Closed Cooling Question - I should know the answer, but dont.
 

I have a Mercury Racing 565 in my 2016 Talon... preparing for winterization.

Bought 5 gallons of pink antifreeze, to ingest through a "winterizer" that I bought, that connects to the Sportmaster lower.

Question, does the closed cooling system in the 565 work where I just need to start the motor and can immediately start ingesting the antifreeze through the system? Or, do I need to wait for the motor to warm up and thermostat to open before I open the valve to let the antifreeze into the motor?

thanks in advance.

Dean

No thermostat in the sea water side of the system.

BUT, I would drain the motor by removing as many Blue Drain Plugs as you can reach before you winterize, so let as much water drain from the system as possible. This would also be a good time to remove the end caps on your heat exchanger, and clean out any debris in there. (Invest in some new heat exchanger gaskets to put back on there before you continue.) Opening the end caps will drain your heat exchanger of water, which is the most fragile part of the system.

Then close all of those ports, and run the antifreeze through the system. This reduces the amount of water which could still be left in the sea water side of the system, diluting your antifreeze.

But WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS IN AUGUST!?!?!?!?!

LOLOLOLOL..... I know, right Sydwayz?? Actually, heading out for a destination wedding in Punta Cana in a week...and not returning until October. In Ohio, were pretty much done by then. GGrrrrr.....

Thanks a ton for info above. It highlights (again) sh*t that I should about the closed cooling system, but don't. I will absolutely clean the heat exchanger and new gaskets per your recommendation(I should have mentioned that). That said, quick follow-up question for you if you have a moment.

if I run enough antifreeze into the engine...until its coming out the exhaust, wouldn't I in essence be running enough through the system to get any existing water out anyway? Just trying to figure out if I need to remove the drain plugs in the first place and drain water, if I am going to run 5 gallons of antifreeze through it anyway pushing the water out.

thanks again..

Dean

Theoretically, yes you are replacing the water with antifreeze.

But antifreeze isn't thicker than the water, nor is it coming through with a dam in front of it. So there is the potential for it to just mix with the water, and not fully displace ALL of the water.

If you drain out as much water as possible, there is less chance of dilution, and you end up with nearly pure antifreeze throughout the seawater side of the motor. It's not just freeze protection the AF is giving you, it's corrosion protection too.

Copy....Thanks mate!

Your complete fuel system winterization is just as important. The cool fuel the fuel pumps and injectors need the stabilizer and the extra lubricity doing layup properly. The soup mix winterization. Search for it up here. I have a bunch posts on it thru out