darkostoj

boat has 2 mercruiser 502/465hp engines

I have the boat in storage now and there is no running water at the location.

Not sure if this is the right way to do it or not, but here is what I did.

removed 6 drain plugs per engine to drain water (2 on block, 2 on exhaust, 1 oil cooler, 1 trans cooler)

I then pulled the thermostats and filled the block with pink antifreeze(3 gallons per motor)

I then had a friend fill the sea strainers with a funnel while I started the motor.

Now when i started the engine the sea strainers werent sucking fluid, and the engine wasnt shooting anything out of the exhaust either, after a couple quick tries I stopped.

any thoughts what i'm doing wrong or whats going on here? Could the water impellers be bad?

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Possibly the strainers still had a path for air thru them and you were sucking air past them??

darkostoj

the strainers were completely full to the top.

I tried running it with the thermostats in and out with no difference

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

You had the lids on or had the funnel in the to pour AF in?
Tstat won't matter if in or out. Either your impellers are shot or you are sucking air.

Both motors?

CLA

This is how I do it:

*Remove hose from H20 pickup to strainer.
*Install clear 1 1/8 hose on strainer
*Put hose in drum of antifreeze
*Start motor on trailer
*Run motor until drum is almost empty and boat is spraying antifreeze
*Turn off motor
*Everything is winterized and it takes maybe 30 mins.

darkostoj

I only did the one motor because I didnt want to risk running the other dry.

I had the top of the lid off the strainer and had them full to the brim, if i bumped the rpms slightly the leven would go down and then back up maybe and inch or two but thats it. It wasnt sucking anything

PROTOTYPE28

Bad impeller

soldier4402

easoest way to do and not have to tear everything apart run the motors till their hott. Hook a 5 gallon jug to muffs run pink stuff through it at least 3-4 gallons I use 5 every winter. Been doing this on boats for years and never an issue. With pink stuff if you forgot a little water or didnt get it all out, theres enough antifreeze in there to dolute the water. Just run the boat till pink come out the exhause I open and close the exhaust to ensure it goes all routes. Gets into the negatices up here in NY and never an issue. Taking apart the engine is for the birds man.

soldier4402

also be sure to use the pink RV stuff its good to -50 at walmart and is safe for the environment so you can run it on the driveway and lake and not kill everything.

If your in warranty Merc requires the use of pink antifreeze or your warranty could be voided. See below.

Do I still need to have winterization performed by my dealer if I have a self-drain system on my engine?
The drain system on your engine is NOT intended to replace full winterization. It is for extending your boating season by allowing the cooling system to be drained after use if there is a risk of light freezing weather and you will be boating the next day. For full extended winter storage, after completely draining the cooling system, Mercury MerCruiser requires the use of propylene glycol antifreeze (with a rust inhibitor for marine engines) in the seawater section of the cooling system. The fuel system must have fuel stabilizer added and the system must be fogged with 2-cycle oil. We recommend that your product be winterized by an authorized MerCruiser dealer. Damage caused by freezing or improper winterization is NOT covered by the limited factory warranty. This is also a good time to have scheduled maintenance performed on your engine by your dealer.

FIXX

iTrader: (2)

frozen? wont flow if theirs frozen ice in the hoses..