Winterization Sportster 1800

[mattbraafhart]

When winterizing the Sportster 1800 with 720's is it necessary to pinch off the engine drain tube at the bottom of the engine? If the antifreeze makes it down there shouldn't it have got everywhere it needs to get?

 

[racerxxx]

Yes, the manuals specifically states to pinch it. It's about filling every cavity that may have water in it that could freeze. By leaving that hose unclamped the antifreeze might not make it high enough to fill every void. I think the 720 will require 4 clamps to properly winterize. On the large black lines I use flat jaw vise grips, much easier. The I use the little jobbies on the clear and small black lines under the head pipe and lower drain. A freezing climate is not the place to cut corners on winterizing.

 

[rgwekwert]

Just wondering. Does anyone blow out the water with an air compressor? Also, I fire up the engine after the antifreeze then do the fogging. Any issues that I might be overlooking by doing this?


Bobw - Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[USAF_Pride]

Just wondering. Does anyone blow out the water with an air compressor? Also, I fire up the engine after the antifreeze then do the fogging. Any issues that I might be overlooking by doing this?
Bobw - Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think the consensus with blowing the water out is that there are too many passages that can hold water thus the recommended way from the factory.

Fog the motor first, then the anti-freeze. According to the manual (and [MENTION=41828]Minnetonka4me[/MENTION] I believe), there is no reason to leave the anti-freeze in there.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

You can def blow out the system first...I usually use a sucker and suck the the water out of the drain line. But...you still want to use antifreeze. It just keeps the anti freeze from getting watered down fast.

There is no reason to leave it in there...the goal is just to mix any water with antifreeze so it cannot freeze. Once that is achieved, the engine is safe.

 

[mattbraafhart]

Last year I did not do that, would I know by now if I screwed something up?

 

[USAF_Pride]

Last year I did not do that, would I know by now if I screwed something up?

If your engine ran this year, then it probably didn't crack due to water freezing in the passages.

 

[Mekanix]

Last year I did not do that, would I know by now if I screwed something up?

look at the cylinders and where they mate to the head. If the cylinders outer jacket looks bulged out and like they are wider than the head, then that means there was freezing and they have expanded. When that hapen's there is usually a crack that forms and leak's follow.

Sometimes they just bulge and are just fine like that. But inside you can see the outer jacket has cracked in a few places and has separated near the bottom of the cylinder casting.

But since you haven't had any running issues or leak's your lucky

 

[mattbraafhart]

Ok, I got er done right, really was easy once I pinched the right hoses, used to large vice grips on black hoses in and out of the head and two small vice grips on the lower hose and tuned pipe hose, poured until it started coming out the top of the tuned pipe.

Thanks for the help, now I can sleep at night.

look at the cylinders and where they mate to the head. If the cylinders outer jacket looks bulged out and like they are wider than the head, then that means there was freezing and they have expanded. When that hapen's there is usually a crack that forms and leak's follow.

Sometimes they just bulge and are just fine like that. But inside you can see the outer jacket has cracked in a few places and has separated near the bottom of the cylinder casting.

But since you haven't had any running issues or leak's your lucky

 

[dieseldaisy]

anyone around to help on figuring out what hosed to pinch on a 98 speedster to run antifreeze through i did what the manual said and it is coming out of the bottom intake grate none coming out of the tube from the pipe

 

[mattbraafhart]

I'm not sure if you have the 720 or 787, I have the 720 engine and I have to pinch hoses in three different locations to get the antifreeze to come out the top of the tuned pipe. Pinch both hoses coming out of the block, and pinch the house from the block to the exhaust pipes, then it takes about a half gallon before it starts coming out the house on the top of the tuned pipe, oh and disconnect that hose on top of the tuned pipe so you can see it coming out, if it comes out that top opening of the tuned pipe, you are done. Pictures would make this easier to understand but i don't have any, search the sea Doo manuals and you'll find it fairly quickly

 

[dieseldaisy]

thanks i have the 787 twin