Winterization Procedure with pics by Al

[cab13367]

I posted a winterization procedure a couple months ago. This is the new and improved version. I had the service guy at the Mooma dealership walk me thru the procedure when I first bought my boat. These are the notes from that walk thru which I have edited and improved on the last couple of years.

I winterized my boat today and took some pics, so below is the new and improved winterization procedure with pics. Note that I ran the boat on the river for about 15 minutes then winterized her at the boat ramp parking lot so the oil would still be hot.

Hopefully, this will help someone who is considering self-winterizing.

Winterizing Instructions for 2006 Moomba Mobius LSV
(other years and models may vary)

A. Put Sta-Bil in fuel, 1 ounce per 2.5 gallons so 16 ounces for a full tank (40 gallons).
B. Run the boat on a body of water for at least 10-15 minutes to get the engine oil nice and hot. This suspends the bad stuff in the oil and allows it to be sucked out or drained with the oil. It will also allow the oil to drain/be sucked out faster. Drive it back on the trailer and with the engine still running, remove the spark arrester (held in place by a large hose clamp). Spray 4-6 ounces of fogging oil into the throttle body then shut off engine immediately. Replace flame arrester.


C. Let the boat sit 5 - 10 minutes to let the oil cool a little. This would be a good time to disconnect the battery to avoid accidentally causing a spark if your ratchet handle touches the positive cable on the starter while removing the block drain plug. Drain/Change the oil and oil filter (I use a Fram PH30 filter and Shell Rotella T 15W40, crankcase capacity is 5.5 quarts including filter). Use a gallon size ziploc bag around the filter to catch the oil and the oil filter and avoid getting oil on the carpet. I drained the oil at the boat ramp parking lot as it’s a 30 minute drive back to the house and the oil would cool off too much by then. Best method I found is to use a fluid extractor (Pela 6000 worked great for me) and suck it out of the oil drain hose, not the dipstick tube. This way, you know you are sucking it out of the low point of the oil pan since the oil drain hose is attached to the oil pan where the oil pan drain plug would normally be.

[cab13367]

D. Drain all water from the block and hoses as follows: (note that for the purpose of this write up, aft is the end of the engine closest to the transom of the boat and fore is the end closest to the bow).

From port side of engine:
1) Separate the exhaust manifold hoses by separating the hose fitting. The two hoses come together at the fore end of the engine, on the port side. Disconnecting the two hoses drains the two manifolds.



2) Remove the port engine block plug using a 9/16” socket.

3) Disconnect the bottom of the "J" hose where it connects to the water recirc pump.

[cab13367]

4) Remove the plug underneath the muffler, on the port side using a 3/8” socket. Use a container to catch the water so it doesn’t drain onto the carpet.


From the starboard side of the engine:
5) Remove the starboard engine block plug using a 9/16” socket.

6) Disconnect and drain the two hoses attached to the water pump which is attached to the main pulley on the aft end of the engine. Use a 5/16” nut driver on the hose clamps.




7) Remove the impeller from the water pump using a 5/16” nut driver to remove the impeller housing cover. Access to impeller is improved if you remove the small, fixed engine access cover towards the back of the boat, on the starboard side. Use needle nose vise grips to carefully remove impeller. Stick one jaw between the impeller blades and the other into the middle of the impeller, all the way in. Carefully pull out impeller. I like using vise grip needle nose pliers because the jaws stay parallel and therefore, grab better. Coat the impeller with Vaseline and put it in an airtight (ziplock) bag. If the impeller is two years old, replace it with a new one. It’s a Johnson Pump impeller, part # 09-812B-1. Be careful not to overtighten the impeller cover screws as they are fairly soft.

[cab13367]

From the v-drive:

Remove the two (2) plugs on the v-drive unit, one on the front on the port side, the other on the rear on the starboard side. Both plugs are pretty high up on the v-drive housing. A 7/16” closed end wrench fits perfectly on the square head plug. The front is a vent plug and you might not get any water out of it. Look for the wrench to see the location of the drain plug.
Front:


Back:


9) Remove and drain the water intake hose at the v-drive.

