First timer, 2001 sundeck 240

[Smackledorf]

So last year I paid through the nose for a marina to winterize my boat. They didn't call me before showing up, and I caught them as they finished up. The boat is on my backyard hoist.

So I asked what he did. He put a little antifreeze in my water system, which I've had drained for years anyway. He stabiled the fuel, of course. The oil was pretty fresh, just 15 hours, so he said it should be fine. He recommended nothing to the drive lube, and did nothing to the lower unit/stern drive itself.

To the 5.7L mercruiser (260hp) he said it was as simple as pulling three petcocks, letting it drain, then cranking the ignition a bit to spit the last bit out. Then he removed one if the cooling system pipes and poured antifreeze in until it spilled over.

Seemed simple enough, so why pay 350 bucks for a house call, right?

So I did the same operation. Approximately 2.5 gallons drained out. If it matters, cranking my ignition IMMEDIATELY started the engine as usual (alternative would be disabling spark and flooding, no?). Obviously I shut her off asap. So I removed the largest of the hoses going to the engine and started pouring. It took just under a gallon....


Now I'm confused. So I called the place up and the front desk worker (no mechanic was available) said they used 4.5 gallons of antifreeze last year. She said they never recommend winterizing on a hoist instead of running a full flush, but that the way I described is the standard for hoisted boats.

So, what did I do wrong, that it only took a gallon of new antifreeze, and what do I do now? A couple friends of mine said hook my batteries back up and run it a second, then try to add more anti-freeze. Easy enough, but none of them are familiar with I/o engines, just outboards. Even then, half of these guys just drain it and trust their garage.

Final question: my oil pump refused to pump oil out through the dipstick. Oil is getting dark, and see two schools of thought on when to change. If I should still change it now, is there a trick to pumping it out? My 90 dollar pump failed, I hate to have to buy a new one if unnecessary. Oil was getting up to the pump itself, but releasing the handle at the top of the pumping had it snap back down, as though a heavy suction was on the other end. In a hundred pumps or so, barely an ounce made it out into my jug.

Fwiw, the owners service manual for the motor says to do exactly what I did: drain it, fire it up, replace petcocks, dump in antifreeze.

Thanks a ton for any answers.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Disable the ignition by flipping the kill switch to Off.

Do you have a spin-on fuel/water separator (should be changed, as well).

I don't "think" you have the quick drain system in 2001, do you (possibly, though... depends on engine and exactly when it was made)? If not...

-- Drain block, manifolds, fuel cooler, circ pump hose (6 plugs). Stick a small wire or zip tie into block hole to open any crud/blockage to completely drain. Do manifolds, as well. Also pull the output hose off of the raw water pump and then turn engine over for a few seconds.

4-ish gallons is about right for everything.

Oil... either pump is shot or the oil is just too cold to be pumped out. Check the oil for milkiness and if all is good, you can wait till Spring or warm the engine up, first. Does your engine have the quick drain oil hose?

Recommend doing drive oil in Spring since it's been 2+ years. Don't forget to get new washers/seals.

 

[Smackledorf]

I have a three point manual drain system.

I tried to post a picture of the corresponding manual page, but the site says it is too big. I believe all/most of the water should be out, given the steps I took. My concern is lack of antifreeze going back in. The drainage rate where the three petcocks were seemed a pretty high rate, so I don't think there was any blockage. I'll try poking at them to be sure though.

I don't think i have a spin-off water separator. Would that be pretty standard? Guess I'll poke around some more tomorrow.

No quick drain hose on the oil, I too figured temp might be preventing pumping, so springtime it is then.

 

[Lazy Daze]

If you don't have a spin-on filter (it would be inside a plastic box... if it still is, anyways), it's the "Cool Fuel 3" setup which uses a drop-in filter that is removed by loosening 3 bolts on the top of the box and using the handle to pull the filter out. This one requires the small hoses on the backside to be backed out, via loosening the hold-down bracket. You're in fresh water, so you're much less likely to run into problems here.

3-Point... You still may have a blockage. Remove the small hoses at the sides of the block and manifolds to double check. The block, buy itself, should take a healthy 2+ gallons. This is a downside to the 3-point system - it can be misleading and a blockage can be missed unless the extra step is taken. The 3 petcocks you removed (lower water manifold, t-stat housing and big hose) are EXTREMELY unlikely to have a blockage - the blockages typically happen right at the block or in the small hoses that go from the block fittings to the water manifold. Fresh water does not eliminate this possibility.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Typically a V8 holds about 2 to 2 1/2 gallons. manifolds might have 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon in each one, add some for the hoses and about 4 gallons should have drained .I`m betting the block drains are clogged and the block did not drain. Remove the white quick disconnect at the block and see if anything runs out, do this for both sides,
Just finished a customers boat and the block drains were plugged up again. I`m removing the system in the spring and installing blue plugs and/or brass drains in the manifolds and engine..

 

[LKN]

I have a 2002 Sundeck 240 with the 5.7 EFI (260 HP) and mine has the 4 blue drain plugs. 2 on the block (1 on each side) and 1 on the bottom of each manifold.

FWIW - I had mine fully winterized by the marina (I dry stack) but I decided to splash early this year (end of february) since it was so warm. When I took it back out each time I just pulled the 4 plugs and drained it. We got down to 17 degrees last week (very strange for NC in March) and the boat was totally fine (Had it out yesterday and it ran like a champ).

 

[Lazy Daze]

LKN, just for future reference, you should have two more blue plugs. One on the bottom bend of the big hose on the front of the engine, and another behind your fuel cooler next to the port side motor mount. At this time of year, it often doesn't get cold enough for long enough for major freezing to happen. Daytime temps rise and/or the sun can help to raise the interior temps. The Cool Fuel module has smaller passageways and is made of copper (bronze?) so if water freezes in there, there are no rubber areas than can expand with the freezing. Just be careful!

 

[LKN]

Thanks for the tip Lazy Daze - I'll ask the marina mechanic about that. He told me to just pull the 4 plugs I ended up pulling. I'll recheck the manual also.