2008 215 Wake -Winterize with without running the engine

[JDKRXW]

So: after sitting for the past 3 weeks, I went to winterize my 08 215 Wake and it appears the starter has completely failed.
Time being what it is, it may have to wait til spring to be replaced. My question is; what do I need to do to safely prepare the ski for -40 degrees C without starting the engine? My thought is to use compressed air to blow out what water I can, then pinch the hose with the red band and run rv antifreeze through it with a drill pump, then blow this out with comp air. Will this work? Thanks!

 

[skiasylum]

For sure that will work, service manual does not include the anti freeze part but people do it anyway usually because they don’t have a high volume shop compressor. Blowing out the anti freeze is also not necessary. The max psi for the air compressor is 50 if my memory serves me correctly.

 

[mkov608]

Don't forget to check you jet pump. If there's water in the pump at those temps you'll be replacing the pump in the spring.

 

[finstr]

Did you check the solenoid or power to it when attempting to crank? Might just be a simple fix?

 

[JDKRXW]

Yup, actually swapped it and it started for a while. Ski has always been getting slower and slower turning over. Now it won't turn over when jumping the solenoid posts. Looking forward to some scraped knuckles when swapping starter . Any tricks or specific socket extension ideas appreciated!

 

[finstr]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like you're pulling the engine out for that one.

 

[JDKRXW]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like you're pulling the engine out for that one.

I've read I can be done in place and after looking, I think I can get it. 2 mounting bolts and one terminal. I think pulling the nose out and pushing it back into the block may be the challenge because of the o-rings.

 

[skiasylum]

Yup, actually swapped it and it started for a while. Ski has always been getting slower and slower turning over. Now it won't turn over when jumping the solenoid posts. Looking forward to some scraped knuckles when swapping starter . Any tricks or specific socket extension ideas appreciated!

Try to keep those jumper cables away from your ski, if your wondering why your injectors or spark plugs aren’t firing after you fix your starter your ECM is probably fried.

 

[OverDoo]

So: after sitting for the past 3 weeks, I went to winterize my 08 215 Wake and it appears the starter has completely failed.
Time being what it is, it may have to wait til spring to be replaced. My question is; what do I need to do to safely prepare the ski for -40 degrees C without starting the engine? My thought is to use compressed air to blow out what water I can, then pinch the hose with the red band and run rv antifreeze through it with a drill pump, then blow this out with comp air. Will this work? Thanks!

Question about the hose with the red band - does pinching that prevent liquid from entering the cylinders?

Also, I've tried the compressed air method and I still hear gurgling after several minutes. I've then started the engine and a significant amount of water comes out. Because of this, I'm more comfortable with the antifreeze method unless I'm doing something wrong. I also bought the -100 degree stuff in case it gets diluted with water.

Another thing my manual says is to remove the air inlet hose from the intercooler to check for and remove any condensation.

Last question, for the 50 or 55 psi, is that max or at least?

 

[skiasylum]

That’s the max pressure, and it’s also about cfm’s which I think the service manual assumes you have a decent size shop compressor. That gurgling is normal. The exhaust cooling is supposed to be self draining also, so some water after the blow out with compressed air is okay.

 

[OverDoo]

Thank you. Next time I'll dial the regulator down to 55 and let it go for a while.

I did try to check for condensation in the intercooler but I couldn't disconnect the hose from the intercooler side. I removed it on the engine side and snaked a clean rag through the hose and it came out dry. Hope that's enough.

 

[ski-d00]

If you don't put antifreeze in your intercooler it will look like this in the spring. They thoroughly blew out the cooling system and this was the result. It only takes a little bit of water to fill these tubes and make them split.