Winter Prep!

So what does everyone do for their winter Prep???  Drain water and add antifreeze?  Leave it drained and Dry?  I also heard of some using
windshield washer fluid or RV antifreeze.  Whats your routines??

Do you drain the fuel out and spray with wd-40,  or do you just leave it and start it up every other week of so throughout the winter?  

It you don't keep it in running order do you back the rockers off?  

Just wondering what everyone thinks!

Tear it down and make it better.

thats the spirit......

I have petcocks in the block so I pull the diaper off drain all the water at the block, pull lower radiator hose, pull valve covers and loosen all rocker arms and put girdles on shelf.

Even with my old mild .650 cam in my 466 leaving the pressure on the rocker arms ruined the valve springs by leaving them over winter.

I used to worry about this when I lived in Chicago, so I moved to Houston where we race year round!

A few things I did when I lived above the Mason Dixon line:
1) Drain water from system and fill with 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Circulate with pump to assure you have all the water mixed with antifreeze. This helps reduce corrosion and assures a water pocket won't freeze (my brother lost a good block this way...).
2) Remove carb, disassemble and clean with WD40, reassemble.
3) Remove sparks plugs and spray WD40 in each cylinder while spinning the engine over. Re-install spark plugs.
4) Back off the rocker arms
5) Drain fuel system. Remove pump and regulator, disassemble and clean/lubricate with WD40.

Now what to do with the rest of the car......

bigblok2000ranger wrote:
Even with my old mild .650 cam in my 466 leaving the pressure on the rocker arms ruined the valve springs by leaving them over winter.

I would like to see the proof that this is what caused the spring failure.  I have yet to back off my rockers at any time and haven't had a spring failure yet because of this. Cycles and heat are what weaken springs, not just compression.

^^^^^ agreed. I do back mine off though in the winter though, and through the racing season the motor gets turned over 90 degrees every week. this last winter I didnt back um off just rotated like I do during the racing season.

backing the rocker arms off will help keep rats and things like moister from getting inside the cylinders but have herd of some putting nurf footballs in the collector to keep the pest out.

69F100 wrote:backing the rocker arms off will help keep rats and things like moister from getting inside the cylinders but have herd of some putting nurf footballs in the collector to keep the pest out.

The purpose of the nerf footballs in the collectors is to keep the moisture and condensation from rusting the ductile iron seats, (primarily the exhaust seat) and from allowing rust to form on the cylinder walls.

Hope this helps,
Charlie

they keep the mice out too, or at least you will see fluff on the ground as they chew their way in.

X2 what Schmitty said imo. I like backing mine off though just to keep the valves all closed. I tape SOFTBALLS in the header collectors. Carb comes off and cleaned and sprayed and put back in box. All the water removed by removing large A460 block plugs.

schmitty wrote:

bigblok2000ranger wrote:
Even with my old mild .650 cam in my 466 leaving the pressure on the rocker arms ruined the valve springs by leaving them over winter.

I would like to see the proof that this is what caused the spring failure.  I have yet to back off my rockers at any time and haven't had a spring failure yet because of this.  Cycles and heat are what weaken springs, not just compression.

I will define what I meant a little, I had several springs that lost their pressure. None actually broke. I replaced them with the same spring and backed off the rockers the next winter and no issues come spring.

Did you measure the pressure before hibernation and then after, and how did you know that the only ones that failed were ones that were compressed?

My shop is not heated so:

I start out by getting the engine hot.  210-220°.  Just before shut down I use a marine engine fogging spray directly into the throttle body.  Shut down.  Let it cool till the next day.  Drain the rad and block (petcock on each side).  Add a pint or so antifreeze to the rad as I can't get every last bit of water out of it.   Drain vac pump and radiator puke tanks

Drain fuel cell and main fuel lines.  Spray cell/lines with WD 40.  Blow compressed air and then WD40 through all injection nozzles, lines and then barrel valve.  Remove belt drive pump, spray with carb cleaner, fill with motor oil and cap it off.   Put on shelf along with stud girdles.  Back off rockers. Remove plugs and give each hole a squirt of the marine fogging spray, replace plugs. 

Get car up on jack stands to save tires.  Put another set of small stands under the rear end so it's not hanging from the high dollar Koni coil overs.  Hook up small battery float battery changer.  Cover car.  Done.