUR MOST BEAUITFUL LAKE REGIONS?*
When I winterized my boat, the block drains were close to the motor mounts. The inside ones are a b**** to get to. The only thing worse is the oil coolers. It seemed that I almost pulled muscles getting those plugs out. There are two drain plugs in each manifold, one at each end. Sometimes they get rusted in. My mechanic friend said only one needs to be pulled to drain the manifolds.
They are on both sides of the block. If you found both on the outsides of each engine then you just have to transfer that location to the insides on the opposite engine.
I just winterized my boat last weekend. I have 2 in each of the exhaust manifolds (8 total) and then I have one on each side of the block (4 total). Don't forget to have a small screwdriver or maybe a nail to knock out the dirt that builds up if it seems like your not seeing much water! As far as the oil coolers are concerned I found it easier to pull the hoses off of the seawater pumps. This lets you get all of the water out of the hoses. If you are using RV antifreeze like I do then you want to try and minimize how much fresh water it is mixed with. It will quickly raise the freeze point if it is mixed with water.
My problem was not actually knowing where they were it was "HOW THE HELL DO I GET MY ARM THERE?" lol. I posted the question wrong. The 2 inside block petcocks are dang near impossible. Almost think removing parts might have to be an option just to get to them. My arm cant reach between the manifolds and if you go underneath you are tangled in hoses and blocked by fuel assembly. Thinking for this winter I will just pull the other 4. Pulling motors and replacing exhaust next year and will try and put a longer petcock thats easier to locate on there.
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*ISN'T IT FUNNY THAT WAR AND LOSS OF JOBS BUILT SOME OF OUR MOST BEAUITFUL LAKE REGIONS?*
I use a 5 gallon pale and a pump and run them on the green stuff until the exhaust blow's green . I feel there is to much water that you can not drain out to use rv antifreeze . With that said I know lots of guy's that use rv antifreeze and have no trouble just not for me. The tree huggers hate the green stuff but I sleep fine knowing I will not need 2 new engines in the spring . Jeff
I have a twin 454 cat and agree with Jeff, much easier to run the green stuff in the system, than bank on all the water being out. If you have low water pick tubes take a hose that will fit inside pick tube and fire the engine. Dont forget to add stabil or some type of fuel treatment, or you will be sorry. I treat my cat and jet boat this way and they survived two staight weeks of - 20 outside!
My problem was not actually knowing where they were it was "HOW THE HELL DO I GET MY ARM THERE?" lol. I posted the question wrong. The 2 inside block petcocks are dang near impossible. Almost think removing parts might have to be an option just to get to them.
My engines are as close together as yours. I am able to reach the middle plugs by laying on the exhaust hoses and reaching from the rear of the engine, under the exhaust hoses down between the engines to get the plugs out. The port side is a bit harder because you have to go around the starter. When I do my engines, I use the outer plugs as a reference for the inner plugs. If I can't find the plug for the inner port engine, I try to reach the outer starboard engine from behind to get a reference to the location. I do the same for the inner starboard plug. After doing this for a couple of years, you get real good at brail winterizing.
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