draining aintifreeze - de winterization

[gelsby]

I have a 1995 gtx. I live in Canada so I winterized as per the manual and filled the cooling lines with antifreeze.

My question now is how do I properly drain the antifreeze and get it ready to run. The manual/procedures do not say anything about this.

Below are the procedures I followed

Locate the main water lines where they attach to the jet pump and exhaust fitting. The inlet hose runs from the pump and splits into two hoses and connects to the pipe on most models. The outlet hose typically runs from the head to the exhaust fitting. The third hose is a drain hose (clear, usually) that runs from under the exhaust manifold to the exhaust fitting on most models. Remove these hoses where they connect to the pump and the exhaust outlet at the rear of the engine compartment. Tie these hoses so that the ends are above the top of the engine.

On the water inlet hose, follow it to the pipe and note where it splits and connects in two places. Install a hose pincher on the smaller hose that connects under the pipe (closest hose to engine). This keeps antifreeze from entering the cylinders, so don't skip this step !

Locate the water inlet hose (the one that was connected to pump), and insert the funnel into the end of it. Pour antifreeze mix into the funnel slowly until you can see antifreeze mix rise above the top of the engine in clear hose.

Leave these lines tied for the winter (if they are reattached, the mix will drain out).

 

[benjilafouine]

Just start the engine and ride! If you filled the cylinders with fogging oil, it will make smoke for a minute and then you are good to go.

Benji.

 

[benjilafouine]

And also: if you pinched any cables, remove the pinch and do not forget to close the drain plugs at the back!

Benji.

 

[gelsby]

is there a way to effectively collect the antifreeze first. I don't want to dump that in the lake or my driveway as it is pretty lethal stuff

As well I did put a pincher on one hose, is there any worry the hose is damaged after being pinched for over 6 months?

 

[benjilafouine]

When you removed the clamp, did the hose came back to its original shape? Just visually inspect it. As for the antifreeze, I do not know which one was used but it is usually not harmful for the environment (like the windshield washer in your car's wipers).

Benji.

 

[gelsby]

I will check the line. I haven't un-pinched it yet. The manual says this pinch stops the antifreeze from getting in the cylinders. So I don't want to unpinch it until the antifreeze is drained. But I don't think I should start the machine until the antifreeze is drained. That is why I thought there would be an actual procedure with step by steps for draining the antifreeze prior to starting the machine

I used the strong antifreeze, not the diluted RV antifreeze.

 

[Shortrun]

Did you use the green Prestone antifreeze or the red RV winterizing stuff? the red stuff is not toxic.

I think the muffler gets full of antifreeze and the only way to empty that is to remove the muffler.

 

[gelsby]

I used the green

 

[Coastiejoe]

Read the container. Some Green and Pink are very corrosive to aluminum.

 

[gelsby]

I believe this is a whole other debate, I went back and did a lot of research and found that green antifreeze was what was recommended for a 95 gtx. I would rather use RV antifreeze. But now that I have the green in it what I would like is some step by step advice to get it out. Funny how the manual only talks about putting it in.

 

[Shortrun]

On the bright side, it didn't freeze. So that is really good.

I only know a little about my machine and not much about yours at all.
i wonder if the hose at the bottom of the engine could be taken off and any antifreeze in the motor would drain into the ski. Which you could get out without dumping into the environment.
The muffler would have to come out.

I am pretty careful with the green stuff too. Always take it to a recycle depot.

 

[mikidymac]

So.... you should never use the standard green automotive Ethylene Glycol antifreeze in a 2 stroke ski for winterization as it is extremely toxic for the environment. You should always use "RV antifreeze".
You will need to pull any clamps left on and you can pull the muffler to get all you can out. Or just put a large trashcan under the back of the ski and start it dry. The exhaust will blow out most of it through the exhaust and coolant hoses. Then I suggest flushing it on the hose with fresh water to rinse out the cooling system. Again you can capture most of it in the big trashcan.

If you just dunk it in the lake you will be violating a bunch of laws by flushing the antifreeze into the water.

 

[gelsby]

Thanks! I captured the antifreeze flushed it and it is running well!

 

[Shortrun]

Any details of how you did it may help others in the future.

 

[gelsby]

I used gravity to drain most into a small bowl in the hull, then I reattached the hoses, put a big container under the the machine and ran the motor three time for 10 seconds, got more out, hen flushed it and caught the remnants in the container. Took the reclaimed antifreeze to the hazardous waste dump. Thanks for the help everyone