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Draining the engine for winter

PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:34 pm
by vauxhallbitz
I take it that taking off the bottom hose and taking out the plug in the side of the engine block is sufficient for winterisation?

As I was running the car on test over the summer I did not put antifreeze in and as it won't be out till next year thought I would just drain it for now.

Re: Draining the engine for winter

PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:26 pm
by 1972nail
That should drain the engine but not the heater. You can't drain that without taking the matrix out.

Draining and leaving empty is not the best idea as you are introducing air into the damp block and radiator which will encourage corrosion. My preference would be to add a good quality antifreeze in the correct concentration and run the engine to circulate it properly through the heater.

A good antifreeze in the correct concentration will have excellent anti-corrosion properties as well as protection against frost.

This also means you can start the engine regularly and operate the clutch and take it for a short drive to keep the brakes free.

Re: Draining the engine for winter

PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:22 pm
by rizzo
Dont forget to use blue and not red antifreeze, https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/imgytr/hints ... freeze.pdf

Re: Draining the engine for winter

PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:54 pm
by vauxhallbitz
Thanks guys, I will do that.

Re: Draining the engine for winter

PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2019 10:26 am
by droopsnoot
I used to drain my Firenza over winter, and yet I still found that enough water could sit behind a core plug to push it out if it froze. Of course, this was always the most difficult to reach - the first time it was the one behind the nearside engine mount, the second time it was the one behind the flywheel.

Back in the day I used to use plain water while everything settled down and I could be sure there were no leaks. After a few core plug changes I've started just using a proper anti-freeze mix and leaving it all the time.

This thread is a timely reminder actually - I swapped one of the core plugs in the head a few weeks ago and topped up with plain water while I made sure it was dry. But now I need to drop that out and put anti-freeze in again, as it's started getting frosty here.