Which hose can you pull to make sure that the block has antifreeze? I can't seem to find the darn petcock! So, I was going to see which hose I could pull. I know this should be in Tech Q&A, but I'm in a hurry!!

Someone else did this winterizing for me because I was not feeling well at all and it started getting too cold for comfort!! I just want to double check before I find out I'll be writing double checks for twin 454 mags in the spring!

Thanks

The big ol "C" shaped water circ pump to stat housing hose.

I'd guess the lowest hose off the water pump in the front.
There should be two petcocks or drain plugs at mid-engine just above the oil pan, at least there was on my 350.
You could pull the thermostat cover and pour anti freeze down from the top.

If you pull a hose off one of the exhaust manifolds and you and sample (catch in a clear container) you will be checking at the end of the pipeline. This is where the antifreeze would pass last, so if it is ok there, it will be ok in the engine.

Dave

Well, the reason I'm checking is that he said he ran the boat to 165 degrees or so. I know that there is a 142 degree Merc thermostat in them, but what if it didn't open all the way?

I know there is antifreeze in the manifolds because there is antifreeze on my K-planes (from the exhaust when it was running).

I just checked the BIG hose from the t-stat housing to the bottom of the water pump and it has antifreeze in it.

What about the little hose from the intake to the top of the water pump?

You could pull the water temperature sending unit on top of the intake manifold and use a small funnel to top it off. Just be careful not to overtighten it when you re-install it, it could crack the intake manifold runner. I have repaired quite a few of them.

Well, after making sure I had the parts available, I pulled the whole thermostat housing off! Both engines. There was very little antifreeze in the top of the intake. But I got a sample and tested it to -50 degrees, and then topped it off.

Thanks for all your help!

do you all fill everything up to the top w/ antifrezze

i used my onboard flush hose so did not run any antifreeze in to the out drive.

the outdrive drains right?

The small hose off the top of the water pump to the intake is a bypass for the thermostat. My understanding is that antifreeze will run into the block even before the thermostat opens... is this correct?

I usually drain the block, run antifreeze through the earmuffs and recollect the antifreeze which is fed back into the earmuffs. Your basic loop system. When all done, I drain it all out right away.

Draining of the outdrive, that's a good question.. I would think that the onboard flush hose hooks in line to the hose right before the raw water pump. Hence, the antifreeze goes to the raw water pump and also be pushed into the outdrive.. anyone's thoughts??

My thoughts are that if you begin with the muffs on the outdrive, run to temp, you can't miss winterizing everything.....