Winterizing a PCM EX 330 on a 2003 Ski Nautique 206. Tips needed.

[GAJ0004]

I winterized my brother's 2003 Ski Nautique 206 for the first time today. The PCM Excalibur 330 is unfamiliar to me. I got everything done except filling the engine with antifreeze. I was going to try pulling one of the hoses and fill the engine. The battery has already been removed and the boat is in it's parking place. I followed the engine manual, but I could not budge any of the hoses, they are all tucked behind the belts and fuel lines. I tried getting the hose off the top of the water pump, but I could not get my hand in the spot to loosen the hose clamp. I was thinking I could pour the antifreeze in that way. Any tips?

On my boat I remove the impeller from the pump and store it in a jar of antifreeze.

Any tips from Excalibur owners will be appreciated.. Does the raw water impeller need to be removed on this engine for winter storage?

[behindpropellers]

Does it have a heater?

[A_B]

I have made a water pickup extension that I put in a 5 gallon bucket with the garden hose filling it up. I warm up the boat in the driveway until it reaches operating temp, so thermostat is open, then I shut it off. Dump 2 gallons of antifreeze in the bucket and then fill with water so its about 4 gallons. Turn the engine back on and suck the mixture through the engine, including shower if you have one. When its out, I always see AF coming out the shower and exhaust.

 

Drain oil, and fill with new. Put it away for next year.

[thager]

@GAJ004 I don't think just pouring in anti-freeze will be very effective. On my 02 Excaliber I drain the engine, manifold, water pump and heater hoses then reinstall all drain plugs and reconnect hoses with clamps. There's not much room but I disconnect the lower water pump hose at pump bottom and drain. I had to put a screw driver in hose bottom and pry gently to release the water. Reconnect hoses and tighten all clamps. Double check that all are secured tightly .

 

Disconnect the hose just in front of the water strainer on the side closest to engine. I place a snug fitting large funnel in that hose. Pour in -50 anti-freeze until funnel is about half full. Start engine and continuously pour five to six gallons in the funnel while engine is idling. Have all the containers open and ready to pour. Do not let it run dry! Shut off engine immediately as last of anti-freeze is pored in! You're done. I put a 5 gallon bucket under the exhaust to catch any anti-freeze run off. place that in original bottles for recycling. Keep pets away and rinse any anti-freeze splash from driveway. Can be fatal if pets lick or drink this stuff. Hope this helps some. Good luck!!

[DanE]

@GAJ004

As Thager pointed out, it is an absolute must to fully drain the entire cooling system before filling antifreeze. If you have CCs owners manual it should be described step by step how to carry this out. No need to start the Engine, in fact if you live somwhere where Winter gets really Cold I 'd stay away from any method involving starting the Engine (no guarantee Engine block gets enough antifreeze that way) Use propylene antifreeze (non toxic)

[GAJ0004]

I have been doing the same thing with my 1994 Ski Nautique, but the EX 330 is not as easy to work with. I have all the water drained out of the engine, no problem there..

[A_B]

I have been winterizing like I described above since 1978. My boat use to sit outside in winter and in a barn. We get our share of zero degree days. Maybe I have been lucky. It just seemed easier for the boat to suck up the AF than draining and pouring. Just make sure you are at operating temp.

[GAJ0004]

I looked in the book, It says to pour in the antifreeze from the exhaust hoses, and the intake hose going into the thermostat. I will take another look at it. I was being extra careful with an unfamiliar engine.

 

[thager]

I came up with my procedure above because I couldn't get the danged hoses off either! No room without taking a bunch of stuff apart to get at it. My boat has survived numerous - 20F winters using the above method. If I didn't mention it I run the engine up to temp before I drain.

[FischersYearRound]

I've always just drained the block, and never used anti-freeze. How do you guys capture the anti-freeze in the spring?

[DanE]

@AB-- It does not take much antifreeze to keep the engine block from cracking, but- insufficient amounts of antifreeze will affect corrosion inside the engine block.

I have used your method in the past but stopped when I checked the results with a anti freeze gauge, they were quite random.

Also, I find it easier to just drain the cooling system and refill with a 50/50 mixture.

@FischersYearRound-- I use non toxic (propylene) antifreeze, just put the boat in the lake and go.

[A_B]

@DanE, somewhere along the line in a chemistry class or somewhere, I was told that rust is more active in warm temperatures, and in winter, rust is actually retarded. In the Midwest, winter salt on the road attacks exposed metal, however, rust in and of itself is retarded in the winter. So if what you are saying is true, we should run AF all summer as well, or the oxygen in the raw water would create corrosion...at a much faster rate due to higher temps.

 

I always thought the purpose of AF was to prevent water from freezing and expanding within the block passages and cracking it. The impellor gets the benefit of the lubricity of AF on the intitial startup. Soaking it in AF may provide some benefit to the rubber blades, but I am not sure on that one.. Not picking an argument here, but this is the first time I have heard of coating the inside of engine to prevent rust. Spraying the cylinders with Anti fogging oil to prevent oxidation which wears on the rings on initial fire up, yes.

[DanE]

@AB-- Antifreeze contains rust prevention for the reasons I mentioned.

And yes, the engines that are lakewater cooled do rust in the cooling system, something the closed cooling systems are spared from.

