Can you winterize an engine without running it first?

[Bene505]

I heard somewhere that you have to start an engine and get the oil warm prior to changing the oil. The oil change is about to be done at the marina, and I think they aren't going to start the engine first. Is this a problem?

As a side note, the marina manager seems very adamant about winterizing our sailboat this morning, and not waiting until I can be there to watch. I would like to learn how to do it, and I also like to oversee what's going on. (Maybe not a good comparison, but Jiffy Lube once tried to start my car engine before the other mechanic had put oil back in.) She's been waiting for this event for 2 weeks now. Is this normal, that they would have a small time window? Do you usually watch or attend these types of things?

[tommays]

Well

YOUR really pushing your luck in terms of freeze dammage as we have had so much cold weather allready


IMHP a proper oil change requires the motor to be warmed up oil changed and run again to get fresh oil on the moving parts

If you dont do this what is the point of even changeing it now

[sailortjk1]

I agree with Tommy.
We have the yard do this every fall along with changing the fuel filter.
They tell me (so they say) that they warm engine first.

Do you usually watch or attend these types of things?

Nope, I trust our yard to do the work as asked. They have been around forever and have a very fine reputation. If there is a problem they are responsible.

Not all yards are this way and I have heard of nighmares over yard work being done, but to winterize is something they should be familiar with, another but, if they screw it up, you could be in for a world of hurt.

[DrB]

Two things need to happen:

Oil Change and Anti-Freeze the Raw Water side of your motor.

Oil Change works best if you can run the motor for 5 minutes or so and let it warm up. Helps make it flow easier and resuspends the particulates for easier drain/suck out. Change both he oil and filter.

For the Raw water side of the motor, I don't know of any other way to get the anti-freeze into the motor without getting it started. So, if your going to start it to introduce the anti-freeze, do it long enough to get the oil warm and change it.

I see that you live in New England. I hope that your boat has been in the water. If it's been on the hard, we have had a lot of below freezing, so be careful before starting the motor. You may want to put a small heater inside the boat for a few hours to thaw any frozen areas. Hoepfully no damage has occurred.

DrB

[CrazyRu]

They normally do winterazing on bunch of boats, row by row. They have a cart or a truck with bulk tanks of anifreeze. If they skip your boat than they will need to go back to it, unwind hoses, etc. It's extra work....

[BarryL]

Hello,

I do it myself, so I can't comment on watching or commenting.

Regarding the oil change, it is easier, faster, and better to change the oil after it has been run long enough to get it warm. The warm oil will flow faster. The oil can be changed cold, but it will take a long time for the old oil to drain, and some additional will stay inside the engine. Not enough to really worry about it.

I would want my BOAT winterized RIGHT AWAY, like 2-3 weeks ago. We have had some cold weather, and I would be worried about the fresh water system. The engine raw water system should be OK, but what about your fresh water?

Good luck,
Barry

[Maine Sail]

Ideally the motor should be run before and after an oil change. I prefer to take it a step further and run it long enough and get it warm enough to burn off cold engine condensation which you WILL have in these temps. This could take 30 minutes or more. If at a dock simply put it in gear at low RPM to seed up the process of warming and burning off the condensation.

#1 Warm engine to sufficiently burn off condensation inside. You don't want any more moisture in the engine than absolutely necessary over the winter.

#2 Change oil & filter.

#3 Close raw water intake and remove intake hose from strainer.

#4 Add a lenght of hose to the strainer long enough to reach into a 5 gallon bucket.

#5 Add 3-4 gallons of engine rated non-toxic antifreeze to the bucket. It's usually labeled -60 or -100, but DO NOT dilute.

#6 Start engine and suck antifreeze through it until hose is empty and making sucking sounds.

#7 Remove impeller

#8 Drain water lift muffler

#9 Remove air box and use saran wrap and an elastic band to seal it off.

#10 Remove wet exhaust hose and do the same.


Most boat yards will skip about half these steps... Always better to DIY or be there IMHO..

[DrB]

Why do you drain essentially all the AntiFreeze from the motor/exhaust lines after you put it into it? I never do that. Neither did my PO, who told me what he did to winterize the motor when I bought the boat.

DrB

[stuffinbox]

If the oil pumps out when cold, I be surprised if it makes a difference. If you warm the engine first, the oil will be less viscous and easier to pump out. However, if your pump can handle it I can also see a benefit for pumping out cold: you *may* get more oil out because it has time to settle in the bottom (for the same reason, you only check your oil level when the engine is cold.)

I'm also surprised that they change the oil as part of the winterizing. I think I read somewhere that you're better off changing oil in the spring. Some condensation may collect during layup periods and so if you change oil after the layup, you will also pump out the water with the oil. Maine Sail's suggestion of running the engine before the layup to minimize moisture during the layup also sounds like a good one, as does preventing air getting in with saran wrap and does running the engine after any oil change (so as to circulated oil and protect parts from corrosion).

As I understand it, the important step of any layup is to remove water from places where it may freeze and break whatever it is contained within -- results may be a cracked engine or a sunk boat.

Originally Posted by Bene505

I heard somewhere that you have to start an engine and get the oil warm prior to changing the oil. The oil change is about to be done at the marina, and I think they aren't going to start the engine first. Is this a problem?

As a side note, the marina manager seems very adamant about winterizing our sailboat this morning, and not waiting until I can be there to watch. I would like to learn how to do it, and I also like to oversee what's going on. (Maybe not a good comparison, but Jiffy Lube once tried to start my car engine before the other mechanic had put oil back in.) She's been waiting for this event for 2 weeks now. Is this normal, that they would have a small time window? Do you usually watch or attend these types of things?

[Pamlicotraveler]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

#5 Add 3-4 gallons of engine rated non-toxic antifreeze to the bucket. It's usually labeled -60 or -100, but DO NOT dilute.

#6 Start engine and suck antifreeze through it until hose is empty and making sucking sounds.

#7 Remove impeller

Maine Sail (still Halekai in my mind)

Why do you need to remove the impeller if you've pumped anitfreeze through?