Deep Freeze/Polar Vortex question - Damaged cooling system (1 Viewer)

[gotturbos]

Hi All,

I've owned my 97 FJ80 for about 5 years now (mainly in Texas), and recently moved to Illinois. We unfortunately just went through some extreme cold and I'm afraid it has caused some damage to my car. It was around -25F last Thursday when I went to start it. It started fine all things considered, and I left it running in the driveway to warm up for about 20 minutes before attempting to drive it. When I got in the car, all gauges looked good. Less than 1/8th mile down the road and I noticed the temp gauge starting to shoot up. I got it back to the house immediately and shut it off. The gauge had gotten all the way into the red by that point, and I was pushing fluid out of the radiator cap.

I let the car sit as there was no way I was troubleshooting anything in that weather.

I checked it again 2 days later when it was only around 0F outside. I inspected the engine bay and couldn't find any obvious signs of damage. I started the car back up and let it run for a bit with the hood open. There was no major leaks other than a couple hairline cracks in the radiator. The car did not overheat and seemed to almost "fix" itself. Now I'm stuck wondering what I need to replace other than the radiator.

If the thermostat had gotten frozen closed, then why would it have been pushing fluid out of the cap initially? My moderate knowledge of the cooling system can't seem to wrap my head around what could have failed in extreme cold that would cause the car to overheat and push fluid from the radiator cap at the same time.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Jon

 

[NLXTACY]

Sounds like something was boiling while something else was still frozen. Hmm

 

[Tools R Us]

Is the coolant level correct in the radiator?

 

[1911garand]

As a fellow Northerner , I would:

Replace radiator and radiator cap
Replace Thermostat
Flush / drain ALL coolant and fill is 60/40 (60% coolant, 40% H2O)

See what happens during test drive - fingers crossed.

 

[gotturbos]

Thanks everyone. Coolant level was full prior to this issue, now it is a little low. I was hesitant to waste my $30 bottle of toyota fluid knowing I'm about to drain it all.

I'll go ahead and do the radiator and thermostat change and see where I end up!

Jon

 

[1911garand]

Now that I think about it a little more, also replacing the coolant pump might be a good idea.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[1911garand]

I keep thinking of things!

During the cold snap last week it was over -40F here in MN. My 1997 80 parks outside. It has a block heater and I had it plugged in for the 4 day cold stretch just in case.

Block heaters are overlooked and WAY under used by most people - most folks don't even know if their car has one or not.

Block heaters = GOOD!

 

[Tools R Us]

... Block heaters = GOOD!

Depending, overrated, totally unnecessary!

 

[Tools R Us]

... I was hesitant to waste my $30 bottle of toyota fluid knowing I'm about to drain it all.

I'll go ahead and do the radiator and thermostat change and see where I end up!

Jon

You could replace a bunch of random parts and hope, or diagnose the problem and repair it? My first test would be to pressure test and see if/what is leaking. Was the coolant percentage high enough for the conditions?

 

[45Kevin]

So you are new to cold, really cold weather.

The first thing is to check your coolant specific gravity. You can get an inexpensive SG gauge at any auto parts place.

If the SG is wrong for your area you will need to change your coolant to the proper SG. Depending on how much you are down you could just add concentrated coolant to change the SG.

Before you replace any parts, find out if they need changing.

If there are no there signs of leaks in the block, hoses or rad then your coolant loss was probably entirely through the rad cap and no damage was done to the rest of the system. The pressure test would eliminate any internal leaking from cracks. You could probably check your oil for signs of coolant contamination that would indicate internal leaks.
Somewhere in your system the coolant froze, blocking circulation of the coolant.
When you started the engine your block warmed up, but not enough to boil the coolant while idling.
When you started driving the coolant in the block heated to the point that it started to boil and forced the steam/coolant out through the rad cap. If you had felt the top hose to the rad it probably would have been very hot, and the bottom hose probably would have been ice cold.

I have seen engines overheat without the temp gauge needle even moving, because the temp sender was in a part of the system that was frozen.

Block heaters are good in that they save your battery from being over taxed during very cold starts. They also help warm up the cab faster. But with synthetic oils they don't loose that much viscosity in the cold temps.

 

[45Kevin]

 

[KC masterpiece]

I'll chime in with my limited 80 knowledge. It could be as simple as the radiator cap.


I saw my coolant temp rising about two weeks ago and coincidentally hit a dead stop in traffic at the same time. Checked the engine bay and the overflow res was empty with coolant all over the passenger side of the engine bay. Since it was 14 out at the time I left the hood open for a bit while it cooled down and was able to coast most of the way home. Only saw temps hit 217 maximum. Dash gauge had barley moved.

I spent a few hours in the dark that evening looking everywhere for leaks and could not find anything. Fiddling with the cap it didn't seem to be functioning properly and since a replacement at autozone was $5 I figured it was worth a try. Topped her back off and so far no issues for two weeks with the new cap. It's a crappy doorman one, OEM replacement is on the way but the 80 is my DD so I needed a temp fix.

Since then I have driven over Loveland pass twice and never exceeded 195.

I also had some air trapped in the heater core I had been trying to purge to no avail. Strange enough since this incident it appears to be gone, I'm wondering if it finally made its way out in a hurry and took some coolant with it.

 

[richardlillard1]

You could replace a bunch of random parts and hope, or diagnose the problem and repair it?

Did you really just suggest someone use logic to approach an issue? Are you feeling alright?

 

[KC masterpiece]

Did you really just suggest someone use logic to approach an issue? Are you feeling alright?

You are supposed to use money, time, and sanity before logic right?

(I think I'm slowly starting to understand Cruiser ownership)

 

[richardlillard1]

You are supposed to use money, time, and sanity before logic right?

(I think I'm slowly starting to understand Cruiser ownership)

It is my firm belief that most of the people on this forum have taken a portion of their functioning brain and flushed it down the toilet. Myself included.

 

[MoJ]

It is my firm belief that most of the people on this forum have taken a portion of their functioning brain and flushed it down the toilet. Myself included.

That’s cool. What suggestions do you have for the OP?

 

[richardlillard1]

That’s cool. What suggestions do you have for the OP?

I believe I quoted a post where someone suggested diagnosing and how to do so.

 

[gotturbos]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I’ll get a pressure tester and a specific gravity kit tomorrow and see what I find out. I had a good Texas mix of 50/50 which clearly didn’t do the trick here. Always have used Toyota fluids. I’ve never been in below zero temperatures let alone almost -30. I just wasn’t prepared!

To address the above statement where I should drain the oil to see if there was any coolant present- theoretically wouldn’t the freeze plug have popped before that was the case? I’ll do an oil inspection regardless, I just want to have some peace of mind in the meantime.

 

[45Kevin]

To address the above statement where I should drain the oil to see if there was any coolant present- theoretically wouldn’t the freeze plug have popped before that was the case? I’ll do an oil inspection regardless, I just want to have some peace of mind in the meantime.

No need to drain the oil to see if it is contaminated.
You will most likely see scum sticking to the inside of the oil cap or on the dipstick if coolant has gotten into the oil.

 

[ewillis]