A couple of years ago I pulled our engine out of the boat (99 SN GT-40) rinsed the engine block from rust buildup and replaced the freeze plugs, it was a mess but now it drains alot easier (no rust cloging the drain valves).

Fyi, I am an auto tech by trade (have been doing it for the last 28 years), I´m not picking an argument either but this is part of my daily work so to speak.

[A_B]

Sounds good Dan. I have wondered about how much corrosion actually takes place during the summer vs. winter. Adding AF to fill er up would help any corrosion in the winter, but you probably get more during summer, as your 99 GT40 showed when you blew it out, as I assume you were putting AF in during the winters.. No harm in over-protecting an expensive investment.

[boarditup]

My routine is to get the motor up to operating temp on a garden hose. It then run through 6-gallons of RV anti-freeze and verify that nearly pure AF is coming out of the exhaust at high temp. I then drain the motor completely of AF and any residual rust in the lower block. I blow out the heater through the block and then re-fill with AF and blow out again. It does take 7 gallons of AF, it does take about an hour if you include fogging, cleaning the BFFA and throttle plate, and removing the impeller (fresh one in the spring). The result is a motor that has been flushed, has AF and the anti-corrosion properties of the PG (RV type) antifreeze fluid, and drained of all mass of liquids. Any remaining liquid is AF and will not damage the motor.

 

This process has served me well and I copied it from my father. We have not had a failure since 1970.

[A_B]

@DanE, what about using a radiator flush solution and suck it up through the water intake hose to clean the inside of the block? I have never done that, but your comments about the GT40 have me thinking. Would the chemicals be tough on the impeller or anything else?

[DanE]

The problem with running water through the Engine block standing in the driveway using a 'fake a lake ' or similar is that the thermostat is just barely Open Even if running temperature is achieved.

Thats because there is no HP output so there is almost no need to cool the Engine.

The opposite would be pulling an Open jump event under the Florida sun, you can bet the thermostat Will be Open and water Will flow through the block at a very fast rate.

Now back to the driveway scenario, Most of the liquid sucked in through the water inlet Will pass straight through the thermostat housing and out the exhaust without ever entering the block. Neat idea though .

Might work well if you replace the marine thermostat housing with a conventional one without a thermostat and connecting it yo an external container of liquid along with the suction hose on the engines circulation pump.

Would be a lot less work than what I did on our Engine and something you would not have to Do every year either.

[boarditup]

I never had an issue with getting AF into the block with a fake a lake. However, I do run the fake a lake off of the house hot water. If you have 40 degree water out of the hose, you may have that issue.

[DanE]

Yea, when I used the method of sucking in the af I eventually put the bucket of af under the exhaust along with a hose connected to the water inlet letting the af circulate for a while to make sure the block got filled.

But I thought it to be a hassle so I migrated to the CC owners manual method.

I Guess whatever Works for everyone is sufficient.

[A_B]

I did check to see if the block had AF using the water pickup methid several years ago by loosening the drain fittings around the engine and saw AF dripping. I also think I checked the tranny line and it was good as well. On really cold days and running really cold water, it takes a while to heat up, and that is giving it some rpms too.

[GAJ0004]

I am going to detension the belts, and remove the water pump to take out the impeller anyway so I should not have any trouble getting to the hoses. Will try that and see how it works. I store the impeller in a jar of if RV antifreeze. I use to vacuum seal it in a ziploc bag. I usually got 2 seasons out of one before I would see the beginning of a rip in one of the vanes. The one I have been storing in the jar will be able to be used for a 3rd season. First time I have been able to do that.

On my boat in PA I fill a 3 gallon bucket with the RV antifreeze and let the engine draw it in. I can't pour it anymore like I used to because the perfect pass servo motor is attached to the hose that comes off the water pump(Ford Engine).

 

[A_B]

Gary, I have had impellors easily last 4-5 seasons, only changing them twice in my '99 that I just sold, or my other SN I owned for 10 years, using the intake method with AF. The key is the initial fire up in spring, that is when the impellor can freeze up and rip if dry.. I know some guys who remove the hose up at the top and drop AF into the impellor housing in Spring, just to make sure it was lubed. I haven't.

[GAJ0004]

Thanks guys! Mission accomplished. I removed the water pump, and took the tension out of the belts first which made it easier to disconnect the hoses. I took the impeller out and put it in a small container full of the RV antifreeze. I was able to fill the engine with about 3 gallons of RV antifreeze. I put the pump back together without the impeller, loosely reintalled everything for easy recommissioning in the spring. The water pump was a little harder to disassemble than the one on my 1994 Nautique. Sunday I start detailing the boat..

 

[GAJ0004]

Boat does not have a heater. It will go easier next time now that I am familiar with it.

[thager]

Probably should have mentioned that too. Really a pain to get to the impeller!!!

[GAJ0004]

On this one I had to take the screw out of the side, and then used a screw driver to shimmy the impeller out. I was very careful to make sure I did not damage it. Inspected the impeller and it looked good.

[GAJ0004]

@AB I am paranoid about impellers. If I see any sign of wear I replace it..

[DanE]

@GAJ0004- So am I, a great benefit to take the impeller out is to have a good visual check so you know you start the season with a good impeller.