[Public-List] Questions about wintering an atomic 4 engine

[gdinwiddie at alberg30.org]

David,

There are two basic ways to winterize the engine:
  1. Drain every bit of water from it, &
  2. Fill the water passages with an antifreeze solution.

I used to do #1, but found that to be more work. Now I simply
  1. Warm up the engine so the thermostat lets water flow through the head,
  2. Stop it and move the intake hose from the through-hull to a bottle 
of pink non-poisonous antifreeze,
  3. Start the engine again and run 2 gallons of antifreeze through so 
pink stuff comes out the exhaust.

Taking out plugs is part of the "drain every bit of water" path.

A T-fitting simplifies the antifreeze intake a little, but if I'm hauled 
out I want the hose off the through-hull (which I leave open in case 
rain gets below), anyway.

There are other things you can do, such as squirt a little Marvel 
Mystery Oil into the spark plug holes to keep things lubricated. Some 
people "fog the engine" but that seems a bit more complicated to me.

  - George


On 5/13/24 11:03 AM, David Terrell via Public-List wrote:
>     I have some questions about winterizing the atomic 4 engine.
> 
> 
> 
>      1. How long should it take?
>      2. Do you have to warm the engine up to winterize the engine?
>      3. Do you have to take out the 3 "plugs" on the sides of the engine?
>      4. Is having the t fitting absolutely necessary to winterize the
>         engine?
> 
>     I am asking these questions because I suspect the person who is
>     winterizing the engine is overcharging me  - a lot.
> 
>     Thanks for your consideration
> 
>     David 432.
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