so fogging of my 2005 496HO is not needed for a 6 month winter sleep? i'm going to winterize it this week.

drain the water, pump the pink good stuff, then shut down the motor for the winter?

Not true. You need to mix up the "cocktail" of two stroke oil and gasoline, and that's the very last thing you run through the motor.

hi guys, i know the winterization thing has been hashed out several times but i have a question about 496 motors having a valve in a water line that supposedly opens and closes and if you leave rv antifreeze in it all year, it causes the valve to rust either open or shut. apparently, this happens on older 496 motors and not newer ones from what i was told by another owner who claims to have had the trouble. i never know when this guy is being honest or just trying to be the center of attention so i was hoping for some clarification. thanks for any help on this!

The actuator "valves" are spring loaded. IF they leak over time, it's because the spring is weakening. They can be rebuilt, or you can replace the whole actuator assembly.
I've never seen a rust issue in these units. I honestly never checked to see if they were aluminum or steel; but never any rust or corrosion issue. That said, I flushed my motors religiously. Antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors. The only issue I had with 1 of my 4 actuators in the 12 years of ownership was a piece of wood stuck in one of them causing it to leak when running on plane.

thanks!!!!