All Winterized

Well, I winterized by boat over the weekend so I'm done for the season. I sucked out and changed all the fluids - engine, tranny, and v-drive - after running the boat on the river for 15 minutes to get everything nice and hot. Drained all the water out of the block and hoses, blew out the heater hoses, and fogged the engine.

Also removed the impeller - took me all of three minutes and that includes removing the 4 screws and cover! Got two seasons out of it now and still looks new. Coated it in Vaseline and put it in a ziploc bag. I may try to get a third season out of it. Spark plugs still look good so I put them back in.

Now the long wait for spring begins but will have snowboarding and skiing to keep me occupied :)

Al

I'm in the same boat (so to speak) Al. Got my baby all winterized this past weekend. I hope to wash/wax before she goes away, since it sits in a barn all winter, just makes me feel better. But the weather is going south fast, so, might not get it taken care of. I'm glad that I had more time this year to winterize, because I found loose bolts at the v-drive/prop shaft coupling. Something that I'm glad I found when it was on the trailer... not after they fell out on the water!

Good thing the snow is coming soon... I need another hobbie to keep me busy and out of my wife's hair!!

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Originally Posted by squeeg333

I'm glad that I had more time this year to winterize, because I found loose bolts at the v-drive/prop shaft coupling. Something that I'm glad I found when it was on the trailer... not after they fell out on the water!

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I'll have to check those on mine. I usually go thru the whole boat as part of my summerization routine and check/tighten all fasteners.

sounds like that is an issue many are finding. I'm with cab, in that there are a bunch to check in the spring. did check my bunks this fall. been a year and found 5 more that were loose.. don't forget them.
doing tower pads as well next year.

Regretably i put mine away this past weekend as well,which really sucks as our weather is not too bad right now.
While removing my impellor this time i had a very difficult time getting it out ,then RIP tore a vein so from that point on just ripped it out. I do have a spare and i have a brand new one ,which will go in in spring ,so all is good. Where was this weather a month ago when people were still kinda willing to go out?

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Originally Posted by Mikey

Regretably i put mine away this past weekend as well,which really sucks as our weather is not too bad right now.
While removing my impellor this time i had a very difficult time getting it out ,then RIP tore a vein so from that point on just ripped it out. I do have a spare and i have a brand new one ,which will go in in spring ,so all is good. Where was this weather a month ago when people were still kinda willing to go out?

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Mikey,

I use needle nose vise grips and put one jaw in the middle of the impeller and the other between two vanes, then clamp down lightly and pull it out. This way, you never touch the vanes. Should be especially ease on a DD :)

Al

Al,

Brilliant minds must think alike. I also winterized my baby this last weekend. Feels good to have it done since this week the overnight lows have been dropping into the mid 30’s. Guess it is a sign summer is over. Well we really did not have a summer in Oregon this year.

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Originally Posted by cab13367

Also removed the impeller - took me all of three minutes and that includes removing the 4 screws and cover! Got two seasons out of it now and still looks new. Coated it in Vaseline and put it in a ziploc bag.

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Thanks for the reminder that I wanted to do the winterisation myself this year. I was about the make the phone call for some expensive service and then realised that I am not under some crushing work schedule for once.

Isn't the impeller made of a rubber compound? If so, Vaseline would make it deteriorate.

Ian, it does list to store the impeller in a ziploc bag with vaseline. Not sure what effects that will have, but if indmar says.. :)

started mine Tuesday evening, going to clean it up really good tonight, and finish the engine Sat. morning...

I think the whole Impellar coated with Vaseline has been a topic discussed here several times. It seems strange to me that they'd recommend coating it in anything, since a new impellar comes dry in the package (at least mine did). It also came with a small tube of Glycerine to coat priot to installation. I just figure if it comes to me dry, why do I need to coat it over the winter? I suppose I could see a potential need for a sort of freeze protection, but other than that, I don't see a benefit.

My old impellar has been sitting on my workbench all summer, and looks exactly the same as it did when I took it out. Just seems odd to me to coat it with anything.

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Originally Posted by Ian Brantford

Isn't the impeller made of a rubber compound? If so, Vaseline would make it deteriorate.

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Yes, the impeller is rubber. I have heard this said before too, that Vaseline deteriorates rubber, but it says in the manual to coat with Vaseline and put in a ziploc bag so that's what I do.

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Originally Posted by sandm

Ian, it does list to store the impeller in a ziploc bag with vaseline. Not sure what effects that will have, but if indmar says.. :)

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That's what I figured as well ...

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Originally Posted by squeeg333

I think the whole Impellar coated with Vaseline has been a topic discussed here several times. It seems strange to me that they'd recommend coating it in anything, since a new impellar comes dry in the package (at least mine did). It also came with a small tube of Glycerine to coat priot to installation. I just figure if it comes to me dry, why do I need to coat it over the winter? I suppose I could see a potential need for a sort of freeze protection, but other than that, I don't see a benefit.

My old impellar has been sitting on my workbench all summer, and looks exactly the same as it did when I took it out. Just seems odd to me to coat it with anything.

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I think coating it in Vaseline keeps the rubber from drying out and keeps it flexible. You are right, the new impeller's don't have an apparent coating on them but my guess is that they spray it with a different coating, one that we can't easily detect.

Everyone should do what they are comfortable doing. I stored this impeller coated in Vaseline last winter, just got my second season out of it and it still looks brand new and the vanes are still flexible, so I am going to store it coated in Vaseline again this winter and run it a third season.

Cab i totally agree with using needlenose pliers etc to get the impeller out but i got lazy and since i had a brand new one still in pakage i took a chance using a screw driver and regular pliers and ripped it up. I normally do as others are talking about and save my impeller which this one was on year 2 anyways. I think the vaseline is as mentioned to keep it from drying out after being wet for so long ,in the open air it would dry out/crack/rot.etc. That is how i've done it before,with great results,now its time to clean wetsuits and vests etc. I usually soak them in warm water and wetsuit conditioner and air dry thoroughly and treat zippers etc as well then hang dry so no mould etc.

So curiosity killed the cat. I got ahold of Johnson Pump to ask about the Impeller and vaseline issue. Here is what I heard back from their engineering department:

Just put the impeller in a tight plastic bag (black is best) store the impeller in a dark and cool place, as the impeller materials can be effected by UV. The Impeller doesn't need to be lubricatded during the storage, but it's good to lubricate the impeller at re-assembley.
As lubricant we reccomend our own "Impeller lubricant" but also soft soap is good.

Glycerine is ok for Neoprene (Dupont: Chloroprene) but not for MC97.
Therefore, and as rule of thumb, I only reccomend to use our Impellerlubricant. "

One guy came back and said they do not recommend Vaseline, but, I think Cab is probably right, whatever you are comfortable with is what you should do!

Just some information as I know you were all dying to know!

Why not just get a new impeller each season if you're going to winterize yourself? It's not expensive and takes out the guess work (if it concerns you).

That is exactly what I personally do, but for others, I thought this might be interesting.