DE-WINTERIZING?

[LSV04]

HELP!!!
I had my 04 winterized last November-anti-freeze,oil-change.And it was a mild winter here in NY./ 225.00 for winterizing.-now this local marina wants to de-winterize it for another 175.00. I am stuck because my Moomba dealer is too far so I have to use the local marina that has a reputation of overcharging. How do I do this? Is it just a matter of checking the fluids again and running the anti-freeze out? I dont think any plugs other than the drain were removed. My buddy swears I can just check the fluids and put her in - just keep an eye on your gauges like you normally would.Please help so I have some gas money. Next season I will have to take the 3 hour trip to the moomba dealer.

[freyse]

I too have a long haul to nearest dealer for warranty work and winterizing and summerizing , want to do my own winter and summer izing ,what all is involve have a new 05 outback

[Smrtz]

I was actually expecting that same story from the marina where i wineterize and store my outback. To my surprise, they told me the winterizing was done in the fall they were just gonna charge the battery start it up quick and it would be ready to go...

Its your money ask for a detailed list of what was done in the fall as well as what they are doing this spring. Post the list Im sure some people on this forum will be able to tell you if its required or simply a cash grab!

Cheers

[LSV04]

thanks for responding.

I will call the Marina TODAY AND ASK HIM EXACTLY WHAT WAS DONE. but this is what it said on his invoice last Nov.2005.

1 WINTERIZE INDMAR V8 INB.
5 GALLONS ANTIFREEZE
4 QTS OIL
1 FUEL STABILIZER
1 FOGGING OIL
1 ENVIROMENTAL CHARGE $230.00

NOT VERY SPECIFIC!!!. I HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO DO THIS MYSELF NEXT SEASON SO I DONT FALL PREY TO THESE GUYS.


ANYONE KNOW OF AN AUTHORIZED INDMAR SERVICE IN NY OR CONNECTICUT ?

[lowdrag]

Everyone here is more than capable of doing this themselves. For about $50 in materials and a couple of hours of labor you'll save yourself a lot in the long run. In addition, you get to be a lot more familiar with the mechanical aspects of your boat should you ever have a problem on the lake.

Here is my typical winterizing routine:

Add fuel stabilizer to a full tank of gas. Hook up the fake-a-lake, heat the motor up, drain the oil. I'll usually leave it sit and do some other winter prep things while the oil is draining so it gets as much of the old oil out as possible.

Once the oil is done draining, replace with new oil.

Pull the freeze plugs out of the bottom of the engine block and drain the water. Disconnect the hoses on the exhaust manifolds and drian them. From there you can go one of 2 ways. Either make sure to pull the hoses and drain the water from those areas or fill the motor with antifreeze. Either one works, but adding antifreeze keeps the internal areas from corroding over the winter. You can put antifreeze in a bucket and run a line to the water intake and let it pull the antifreeze through the motor until it starts spitting it out the exhuast. If you decide to leave it dry for the winter, make sure you drain the transmission and/or v-drive cooling lines as well.

Fog the carb per instructions on the can. If it's an injected motor, skip that step obviously. Pull the spark plugs out and fog the cylinders. I make sure to pull them and replace them one at a time so as not to get the wires crossed and mix up the firing order on the cylinders.

Pull the battery out and hook it up to a trickle charger/maintainer for the winter.

If you've got a ballast system, it's a good idea to go through and disconnect the hoses and make sure you've got all of the water out of those and the pump as well. Some of the systems also have a filter near the solenoids for the ballast. Unscrew this and drain it too. I also pull the ballast bags out and completely empty them and let them hang in the garage over the winter.

If you go disconnecting hoses and leave them that way over the winter like I do so any left over moisture can evaporate, it's a good idea just to make a check list as you go and leave it in the glovebox so you remember everything you need to reconnect next season.

You may also need to change v-drive and/or transmission fluids per factory maintenance schedules. Buy a pump to remove the fluids and replace them if needed.

At the start of the season, I put the battery back in, reconnect hoses, and give everything a good looking over. Hook the fake-a-lake back up and run the engine up to operating temps.

[Rugburn]

Excellent post low drag. Ive been paying about $150 for my winterization that included an oil change and a free summerization check in the spring. Seemed a reasonable price for the peace of mind. Now that I see your list, how simple it really sounds, Im gonna bank the $150 and give it a try myself this fall.

[pjtatro]

I agree, excellent post. My only concern is if you are going to run anti-freeze thru the engine I believe you should have your freeze plugs closed antifreeze can get thru the whole system. I am sure you meant to say that but just in case.

Dewinterizing for me is hooking up water, starting the boat, looking for leaks and making sure temp and oil pressure are within limits.

I did have a company that wanted to charge for dewinterization, they said they needed to dewinterize the boat themselves to guarantee the winterization.......

Pete

[freyse]

Thanks also will be putting the money I save from winterizing towards a new bimini top any sites with cheaper than dealer prices 05 outback with radacage tower

[lowdrag]

Yep, my bad. That was an oversight. Obviously if you don't put the freeze plugs back in, all of the coolant will run into the bilge of your boat. Thanks for adding that.

One other minor thing. If you pull your batteries out for the winter, do not let them sit on the concrete floor of your garage. Put them on a piece of wood or something. Maybe someone else knows the reason for this, because I'm not sure. I just know that I've been told that this is very bad for the batteries.

[zabooda]

Myth -- busted.

http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/Te...n_Concrete.htm