Thought some of you might find this useful, from the guru of the A bomb. Ang
Greetings,
Final preparations are in full swing for our fall workshop on November 12th.
One of the minor pressure points for us as the time for a workshop draws near,
is having to fine-tune the number of gourmet lunches to order from our catering
service. So, you?ve been planning to call Brenda for reservations, sooner would
definitely be better than later at this point, as we do have a few spaces
remaining in our seating chart.
The main technical theme of this note is winterizing. Each spring, we get more
than a few panicked calls from folks who forgot, or otherwise didn?t get around
to winterizing their engines in the fall, so we thought we?d pass along the
latest edition of our rather detailed winterizing procedure. Please check out
the ?NOTE? following step (2) in the oil section of the procedure for a
clarification of our original suggestion in the use of Marvel Mystery Oil.
First, and before losing you to the rigors of the winterizing process, I?d like
to pass along some information on the effects of Ethanol fuel which I found
extremely interesting:
Approximately half of the United States has now banned MTBE as an anti-knock
additive in automotive fuel in favor of Ethanol. These states include: IA, MN,
LA, ME, CO, CA, MI, CT, NY, WA, KS, IL, IN, WI, OH, MO, KY, ME, NH, NJ, VT, and
RI. I didn't have a good appreciation of the effects of Ethanol in our fuel
until reading a recent article published by the Boat US insurance division
("Seaworthy", vol. 23 No. 4 - October 2005).
The largest problem appears to occur when Ethanol mixes with water to cause a
light gray muck (officially called "phase separation"). According to the
article, most of the current gnashing of teeth is coming from the power boat
community, which is reporting a rash of engine shutdowns due to filters,
carburetors, and/or fuel injectors becoming clogged with this light gray muck.
The tendency for Methanol to create problems in the presence of water is
increased when Methanol fuel is added to a tank containing leftover MTBE.
While I believe that our customer base has done a far better job in maintaining
their fuel systems than the stereotypical power boater, there has been some
?mystery muck? reported in carburetors and filters within our Atomic 4 fleet
during the last year or two as well. In most cases, the color of the muck has
been on the reddish side, which (looking back on things) could have been caused
by water that had collected in the bottom of steel tanks and passed on a light
rusty color as it was reacting with Ethanol.
The good news is that problems with Ethanol are virtually unheard of in tanks
that have no water present, and/or where Ethanol and MTBE fuel are not being
mixed. Hopefully, as the use of Ethanol continues to spread, we?ll be able to
rely on our local fuel suppliers to let us know what fuel they?re selling, and
when they started to sell it. Though not mentioned in this article, I have
heard one random report from a customer who believed that he had experienced
some level of deterioration in rubber hoses (even Coast Guard approved hose)
from using Ethanol fuel. To this point we have no official confirmation of the
claim that Ethanol fuel has been attacking rubber fuel lines.
Now to winterizing:
Here is a rather free paraphrasing of Chapter 9 (Winterizing) from our service
and overhaul manual:
Winterizing an Atomic 4 should not require more than an hour or so. A list of
tools and materials is shown at the end of the procedures.
GENERAL:
Moisture-related damage and cracked castings caused by water freezing in water
jackets are by far the biggest threats during winter lay-up. While the potential
for cracked castings is rather easy to visualize, moisture related damage is
somewhat less obvious.
Moisture can lead to corrosion on points which will almost surely cause hard
starting in the spring. Moisture also can condense out of the atmosphere within
partially filled fuel tanks and cause corrosion in carburetors, pumps, fuel
lines, etc. And, even more troublesome, moisture can corrode valve stems enough
to cause sticking valves by the time winter has run its course.
In areas where moisture is known to be excessive, it is sometimes necessary
remove the plugs and turn the engine over on the starter while adding a bit more
Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) to the combustion chambers to prevent sticky valves in
the spring.
OIL SYSTEM:
Step 1: Drain oil. Draining oil at this time will set you up for an easy spring
startup, since you shouldn't have to drain oil again until next fall (unless you
exceed the recommended oil change interval of 50 hours).
NOTE: The next step assumes that there will always be approximately a quart of
oil remaining above the intake of the oil pump after draining. If, as you are
running the engine in step 2, oil pressure should drop from normal, add a second
quart of Mystery oil.
Step 2: Add one quart of Marvel Mystery Oil. Run engine for about a minute to
circulate the MMO-rich mixture throughout the oil swept section of the engine.
I followed this practice for years to prevent internal corrosion (mainly on
bearing surfaces, cylinder bores, and valve stems) and to facilitate
re-commissioning in the spring when you need only to add enough new oil to bring
the level to the full mark. It will save some time if you can look ahead and
set up to accomplish Step 1 of the cooling system section while running the
engine in this step.
