www.iFourWinns.com

Are you kidding me? I tried to change the oil one time when I first brought her home (12 years ago) and came out of the engine well so bruised and battered (and that was when I was skinny) that I refer all oil changes to my tech. I am calling my tech in the morning to address this because I seriously doubt insurance will cover a failure (or will it?).

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Like everyone else has said....drain it...it will not take long to do. Don't risk a cracked block or Mani cuz that's COLD.

You may already know how, but I would do the following..for the v8 you have four brass plugs to unscrew....they are either 1/2 or 9/16 so take both wrenches along with screwdriver and cut off about 6 inch piece of a coathanger wire.

1. Remove plugs on manifolds that are on rear of manifolds facing the stern. Couple turns and should be able to finish with fingers...once out push coathanger in hole and move around to ensure its not plugged

2. Remove the two block plugs...exact same type...they are close to mid engine on sides of block a couple inches above oil pan...again use wire to make sure holes are clear and all drains.

3. At front of motor you have two hoses leading to the impeller pump...one is a little larger than other so don't mix em up on reconnect....loosen clamp to these and push downward toward bilge to empty them...leave unconnected for few minutes..

4. Remove large water hose at bottom of circulating pump on front of motor...this hose will lead to Therm housing on top/front of motor...again point hose downward so it drains...will be a cup or two of wawa...again leave unconnected for a few...see below

5. pull your safety cord so motor will not start...turn the key and let starter rotate motor a couple revs...this will spit out some more wawa from the impellor and water pump.

6. Now reconnect the three hoses you left loose at impeller and water pump...replace the four brass plugs..

7. Antifreeze addition.....Remove the top portion of the same large water pump hose were it connects to Therm housing and the smaller hose that leads from Therm housing toward rear of motor...no need to loosen the two hoses that lead to manifolds cuz those will be empty....push the smaller hose downward to see if it will drain any....now use a funnel and pour what AF you can into that small hose you disconnected...will not take much there and then reconnect that small hose. Then start pouring AF into large hose until AF comes out of therm housing and reconnect that hose.

8. AF for manifolds ... remove those two small hoses that go from Therm housing to manifolds...pull them upward and use funnel to pour AF in each of them and reconnect to Therm housing.

9. Collect your tools and sleep well.....I don't know how to drain your water tanks cuz you got way more boat than I do, but if they got wawa in them I damn sure would drain and add a little AF to them too and ump your pumps to draw some AF into lines. Turn on bilge to pull out water in bilge you dumped...then pour some AF down there to mix with residual water.

The pink nontoxic AF cost about 3 dollars a gallon and i got it at Walmart...says RV/marine on label....get minus 10 if they have it...if not minus 5 is way better than nothing....it took a little over 4 gallons for my 5.7.....about 2.5 gallons for block and gallon for each manifold.

This was my first year to add AF but have always drained. Take the following.

AF pink RV/marine five gallons for engine/manifolds plus another gallon maybe for drained water tank and bilge
Wrenches as mentioned above and screwdriver to remove hose clamps and to help pRy hoses loose
Funnel for AF
Magnet to get that wrench after you drop it in bilge

If i was close I would damn sure come help you

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Sorry..just realized you have twins:-) make that about 11 gallons of AF...hope your the tech can get you covered. Its way easier than an old change if you don't have remote oil filter setup.

Assuming you can reach between motors...I lay on motor and can reach the block plugs by feel....easier to reach than to see them....the manifold plugs aren't too bad either and they can actually be seen.

Not to panic you but it got into the 20s here last year and my boat mechanic had to go get a brand new Chap out of water for an engine swap...busted block and manifolds....no insurance doesn't cover that damage

I don't know how you folks up north deal with this cold...I hate it...

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Nice write-up and thanks TX-H21. I have not only a bilge heater but also have marine air that I will crank up. I think that will be enough given I have the camper canvas on but I have never seen lows like this before so will refer to my tech. If he says to drain the manifolds, then that is what we will do. Now, I need to figure out where to buy some ice skates for my kids because I would imagine a lot of our ponds will ice up.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Now if Volvo had made full closed cooling & remote oil filters standard, there would be no big deal here. Just drain the heat exchanger and raw water pumps. The worse the engine access is, the more those features are worth....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

-4 (ambient) this morning in South Jersey. Had 9" of snow Thursday evening into Friday morning.

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-Tony
2016 Robalo R200 w/Yahama 200!

