Winterizing question and backflushing adapter mistake

[jimmyluke]

2002 GTX DI. I am fairly new to skis so this is only my second year of winterizing.I am using the winterizing method described in the manual by pinching off the required coolant hoses, adding the antifreeze as described and removing the hose pinchers in the order also described in the manual. As I was removing the hose pincher from the “engine cylinder drain hose” (The one with the quick disconnect in line which comes from the magneto cooling cover) I noticed I did not get any antifreeze to come out the back of the ski from that hose. Question # 1: Is that correct- Did I do something wrong? if I don’t hear otherwise I plan to remove the 5/16 inch Tygon hose from the water inlet tee and pour antifreeze directly into it until it comes out the drain. Also as I was removing the last hose pincher from the “water outlet hose” which comes from the tuned head pipe I noticed the antifreeze coming out the back of the ski like it is supposed to and noticed this is the same location my backflushing adapter is hooked to. When I bought the Ski it came with the backflushing adapter attached and I’ve been running it this way ever since (with the backflushing adapter attached). I never gave it a second thought until now that this could definitely restrict my water flow under operating conditions. Question #2: except for backflushing, I assume I should keep the flushing adapter off while running the ski from now on? Question#3 & 4: could this affect my performance? Could this have hurt the engine? Thanks for any help Jim.

 

[mikidymac]

You should be fine. But leave the adapter off.

The most important thing is to start the ski and fog the engine after doing everything you did. You want to make sure no antifreeze or condensation gets into the crank or cylinders.

 

[jimmyluke]

Ever since reading on another thread a couple months ago that someone twisted off their thru-hull fitting while running the engine at high rpm for a couple minutes I decided to make it a practice to remove the snap ring that holds the top hat against the carbon ring every time I backflush and fog. That being said I did fog the engine for One full minute (I timed it) while the wife kept the engine at 3000 RPM while running on the hose. Turned off the hose shut off the engine and then put fogging oil down each cylinder for about 15 seconds each. After that is when I winterized with antifreeze according to the manual. So are you saying that I should start the engine without running on the hose and re-fog?
Thanks, Jim.

 

[mikidymac]

Yes and there is no reason to fog that long or that much.

You want to blow out any water or antifreeze before storing. This is not like a car where you are trying to fill the cooling system with antifreeze. These engines actually have a low point drain tube to drain the water. The only reason to use antifreeze for storage is for the couple little spots that hold a little water. You could just blow out all the hoses with compressed air instead.

For the fogging you only need a few seconds down the carbs and a couple squirts down the plugs.

Also you shouldn’t be running it for more than a minute or two on the hose so your carbon seal should never get too hot.

 

[jimmyluke]

I’ve read that the 951s or the 951 DI engines are susceptible to moisture so I always fog after every ride usually for about 30 seconds but the manual says one minute which does seem kind of long but I figured for winterization I would give it the full minute. I don’t know if this will affect your reply about running the engine again without the hose while fogging to get rid of the residual antifreeze, but I did use pure automotive antifreeze which has rust inhibitors in it. I thought the antifreeze in the engine would actually do it some good? Normally after coming back from a ride I would remove the clip from the top hat at the carbon seal area, Backflush for about three minutes, then fog for about 30 seconds, shut off the water, shut off the engine, then remove the spark plugs and fog the cylinders. But with your recent input I’ll change my plan a little tell me how this sounds. I’ll still remove the clip from the top hat, backflush for about two minutes, shut the water off, fog for about 30 seconds then kill the engine, remove the spark plugs and fog the cylinders?
Thanks, Jim.