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I'm not sure if you guys have seen this yet.

https://youtu.be/CHnTCm2kTXg
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That is pretty slick. We will have to see if yours has it on it.

All of the next GEN VP engines have it.
Definitely makes it easy for me to winterize.

No doubt. It's only maybe 10-15 minutes as it is, but a third of that is making sure you remembered every hose and got all the water out. Nice user-friendly innovation

I'm the lucky beneficiary here.
When we ordered this thing, I had no idea they were changing and drastically improving engine platforms, and then adding this feature.
As far north as we are, there are always those incredible fall days that happen "after" we winterize. Now, that isn't a problem.
Boat ships tomorrow!

Very cool congrats. Unless you winterize yourself I bet the shops charge the same.lol

When the sales guy showed me this feature I was fascinated. I had always wanted a closed cooling system but this was icing on the cake. I haven't winterized myself in many years but may rethink that now. Probably the best part is being able to extend the season somewhat by not being scared I was getting to the dealer in time when it got cold. Of course, changing the fluids (both engine & lower unit) was always the toughest part for me.

Dub

Dub, those are actually easy on a Volvo too. Also making a fog cocktail for the engine is easy. I still have the danger do mine just because it's cheap insurance in case something goes wrong.not my butt. Thanks again guys for showing this.good stuff.

BB you're right about 2 things. Cheap insurance & what the dealers charge. I asked the dealer about winterizing costs & it was about the same as I had been paying at the other dealer ($300-400). As the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same.

Tuscany, thanks for the video. I had not seen that.

Dub

Dub
Very true. Each place charges very different depending what you get done. I do everything but run the coolant through and fog the engine and it only costs me $135.00 why would I do it?

BB, oh yeah, you KNOW they'll charge he same.
I think I'll just specify an engine & outdrive oil change at seasons end. I'll probably drain the sink/water system instead of antifreeze.
My storage will be heated to 45 degrees, so hopefully that will insure against any freeze problems..

Can the easy drain system be retro fitted to a 1997 7.4?

This may be a dumb question, so be kind, I'm an obvious noob. If you have this system and get the boat winterized, can you still take the boat our after it's been winterized on the occasional warm days we get during the fall/winter and just use the quick drain to prevent freeze damage after?

That is the purpose. However a complete winterization requires fogging the engine for the long layover. Once you start up the engine you will need to re-fog if you plan to lay idle for a few months.

so basically what you would do if you're in a more moderate climate is just use the quick drain system to prevent freeze damage and when it gets to the point where you know you won't be using the boat for weeks at a time that's when you bite the bullet and winterize the boat and don't touch it until spring when you know you'll be using it frequently again?