Winterizing 185 sport

[swamp indian]

Any 185s owners winterize there boat there self. Thinking about doing it my self this year. Any tips would be helpful.

[LawyerMan]

[dutchman]

If you're mechanically inclined, this is actually quite easy, but done incorrectly, it can get expensive when water freezes in the block. If unsure, bring it to a shop. Around here this process is an easy $350.

There's some good tips in the video's, but I do mine a bit different.

1....add fuel stabilizer
2....run engine to warm up. Instead of muffs, I use a large tub that the leg drops into.
3....oil change. There should be a hose attached to the oil pan that you can pull out the plug hole in the hull.
4....leg oil change
5....run engine and do the fogging procedure
6....drain water from block, manifolds and leg. You should have the quick drain system on your unit.
7....Pull hoses off thermostat housing and fill each one with the propylene gylcol antifreeze. This is WAY easier than trying to run the engine and suck AF from a jug. My 3.0L uses about 3 gallons, so I'm assuming the V6 should be a little more.
8....grease all the zerts (I use the special Merc grease for the gimbal brg).

A lot of this power train stuff is listed right in the owners maintenance manual.
After the power train, there's the trailer, cleaning the boat, etc.
For me, I pick a nice day, and it will take me several hours by the time she's put to bed for the winter.

[mongo53]

I removed my back seat section. takes about 5min. easy to get to everything.