Atomic Four Sitting All Winter: Please Help

[T-chiff]

Alright so I haven't been down to my grandparents since before Christmas and I ran all of the raw water cooling water out of the atomic four on my irwin 28 but that's all I did in terms of winterizing and there is definitely still gas in the tank. Do you think the gas has gone bad? Gummed up the carb? What treatment should I pour in the tank? Do you think the engine block could have broken if there was water inside? Does Anyone have experience with this? Any help would be really appreciated

Thanks alot
Tommy

[Lancerbye]

Welcome aboard. To answer your questions one needs more information. Like how cold did it get while you were away? Is it a fresh water cooled or raw water cooled? Gas should be treated with a stabilizer (before you left it)Was the boat in the water or on the Hard? The engine room on the hard will freeze at a less cold temperature than one in the water. Need more info.

[T-chiff]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

Welcome aboard. To answer your questions one needs more information. Like how cold did it get while you were away? Is it a fresh water cooled or raw water cooled? Gas should be treated with a stabilizer (before you left it)Was the boat in the water or on the Hard? The engine room on the hard will freeze at a less cold temperature than one in the water. Need more info.

The boat in the water and on the Chesapeake bay so it definitely got cold this winter and it's a raw water cooled engine? Do you think I'm going to be coming back to a piece of junk? Ha thanks for your help too

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by T-chiff

The boat in the water and on the Chesapeake bay so it definitely got cold this winter and it's a raw water cooled engine? Do you think I'm going to be coming back to a piece of junk? Ha thanks for your help too

How lucky do you feel. lol When you say you drained the water out did it include opening the raw water pump to drain that section, removing the exhaust riser plugs to drain that section out and removing the drain plugs in the block. If you did all that you will be ok. If not you could still be lucky. If the engine has frost plugs and when you check it before starting, none have been popped, consider yourself lucky and go buy some lottery tickets. ( I want a cut of the wins lol) As for the fuel the carburator should be ok however how much fuel and how full was the tank?

[LakeSuperior]

I have read that modern blends of gasoline do not need stabilization for 1 year. This would be especially true in colder climates.

[T-chiff]

I feel pretty lucky, its my birthday coming up and iim feeling pretty good about spring and all and **** would be absolutely ruined if my engine block had split. So i really appreciate your optimism and ill def split my winnings with ya. and there was probably about a quarter tank of gas in the tank. And could you please elaborate on freeze plugs? i thought those were in desiels for hand cranking so you could release the pressure or something like that,

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

I have read that modern blends of gasoline do not need stabilization for 1 year. This would be especially true in colder climates.

That's possible. I usually don't worry about it in my car that gets left for 6 months at a time. I usually dump any gas from my outboard into the car at the end of the season though. My priorities. lol I have used a stabilizer. Maybe just throwing my money down the tank. I do use a treatment in my diesel boat engine tanks.

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by T-chiff

I feel pretty lucky, its my birthday coming up and iim feeling pretty good about spring and all and **** would be absolutely ruined if my engine block had split. So i really appreciate your optimism and ill def split my winnings with ya. and there was probably about a quarter tank of gas in the tank. And could you please elaborate on freeze plugs? i thought those were in desiels for hand cranking so you could release the pressure or something like that,

Freeze plugs are not on all engines but most have them. They are located on the side of the block. Round hole ( 1 in. to 1.25 in dia. approx) filled with a thin metal plug. These are sacrificial in the case of a freeze up and will pop out. they can be either reinserted or replaced with new.

[Lancerbye]

[QUOTE=T-chiff;655184 and there was probably about a quarter tank of gas in the tank. ,[/QUOTE]
If you have a drain in the bottom of the tank, drain some out and look at it. you could have condensation(water) in your tank. In fall when winterizing the tank is best left empty or full. You can also fill it up and put a bit of gas line antifreeze in the tank. ( Metyl Hydrate) This will help remove the water.

[ShaunJ]

I wish you luck, it got very cold very early on the chesapeake. Just after thanksgiving I had to dearest my yanmar. I only lost the raw water pump

[SkiprJohn]

Absolutely do not trust any fuel that has ethanol in it to be good after a few months if its been sitting in the carb. If it won't start then take the carb apart and check the float chamber. Ethanol will gum up the innards with a yellowish gel that needs to be cleaned out. When you go to the boat check the engine over thoroughly. Try to turn it over just a little with your starter by just tapping the starter button. If that turns it over then try starting it. If it starts then check for water exiting through the exhaust system. Don't let it run if there is no water coming out the exhaust. Check the exhaust to see if there is steam. If there is then shut down the engine quickly. When its running check all around the engine for any leaks.
Good luck! I hope she is ok.
kind regards,

[Dockhead]

The whole discussion is premature and a waste of time until you have had a look over the engine and tried to start it. Mere idle speculation.

Your engine could be toast. If it froze up good and it has no freeze plugs the block may well be cracked irretrievably. Or it could be absolutely fine. You won't know until you go down to the boat.

If it makes you feel any better (what I think this thread is really about), I don't winterize my boat at all. I leave an electric heater running inside and that's it, because I sail all winter. It was very cold this year, -8 a few times, and absolutely no problems on my boat. Of course, I never let her go more than a month without being used, which does help.

[roverhi]

In the future, fog the engine intake with preservation oil when you lay it up. A4s valves have a bad habit of freezing in the guides when they aren't regularly used. Mine did that after one winter layup on land.

[lostsoul]

I wonder what happened to your engine?

all the worry is just playing around. Just try to get it going and see what happens. Then see what is up.

good luck, you can always use the sails too