Ilmor Winterization Question

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So, I already winterized my Ilmor:

• Ran on a bucket supplying the strainer up to temp
• Shut down, pulled block plugs, hoses on manifolds and trans cooler plug
• Reinstalled everything and ran 8 gallons of the -50 pink stuff (it probably cooled by
this time?)
• Shut down and pulled all plugs and drains, then drove around the block, up and down
a hill or two

All should be good; however I DID NOT empty the strainer of water before I ran the pink stuff. At 8 gallons I am confident that it was displaced and if any stayed in the block I did drain at the end…right???

Next question, for future….When winterizing my past Indmar motors, I always used the J hose to fill the block after draining. Could this same method be accomplished by pulling hose number 2 and pouring in the antifreeze? It looks as if that would fill the block and overflow out the thermostat housing as I did with the Indmar?

[pf597]

You're good. I do the same thing, run it up to temp, drain block (both sides), lower hoses on exhaust manifolds (both sides) and trans cooler. All plugs back in and run in 10 gals. of -75 antifreeze. The only difference is I leave the antifreeze in. The lack of oxygen and a rust inhibitor in the antifreeze keeps the rust in check.

[bturner2]

Quite a bit of overkill there and if the thermostat was close all you did was pour antifreeze on the ground. I also agree with the above about leaving the antifreeze in the block if you buy the right stuff. Everyone is going to do their own thing and as long as you get to a safe place (which I believe you have) nothing else matters, at least mostly. I just did one of these Sunday, this is what we did.....

Pulled knock sensors on both sides of block, pulled hoses on ends of both exhaust manifolds.
Took off strainer cup, dumped, cleaned and replaced.
Took off hose on inlet side of trans cooler, checked for any obstructions, drained and replaced.
Pulled line going to water pump, lowered to drain, replaced.
Removed line going to dripless seal and capped.
Removed heater line at top of block and blew out heater core until we could hear that the lines were clear and water quit draining out of the block.
Replaced knock sensors, exhaust manifold lines and checked to make sure all the other lines were replaced and tightened.
Poured antifreeze in heater core line, blew the lines again until we could hear it entering the block. Added a bit more to the line.
Filled the block from the heater core nipple on the top of the block. On ours this is at the very top of the block at the trans side of the engine. We fill it up until we hear antifreeze coming out of the exhaust.
We start the engine for just a couple seconds with no water to circulate the antifreeze just a bit. Probably lose about 1/2 gallon or so of antifreeze but at least I know it's thoroughly through the system.

For the ballast we pour a gallon of cherry juice in each tank then hit the pumps until some start coming out. That's it for the ballast.

We use the -100 stuff for the engine, cherry juice RV antifreeze for the ballast system.

Been doing it like this for the past 5 seasons, zero issues.

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I feel confident that it will be ok. My only concern was that I was feeding the strainer cup from the intake side and I did not empty the cup first. I don’t think it holds that much water to cut the antifreeze down much.

It is hard to get everything pulled, drained and reinstalled before the engine cools enough to close the stat.

Does the Ilmor drain the entire block pretty well by just pulling the drains and the hoses off the exhaust manifolds? I wonder if it needs antifreeze or is a dry block (just drain) sufficient?

I do miss the ease of filling the Indmar from the J hose!

[bturner2]

The biggest PITA from my perspective is the raw water pump (once again). The rest is standard stuff and no different than any other boat. The main areas are the the block drains and the hoses on the exhaust manifolds. If you can easily get to the strainer and dump it it's easy as well. Unfortunately on ours it's tough to get to and someone must have used a wrench to put the cup on as it wasn't moving this year. Probably part of the dealer trying the fix the priming issue the owner took the boat in for this spring (BTW, they didn't fix it entirely either). I still pull the hose to the trans cooler and a bunch of water came out as usual.

The only thing I found different was the lines to the raw water pump as they're not engine mounted like the Indmar's or PCM's. I try to stay away from the plastic fitting on the pump and pull the hose from the thermostat housing then lower it into the bilge to dump the water out. The last place is the line to the dripless seal which we remove then cap off, if you don't antifreeze will drain out from here.

Does your boat have a heater? Ours does and this is the fitting we use to fill the block. You have to pull that line anyway to blowout the heater core. We cut about a foot long piece of hose, attach it to the nipple on the block then use a funnel to pour in the antifreeze. Keep pouring until you year it coming out the exhaust ports and you're done.

I know this sounds like a lot but it's like 45 minutes cover to cover.

As far as dry blocking goes..... Lots of people do it and swear by it. For me I like having the antifreeze in the block. I really can't afford $6K or $7K for an engine so I'll spend the $30 for the antifreeze and sleep better, but that's just me. What anyone else does is fine with me as well.

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No I do not have a heater....I do believe I have it drained and protected, but I still might take hose #2 off the thermostat housing and fill the block with antifreeze just to sleep better at night. This is the closest way I see as the Indmar method I used for years.

Does anyone just drain their Ilmor WITHOUT adding antifreeze? In other words , the block plugs, exhaust drain hose removal at the 90's, and raw water pump hoses at the bottom of the pump?

[fifeboat]

I pull all the hoses and drain all water from engine and trans cooler, I do not add any antifreeze, dry block, done this on last 3 boats with no issues, but I store boat in a garage that never gets below 45 degrees

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I think if I pull hose #2 above off the stat housing, insert a funnel in the hose, I can fill the block with antifreeze.

Still curious how the complete the block drains from just pulling the plugs and raw water pump hoses on the Ilmors?

[bturner2]

So anyway you look at it this is still a 350 and all rules apply to the block and to a large degree the manifolds. The knock sensors are at the lowest part of the engine block. As long as you're on relatively level ground nearly all the water is going to drain from the block from just these 2 places.

The rest like the exhaust and the raw water system is going to specific to the brand that did the marinization for the engine. Here you're looking to drain the lower spots where water is going to sit. The ends of the manifolds are typically the lowest point to drain and from there you're looking for anywhere water is capture in the system like hose 2 or another place I pull is the engine water pump hose and the hose from the hull fitting to the trans cooler.

What's nice on the PCM which is in my current boat they are very specific about when and the order in which they recommend draining the system. They provide a great diagram of the cooling system, number all the drain plugs and provide a check list to use. I made about 10 copies and keep them in the boat folder. I pull one out every year and walk through it.

I did basically the same thing for my last 2 boat but had to create the check list myself.