NOTE: In the years since we originally wrote these procedures, some folks have
expressed concern over the use of Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) in the crankcase on a
continuing basis. While we still see no downside to leaving up to a quart of
MMO in the crankcase during the winterizing process, if an engine is used very
little, following our procedure could result in a concentration of MMO in the
crankcase (over several seasons) which could exceed "one quart per oil change"
as listed in the instructions on the MMO container. In all cases, if oil
pressure ever lowers below what has been normal for a particular engine, or if
you suspect that you may have more than one quart of MMO in the crankcase, the
oil (whatever the mixture) should be removed and the crankcase refilled with
straight viscosity 30 weight detergent oil.
FUEL SYSTEM
Step 1: Check all filters, paying particular attention to sumps which can (and
should) collect free water if any is present. If any water is discovered, I
would definitely take the precaution of draining the bowl of the carburetor as
well as the main jet passage. Any moisture in the carburetor will surely turn
into a chalk-like muck by spring and cause all kinds of trouble throughout the
next season.
NOTE: It would be good to manually operate the fuel pump to refill the
carburetor before trying to restart the engine so as to limit starter cranking.
All mechanical pumps have a "U" shaped lever hinged below them for this purpose.
If that lever feels completely free when you try to pump with it, it simply
means that the engine stopped with the cam shaft already deflecting the
diaphragm. All you have to do is run the starter for a fraction of a turn and
you should then be able to manually operate the pump. If you have an electric
fuel pump connected directly to the positive terminal of the coil, you can fill
the carburetor by simply leaving the ignition switch on for a few seconds (maybe
10 or so) before attempting to start. If you have an electric fuel pump with an
oil safety switch, there's no easy way to refill the carburetor except to bypass
the oil safety switch electrically while the ignition switch is on.
Step 2: Top off the fuel tank. Add Mystery Oil as usual and if you've had any
moisture problems, you may consider one of the moisture inhibiting fuel
additives on the market.
COOLING SYSTEM
Step 1: If you operate in salt water, draw in at least one 5 gallon bucket of
fresh water through the "T" fitting (which you should have previously installed
between the raw water intake and the intake to your engine driven water pump).
When the hose cavitates as the bucket empties, race the engine slightly for a
second or two to partially evacuate the block and, more importantly, the exhaust
system. This few seconds of running, after the bucket empties, will leave less
water behind within the engine to dilute the antifreeze when you draw it in
later. If you've installed fresh water cooling, proceed to step three.
Step 2: Remove the two drain plugs in the side of the block behind the starter
and alternator, and the single plug in the rear of the exhaust/intake manifold.
If crud has settled out behind any of these plugs, it's best to take a wire and
open up the area behind the plug holes so as to reestablish drainage. Reinstall
drain plugs.
NOTE: In engines with raw water cooling, I always felt it necessary to remove
the thermostat prior to step 3 and to temporarily squeeze off the bypass hose to
the thermostat housing. This precaution insures that antifreeze has to flow
through the block.
Step 3: Draw at least one gallon of recreational type antifreeze in through the
"T" fitting previously used to draw in fresh water, or until you see antifreeze
come out the exhaust.
Step 4: For early models with thermostat, I recommend drawing in one gallon of
antifreeze with the thermostat installed so as to get antifreeze circulated
throughout the block and manifold, and then a second gallon with the thermostat
removed and re-circulating hose pinched off so as to force the antifreeze
through the exhaust system.
UPPER CYLINDER AREAS
Step 1: When all other reasons for running the engine are past, remove all
spark plugs. Put several "squirts" of Mystery Oil in each spark plug hole.
Attempt to aim the Mystery Oil toward the center of the engine (away from the
manifold side of the engine) as opposed to straight down from the spark plug
holes, which would be toward the valves.
Step 2: Start the engine and run for just a few seconds. The goal is to shut
the engine off in time to let the valve stems coated with Mystery Oil. If you
have any RV antifreeze left, you may want to draw it in at this time as in step
3 above. Some antifreeze will be pumped out during the several seconds of
running in the final step of the procedure, but this loss of antifreeze won't
have any negative impact, since any air left behind cannot freeze.
Needed materials include:
Two quarts of Marvel Mystery Oil.
"Squirt" type of oil can (with Mystery Oil).
Five-gallon bucket.
Two gallons of recreational antifreeze.
Several gallons of fuel, as necessary, to top off tank.
Three 7/16" hex-headed brass 1/8" pipe plugs to replace whatever style of plugs
were previously installed in water jackets.
Normal hand tools plus a needle-nose vise grip (in case any of the drain plugs
stick).
Best regards,
Don Moyer
-------------------------------------------
MOYER MARINE INC.
www.moyermarine.com
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