[How-To] Winterize Rotax

Below are the steps to winterize a Rotax engine.

Fuel Stabilizer
Insert fuel stabilizer in fuel tank. Make sure it is the right kind for your engine (2 or 4 cycle). This is especially important with ethanol blend fuel, as it will absorb water during the winter without stabilization.

Make sure you have the proper mix ratio and rock the boat to mix it with gas.

TIP: If you put in the stabilizer before your last trip of the season, it is guaranteed to be throughout the fuel system and tank.

Water Hose
Plug in the water hose in the back of the boat (not on the top because you will need to pinch some hoses to do it right). Start engine and let run for 4-5 minutes to get the stabilizer in the engine.

SEA-DOO LUBE
Use SEA-DOO LUBE (don't use something else) and spray inside the air intakes for at least 30-40 seconds. What I do is I spray the lube inside until the engine dies, then I know it's in there everywhere.

Spark Plugs
Remove spark plugs and spray SEA-DOO LUBE inside the holes. Don't be shy to use the stuff. Screw the back the plugs in but not tight. Don't forget to change them next spring.

TIP: DO NOT use the little red straw to spray inside the spark plug holes, it might fall in (BAD).

PTO
Remove the gray cover on the PTO and grease the shaft (you will see the grease fittings after you remove the gray cover). Only add enough grease that the boot starts to move/inflate a bit.

Anti-Freeze
Now for the part that I hated the most, putting in anti-freeze. I looked all over and called all over but the bottom line is you need to doo it the way the service manual says to, and that is to pinch hoses and insert the fluid from the top water line.

On my model I needed to pinch 4 hoses, that's right, 4. The hose pinchers cost 20$ US EACH! What I did is I bought vice-grips (8$US each and you can use them around the house) and also used 2" square pieces of metal you can buy at any home depot for around 25 cents each.

I put a small rag around the hose, take the vice-grip, put a piece of metal on the top and bottom, and tighten. The reason for the metal pieces is to make SURE the hose is firmly closed, if it isn't then it renders this operation useless.

Fill it with around 2 liters of 100% antifreeze (don't use 50/50 premix!), unpinch one hose, put another 6 onces, wait, then remove the vice-grips. Almost all the fluid will then come out at the bottom, but the exercise is to mix the antifreeze with whatever water was in there already so it doesn't freeze.

A service manual is a must and will be cheaper than if you get the engines winterized (and MUCH cheaper than replacing the engine due to freeze damage), so it's a definite investment. It has pictures and detailed instructions for just about everything you need. I don't want to say what hose to pinch because it's different for each model.

Misc
You also need to change the oil in the pump, but I won't describe how to do this. It's rather long, and again is different from one boat to the next.

Content Provided by: GregZ of JetBoating.net