winterization

Amphicar Winterization Procedure
&
AMSOIL Lubricants Checklist

Unfortunately, I don’t have a garage in which to pamper my Amphicar through the long cold winter months, so for me it is essential to properly prepare my "Old Buoy" every fall to face those cold winds with only a thin car cover for comfort. The main object of winterization is to dry out the Amphi as much as possible, since any water left in those nooks and crannies will freeze and e-x-p-a-n-d thereby possibly damaging various mechanical parts and bursting body seams. Another object is to ameliorate the deteriorating effects of long storage such as corrosion and dryrot. Other owners without a garage, or whose garage is unheated may also find the following procedures helpful, though I’d be the first to admit that they’ll probably experience no eye-popping revelations or other convulsive epiphanies here. It’s mostly just a step-by-step spelling out of some common sense Amphi-pampering. If you have additional suggestions or winterization tips, please drop me a line at billiam@erols.com.

As far as those AMSOIL synthetic lubricants are concerned, apart from the very occasional splash of Mobil One Synthetic 10W-30 to top off on the road, nothing but AMSOIL goes near my Amphicar (the same one that has made the 1,500 mile roundtrip to the Amphicar Convention in upstate New York, on up to Maine and then back home to Virginia, not on any trailer, but under its own steam for four years running). You’ll find a nice catalog of AMSOIL products specifically suitable for your Amphicar and instructions of how to get them delivered right to your door at http://carstrucksvans.com/amsoil. If you'd like a second opinion about the stuff, you can see what fellow Amphicar owner David Chapman has to say about AMSOIL products at his Amphicar Technical Information website. Longtime Amphicar owners and other webtoed types will recognize that name, since David's probably forgotten more than many of us will ever learn about Amphicars and amphibious vehicles in general. Or, you can see what other Amphicar owners have had to say about AMSOIL on the Amphicar Lovers Email List by Clicking here.

Enough said. It's getting chilly, so on to the Winterization Tips!...

The Countdown to Frostyville...

It’s probably the last dry and sunny weekend day of autumn, you say? Well, give the car a really thorough greasing with some of that AMSOIL Water Resistant Grease (details on getting this brand are found here. Accept absolutely no substitutes!).

Check the radiator’s antifreeze with an antifreeze hydrometer (available for a few bucks at any auto parts joint), or, if you're feeling "highly confident" about the state of your cooling system fluids, then at least do this test: into a clear glass container, draw off a half cup or so of coolant fluid from either the radiator or coolant system drain spigot (located beneath the little access panel in the floor of the passenger compartment, just forward of the rear seat on the passenger side, and underneath the rubber floor matting). Let this fluid stand in the freezer, set on its highest setting, overnight. If it's even the least bit slushy or "Slurpee-like" in the morning, then flush the lot and renew it now. Don't put it off! Depending on the situation you find, top off with a 50/50 antifreeze/distilled water mix, add straight antifreeze or, when in any doubt, completely flush and renew the whole system with a fresh 50/50 antifreeze/distilled water mix. Of course, the use of distilled instead of tap water is not absolutely necessary, but stuff like chlorine and other impurities often found in tap water reacts more readily with metal and also debilitates the antifreeze itself, thereby causing internal corrosion of the cooling system over time. Therefore, why not just spring for a lousy buck to avoid this, right?

Next, making sure the bilge plug is OUT for a change, take a nice hour-long top-down land-drive with the bilge fan running, the heater pulled on full and the heater fan on. Along the way somewhere, park the Amphi on a good incline for 5 or 10 minutes with its front wheels higher than its rear (Driving the front wheels up and onto the curb in a front-in parking spot will do the trick very nicely). Engage the parking brake and just let it idle like that so it’ll drain just as well as it can. (In a pinch, like if one’s Amphi is not exactly "roadworthy" for whatever reason, but the engine still runs OK, then a nice long hour or two idle with all the fans on should also do the trick, but do try to get those front wheels elevated somehow though…even if just a little.)

Back at home, park the Amphi and let it just idle with the water drive engaged and the parking brake on (and/or wheels chocked) for about five minutes. Then disengage the water drive and stop the engine.

Remove the rear passenger seat cushion and its support to gain access to the land and water trannies.

Check the oil level and "appearance" in both of the trannies. I always use the same 8 inch long screwdriver to sample mine (Tip: Next time you top off your tranny oils, mark the two trannies respective proper levels on a similar long screwdriver on a strip of duct tape or something. Presto! You’ve got yourself a tranny dipstick, and no more messing around with those oil fill level screws). So, how does that gear oil look? Does it appear "milky" or "grayish" or "rust brown"? What I mean is, does it resemble anything other than honey, with maybe some tiny bubbles in it? If it does, I’d definitely get that old goop out and some fresh gear oil in. Actually, I change my gear oil every autumn just as a matter of course. Since I don’t have a wrist like a squirrel monkey to easily reach that land tranny drain screw way in the back, I long ago invested in a hand pump to change my tranny oil. I’ll only put AMSOIL Synthetic 80W90 GL-4 Rated Gear Oil in my tranny, because I don’t feel like ever paying more to replace the trannies than I did for my whole car to begin with. My motto is, "Skimp here at one's peril."

