Save $500+ Winterizing Your Own Inboard Direct Drive or V-Drive Boat

Did you get a new boat or sick of paying or driving to the dealer to get your boat ready for winter? In this video we will walk you thru step by step how to get your boat ready for winter, including:
2:56 - Oil Change
8:48 - Impeller Replacement
12:25 - Filling Motor and Heater with Antifreeze
Battery Care
The ultimate how to video on making your boat ready for the offseason!
Material List:
6 Gallons RV Antifreeze
Oil Filter
5.5 Quarts 20w40 Oil
Oil Extractor - amzn.to/3lNqIvz
Impeller for Supra: amzn.to/39pQWP7
Impeller Puller - amzn.to/3AwtY4T
Trash Can
Hose Fitting
15' Hose to can
Garden Hose to hook to Fake-A-Lake
Fake-A-Lake Motor Flush Tool - amzn.to/3kv824E
Funnel Set - amzn.to/39mSk5b
Sea Foam - amzn.to/2XEPG7W

[@matthewford2869]

Best winterizing video I have seen! Thanks!!

[@hijaloca8321]

thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@jaredw3609]

“Non-ethanol” Also don’t put antifreeze into your lakes. Use the fake-a-lake to flush coolant out in the spring for recycling it

[@duanekoford6829]

Thank you for showing your heater core process as well.

[@SWELLWakesurf]

You bet

[@treysals]

When you were adding antifreeze to the heater core, did you pour the antifreeze in the hose by the number six spark plug wire for the hose that is closer to the water pump? Thanks great video

[@JakeC1015]

Great video! Easy to follow, I’m curious about engine fogging and v drive fluid change.

[@SWELLWakesurf]

We don't typically fog engine unless storing for over a year, that was a recommendation to us from PCM, these are car engines after all, and we aren't fogging our sports cars when we put them away. For the tranny and V-Drive we check and every 100 hours suck out the fluid and replace, on newer boats the v-drive fluid is maint free and just requires inspection unless contaminated

[@rickfrye1947]

Great video, I have the same boat and it looks like the port side raw water intake is the one that connects to the V Drive and the starboard one connects to the ballast system?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Yea. Make sure to verify you have the correct thru hull on any boat you have.

[@jasonnichols3279]

Awesome video as always. Thank you!! Don’t you flush the antifreeze when de-winterizing and before use?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

if you use RV antifreeze its non toxic, so not necessary

[@ThelifeofKingfish]

Anything for the ballast system, like the pink stuff?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Tim, we are replacing this ballast system so we didnt go into that, we should have, pour 1/2 gal of RV antifreeze down vents of ballast system and run pumps to drain for a few seconds to cycle thru the system.

[@katherineosullivan640]

great video thanks, my anti-freeze is not coming out of the exhaust, how much do I need to put and the motor seems to be heating up. I have the fake a lake set up well??

[@adammoore4452]

Takes 5-6 gallons total. Make sure you have some pressure at the fake a lake to ensure it will allow the antifreeze to suck it in, just a bit of gravity will do it. You can also take off the hose at the raw water intake and dump the antifreeze in there

[@brandongrady648]

Really appreciate this video!! I'm wondering if there are any additional or less steps required for a closed cooling system? Do you know if a closed colling system has antifreeze in the heater core or does the fresh water go through that? Thank you!

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Close to same process, you dont need to warm your boat up to get the thermostat to open, you can just start it up and run it thru since the thermostat is on the closed cooled side.

[@northwestoff-roadopportuni7176]

I got a 2020 Heyday with a merc 6.2L and the dealer put in a quick connection for a hose in the engine bay between the impeller and pump. Can I use this connection in place of a fake a lake? Thanks

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Yep, if you have a shutoff valve at the thru hull close it so water doesn’t go out the bottom instead of thru the system

[@treysals]

I noticed there wasn’t any mention about winterizing the ballast set up. What do you guys typically do to winterize that? Thank you

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Run the pumps dry and leave em. A little water in bags or tanks won’t hurt anything

[@treysals]

@@SWELLWakesurf Thanks for the quick reply is there any concern of the pumps freezing or the hoses going to the pumps? I was planning on bringing the bags in my basement so no concern with them just the pumps and hoses

[@SWELLWakesurf]

@@treysals we’ve never had any issues, running them dry for a few seconds will remove any water, eliminating any concern

[@royrodriguez1318]

Will any brand of Marine/RV antifreeze work?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

Yep!

[@matthewford2869]

What did you hook the oil extractor to?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

To the oil drain hose

[@olibmx123]

You don't fogg with fogging oil the engine ?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

We don't typically fog engine unless storing for over a year, that was a recommendation to us from PCM, these are car engines after all, and we aren't fogging our sports cars when we put them away.

[@throberto02]

how many gallons did it take?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

4-5 for the typical boat

[@derekfaul3396]

Could you not just run the heater while you are filling the engine with antifreeze and have it circulate through the heater core system at the same time as the engine?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

The heater isn’t a pump, just a fan, the water runs thru the heater core in front of the driver waiting for you to turn the fan on, so unless you get coolant in there it can crack.

[@derekfaul3396]

@@SWELLWakesurf Gotcha. Thanks for the info!

[@MichaelShnayder]

@@SWELLWakesurf It was impossible to tell where you guys disconnected the heater core from? If you could post a few screenshots?

[@SWELLWakesurf]

@@MichaelShnayder what boat do you have? I can show you on something similar, a little different on every boat placement wise

[@MichaelShnayder]

@@SWELLWakesurf It's a 2007 Supra with the heater.

[@NinoThePrez]

Im in Ontario with similar temperature to Minnesota's.... Is it better flush out the engine with the aniti freeze or leave it in....I sse amany videos where the block is flushed. Just curious why you left it in?🇨🇦🚤

[@SWELLWakesurf]

There's two schools of thought here, some think leaving it in will prevent corrosion, some think its better to drain to ensure no issues. We've just found that leaving it in doesn't harm anything, saves a bit of time, and has no environmental impact and ensures the customer is ready to hit the water in the spring

[@NinoThePrez]

@@SWELLWakesurf thank you I appreciate your reply