[cab13367]

10) Drain the ballast system as follows:
(a) Disconnect and drain the hoses at the solenoids using the quick disconnects on the hoses. Watch for rubber o-rings and make sure they don’t fall out.


(b) Remove water strainer and housing and drain. Clean strainer if dirty. Be careful when screwing the strainer and housing back on as the strainer has to properly seat on the top and on the bottom. Don’t leave this to chance – look at the top of the stainer when screwing it back on to make sure it lines up correctly.





(c) Disconnect and drain the bags, then put one capful of bleach in them to prevent mold.

E) Remove each spark plug and spray fogging oil into each cylinder for about 2 – 3 seconds. Spray a little fogging oil on the spark plug hole threads. With all the spark plugs still out, bump the starter for 1 second to evenly coat the cylinder walls with the fogging oil. Reinstall the spark plugs. You should be able to turn them by hand all the way until they seat. Tighten with a ratchet and spark plug socket.

I leave the hoses disconnected and the drain plugs out over the winter. I put a little grease on the threads on the block and the v-drive unit as they will become rusty over the winter and the plugs will be difficult to install in the spring if you don’t.

If you drain the water with the boat in your garage, be aware that enough water is drained out of the block and hoses that the bilge pump will probably kick on.

Just to double check, you should have removed two engine block plugs, two v-drive plugs, and one muffler plug for a total of five plugs in all.

Don't forget to winterize your heater system if you have one (I don't).

[04OUTBACK]

Oil Filters
----------------
AC/Delco PF25
Castrol CM30
Fram PH30
Napa 1069
Pennzoil PZ3
Penske PN30
Purolator L20049
Motorcraft FL10
Quaker State QS30
WIX 51069

Impeller is Johnson 812 or 812B
http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RP061018

[Wake Master]

Remember if you have the 340HP with the EXT/CAT exhaust do not fog the engine. The fogging oil is not good for the CAT's. It is recommended to pull each spark plug and spray a small amount of oil in each.

[Jon J]

GREAT POST!

Does anybody know if that muffler drain exists on a DD? I have DIY winterized now for the past two years and this is the first time I have heard of this drain. That muffler is way in the back under the rear ballast tanks in a DD and I'm curious if it has a drain plug like the one shown in the V-Drive photos.

[cab13367]

After some searching we also found that link!
there's one thing that we found on our boat that's not in the photos.
the winterization crew left a hose with a clip on it randomly hanging from the back of the engine. does it connect to the quick disconnect hose?
thanks!

The hose with the clip on it is the oil drain hose. It hangs from the back of the engine when not in use to keep it off the floor of the bilge area. The quick disconnect hoses are completely different - they have water running thru them. These hoses are the ones that need to be disconnected and drained during winterization.

Cab - great post. Love the pictures (worth a thousand words!).

In Indmar's engine manual, they only mention about putting fogging oil in the throttle body - which should get to the cylinders/pistons. No mention of removing spark plugs and spraying into the cylinders directly. Any thoughts on why to spray directly into the cylinders via the spark plug holes if spraying into the throttle bottle should do the same?

Good question. I was told this by the dealer on my first boat along time ago and have always followed this recommendation. I guess it's just to make sure that the cylinder walls are adequately coated and that the fogging oil sprayed into the throttle body didn't get purged during the combustion process.

This is awesome information. Thanks so much! I just bought an 08 LSV, and wouldn't ya know it, I've got about 1 month left before I need to winterize. I feel much better now about doing it myself, as I really didn't want to pay to have it done!

Did you change the V-drive oil at the same time as the Engine Oil?

You're welcome. No, I changed the v-drive oil separately, during the recommended interval. I will probably change it again when I winterize this fall as it's been a couple years now.

[cab13367]

Yes, the owner's manual says to take it out, coat it with Vaseline, then store it in a sealed ziploc bag over the winter.