Previous boats:
2003 Four Winns 248 Vista - sold
1994 Sunbird Corsair 200 - sold
1980 Checkmate Predictor - sold

If you have a heater system and enclosure then the only thing to worry about is power failure, which means you will have zero protection.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Can you put some kind of a thermometer in the bilge area to monitor the temps with the heater on?
Looking at you weather report, I am concerned about the amount of temperature drop for Sunday, if it is below 28*F for more than 6 hrs you could have a problem.
I just went into my attached garage to look around, it is 12* outside, probably 25-30 inside, and a container of distilled water I keep around for the batteries was just starting to freeze inside. If the heater can keep the bilge over 40* you might be OK. I'd still be concerned though about the raw water intake hoses and the P/S coolers on the back of the engines. If not enough heat gets back there they could freeze and those coolers are like $300 each to replace (you might only have one).....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

If you were serious about getting the kids skates, you'll need 2 weeks of that cold for the ice to be safe. Trust me, I could skate before I could walk.

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

This cold weather is hard on everything, including electrical distribution systems. The garage my boat is in was 42 degrees when I checked it this morning, and the temp outside is -15 degrees with the wind chill. But my boat is still winterized so I can sleep comfortably not worrying about a power outage. We often push our luck to some degree and don't winterize the boat until late when the temps occasionally drop below freezing during the night. But once it starts dropped below freezing during the day, we make sure the boat is winterized. Two days straight of freezing temps, your going to want that boat winterized.

Please do yourself a favor and listen to the great advice others have given and drain those engines and your fresh water system. It's just not worth the risk when temps get that cold.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

Honestly if its going down to 17 from the 50s today I would NOT wait. Like I said above 6-8 hrs at 28*F will crack it...Monday is too late...
At least disconnect the the big hose at the water pump end, that holds a few qts of water. Then drain whatever drains you can get at, and the manifolds. Replacing 4 manifold/riser combinations just by itself is a grand, just for parts. I bet you could get at the block drains at least on the outboard side, then disconnecting the big hose at the water pump, would drain it enough that what was left could expand without damage. And you can easily drain the raw water intake hoses. Another idea, is to drain what you can like I said. Then take a few gallons of -100 AF, and reconnect the bottom end of the big hose at the water pump. Now disconnect the end of that hose at the thermo housing. Then fill the engines with as much AF as it will take. You will see AF come out the thermo housing when its full. No need to remove the 'stat. This way if a gallon or two is left inside it will mix with the AF and the AF itself will stay liquid to -60* so that gives you a bit of a safety margin in the event that you can't fully drain it.

We got freezing rain here, then its getting warm, raining all day tomorrow, then back into the deep freeze on Tues. More ice, this is why I have studded snows on all three vehicles.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

OP here and this is exactly what my tech said yesterday when I spoke to him. We agreed that she should be OK with bilge heater and the cabin heater on as well as all fresh water drained. However, like you said, I am one screwed person if the power goes out. If winters like this become the norm, I will be joining you Northern boaters in the winterizing thing.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Just kidding on the skates but when I was young I do remember the small ponds freezing to the point where we could play on them. I think it only took around 2 or 3 days of freezing temps to get them thick enough (and we did test them). Still, I have read numerous stories where people have died from playing on the ponds like we used to.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

I like your idea about bringing a thermometer to see what temp my bilge heater is actually keeping the engine well at. Again, I have a bilge heater and cabin heat on so hopefully that will keep the engines above freezing. Forecast is still for a low of 5 degrees for Monday night. I will make another trip on Monday afternoon to see what the situation looks like.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

They sell inexpensive ones with a digital read out and there are even ones that can transmit the information to your computer. At least that way you can have some idea how well its working. You could also get an IR temp gun from Radio Shack and that lets you take the temps of difference surfaces so you can measure the engine block temp etc.
Another thing I have seen done, is to tape over the intake vents for the engine compartment to keep the cold air out.
A lot of people in our marinas keep their boats in the water in the winter, but most of these boats are either closed cooled inboards, or outboards. The only way you could do that with a raw water cooled I/O is to drain it at the end of your season, and even then because there is no seacock on the water intake line the ps cooler would freeze. And also people use bubblers to keep the water at the dock moving, so the boat doesn't get iced in.

LOL you guys are going to be as cold as we will get on Tues. This has been the coldest winter here since '88 and records were broken...zero degrees at MacArthur Airport in Islip Long Island....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II