While you’re in the bilge anyhow, unscrew the bilge pump filter and clean it out, swab out the bilge with an old rag, particularly the corners near those parking brake cable rubber booties where water can collect. You might also want to take a screwdriver or a piece of wire coathanger and whisk out the "flow-holes" on the floor of the bilge that are found at the far right, left and center, through the rear passenger seat forward support. These flow-holes can easily get clogged, hindering the draining of water from the forward sections to the rear. Next, if you have some REAL silicon spray handy (i.e. not just any old lubricant spray with SOME silicon in it), now would be a grand opportunity to give all of the rubber bits down there a shot of it, especially the big (and critical) axle boots. Real silicon will really keep the dry rot at bay. Please use only real pure silicon on those rubber bits! It’s available for just a few bucks at any automotive goods shop.

Replace the seat and put the top back up. Start up the engine and idle until warm. While it’s idling, take your real silicon spray and a clean rag and spray and wipe the various rubber seals (trunk, doors, engine lid, windows, along the top, etc.). Remove any leaves or other bits that may have gathered in the crevices around the trunk and engine lid. Stop the engine. Go ahead and leave the hood and engine lid open for a bit.

Time to drain the engine oil and replace the filter, even if it’s been less than 3,000 miles since the last change. Why? Because the normal chemical processes of the internal combustion engine cause water and various acids to coalesce in your multigrade, that’s why. Nasty stuff for your Amphi to keep in its gut for 4 months… Just imagine chugging a tall glass of vinegar with a milk chaser right before bed, and you get the idea.

In the trunk, remove the spare tire and cover. If there’s any water or other funk collected in the forward part of the bilge, where it’s easily trapped, swab it out. Make sure that the little flow-hole pipe there at the bottom that allows water to flow towards the rear of the bilge is clear by poking a wire or coathanger through it. Then pour about a pint of 50/50 mixed antifreeze/water right down into the bilge there. Just leave it there. The anti-freeze will keep any water that may later gather there from freezing, and it’s anti-oxidation and anti-corrosion additives won’t hurt none either. Replace the spare tire and lid and close the hood.

Commence dumping a little bit of anti-freeze (say a cup’s worth) into each of these other parts of the Amphi: the door hinge holes, the little access hatch to the engine coolant drains (on the floor just forward of the right rear passenger seat), down into the rear window channels, all around the engine compartment (especially around the battery and quarterpanels on both sides, and onto the flat area to the rear the radiator, above the rear bumper). If you find there is a lot of leaves or other debris around and below the radiator, clean it up a bit. A pair of small salad tongs work well for really getting in there (and the wife just loves this part,…"Honey? Got any vinegar? The salad’s already got plenty of oil!"). If you’re really sloshing the anti-freeze mix around, you may want to place a container under the bilge plughole to catch the excess.

At this point, simply make sure the Amphi is in 2^nd gear, and that the parking brake is NOT engaged. Otherwise you may come back in spring to find it seized up. Some folks may now wish to remove the battery, or at least its cables. I don’t because I make a point of firing up the Amphi every weekend throughout the winter for a little jaunt or at least a nice long idle with all her fans and heater running. Below are some additional "optional" winterization strategies to suit your own situation:

Adding a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank is a good idea for those who do not plan to drive their Amphi at all over the winter.

Removing and drying out any lighting assemblies that are leaky or contain lots of condensation.

Spraying some fogging oil into the cylinders, carb throat, oil filler spout and exhaust after an oil change will help keep moisture at bay. You can see what others have had to say about this tip on the Amphicar-Lovers List by clicking here

Placing a two-by-four or some other suitable brace between the seat and the clutch pedal, so as to depress the clutch so its disk won't stick to the flywheel over time. (This tip comes from an article in the October 1999 Auto Restorer magazine called "How to prepare for winter storage", a copy of which is available free-of-charge from the Amphicar.net Library by contacting the Librarian at librarian@amphicar.net)

Folks with the kind of leaks that require continuous or even frequent running of the bilge pump when in the drink, may want to consider removal or at least peeling back their rubber floormats to allow for a good airing out of the mildrew-prone passenger compartment fiberboard floor. Removal of the floormats will require taking out the front seat, not as much of a hassle as you’d think, but still a pain.

You may now throw on the car cover and go on in and hibernate with a sound conscience. For a catalog and checklist of AMSOIL synthetic lubricant products that’ll really keep your Amphi happy and healthy year-round, please proceed to the new

AMSOIL LUBRICANTS CATALOG
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