Frozen Anti-freeze

[mano002]

I just went through the same thing, only mine came out move like a slushie than anything. See the discussion below, but I think it was mostly the same people commenting here.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...ng-out-theres-not-enough-anti-freeze-rad.html

3_puppies: I was told that wind chill does have an effect on vehichles, as the wind takes the heat away faster than if there was no wind. For example, the radiator needs the fan to create wind to take away heat.

 

[jvazquez53]

More coolant, or non-diluted coolant, would have kept it from freezing, not the opposite.

My recommendation is to get the Prestone 50/50 stuff. I know it seems dumb to pay for water, but it's not much more expensive than the straight coolant and the mixture is right every time.

I used Prestone 50/50, what I'll do is replace it next year.

 

[sdbrassfield]

The problem with that pre-diluted stuff is you have to check to make sure it is the ethylene-glycol (eg) based coolant. The prestone stuff is harder to find nowadays and alot of the prestone(s) new formulas are universal and not eg based. Do not use of the other types of the coolants.

I have had good luck with the Texaco eg based coolant (black bottle with the star on it) green full strength and mix it...

 

[lehiguy]

Ok, here's my take. Buying prediluted almost doubles the cost per gallon of your coolant. Duh. Second, There are perhaps a handfull of actuall sources for this stuff so I buy whatever Wally World has that's the cheapest non-diluted. After a radiator removal or some other MAJOR event that has resulted in a loss of most or all of the fluid, I dump in a whole gallon of undiluted antifreeze followed by a gallon of watter. Then I use the empty jug to create a 50/50 mix from a second bottle of undiluted antifreeze. Then (here comes the high-tech part) I get out a marker and scrawl 50/50 on the jug so I don't make the mistake of diluting it more. That's my garage rule, write on the jug and if the seal is broken it's 50/50.

 

[Heartworm]

In regard to heating your garage with charcoal and propane stuff, watch out for carbon monoxide.

 

[wengejor]

I have the prestone 50/50 stuff in my truck and I just now went out with the little ball measuring device. 4.5/5 balls floated which means that it should be good to like -30*

 

[MrMoMo]

3_puppies: I was told that wind chill does have an effect on vehichles, as the wind takes the heat away faster than if there was no wind. For example, the radiator needs the fan to create wind to take away heat.

*** Warning - Science content ***

"Wind chill" only affects anything that has water evaporating from it's surface, and is warmer than the surrounding air (humans & animals)

Anything that contains heat, greater than the temperature of the surrounding air but does not have moisture evaporating from it is not affected by "wind chill" in the sense that it is normally used. The air flow through your rad is what causes the air to take away the heat - because there is an increased volume of air flowing over the surface of the rad fins, the moving air is able to take away more heat than stationary air would, however, it will never be able to chill the surface of the rad to less than that of the surrounding air. i.e. if it is 20° out, your rad will never get colder than 20° - even if 100mph wind is blowing through it. (because otherwise the surrounding air passing over the fins would be warmer than the fins, and would then heat them up)

It's not magic - the air doesn't "super cool"

So, if you park your truck face to the wind, and it's 32°F out - with a 60 MPH wind, your truck would never get colder than 32°. You however, would "feel" like it was 12°F. Your rad will cool quickly, as there is no more heat being produced, but it won't go below 32°, or the air would then be heating it. YOU feel cooled more, because the moisture evaporating from your body is carrying away heat - a little at a time. Imagine that the moisture on your skin is 90° (ish) and the surrounding air is 32°F - that is quite a temperature difference - and each small droplet of moisture carries some of your warmth away. Until you have ice on your forehead, the moisture is warmer than the air, and will continue to carry away heat. Once you have a layer of ice (or frozen skin) you would no longer feel "wind chill" - however... I think at that point it's not really much of a concern...

 

[cando john]

you could try this to thaw the 60 ....first remove the "fan belt " start engine let run for a short time 5-10 min. shut it down let the little heat that you just made tranfer into the engine block it will help thaw from the inside but remember to REMOVE the FAN BELT so the water pump does not move or you could break the blades inside the pump look for leaks as it thaws repeat as needed short runs on the engine ....................... when it's all thawed hook the fan belt back up and start moving the coolant again look for leaks

 

[Jon Vander Ark]

you could try this to thaw the 60 ....first remove the "fan belt " start engine let run for a short time 5-10 min. shut it down let the little heat that you just made tranfer into the engine block it will help thaw from the inside but remember to REMOVE the FAN BELT so the water pump does not move or you could break the blades inside the pump look for leaks as it thaws repeat as needed short runs on the engine ....................... when it's all thawed hook the fan belt back up and start moving the coolant again look for leaks

I actually thought about doing this, but wasn't sure if I'd ruin anything else. Obviously, without the flow, I'd have to watch the temp real close.. And it was only a theory, I wasn't sure if it'd actually work!

The shop lights are working slowly. It's still real cold in the garage and at night is dipping below freezing. It's starting to look like the 60 is out of commission until it warms up to 40!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

If you run the engine without any coolant flow, then you would notice a spike in the temperature the gauge reads after there as already been potential damage. The majority of the heat is produced in the combustion chamber, and without any coolant flow you will get a massive amount of heat around the combustion chamber before anything registers in the temp gauge, because the temp gauge measures coolant temp not cylinder wall temp.

This would be great for warming the engine from the inside out, but I wouldn't run it for more than 10 seconds or so at a time.

 

[fowldarr]

I wouldn't chance it.

and MoMo thanks for the science lesson.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

even water doesn't really freeze until the mid 20's, 24-25 degrees even a 25% antifreeze should not have froze in the mid teens????

dude, water freezes at 0 celsius or 32 fahrenheit. jebus
if you roll out such statements, better check before.

 

[Jon Vander Ark]

Holy cow, snowballs are falling from the sky outside!

Great news, appears to be no damage to the engine. I was able to drain everything just about an hour ago.

I would like to test what I have/what I put in there. Is there any simple way or do I have to buy a specific tool?

I didn't chance running it while it might have been frozen, it was just a thought I had.

I have a feeling the stuff didn't freeze all the way through but was just real slushy. I ran it for a bit and drove around on the hills for about a half hour. Great thing about untouched snow.. you can see if you're leaking anything! I'm not!

 

[Elbert]

You are going to be extremely lucky if you have no damage. Drain all the crap that's in the engine now..out, including draining the block and radiator completely. Fill engine with 50/50 mix of green coolant to either distilled water or tap water. Go by autozone or other car parts store and buy a coolant tester. The tester takes a sample of the coolant and then it will show you how cold the coolant is good for.

When you start it....you need to check for leaks, especially at the freeze plugs. As said at the front you will be very lucky if you have no damage.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Get an antifreeze tester. They are cheap insurance that all will be well. Looks a little like a turkey baster.

 

[wengejor]

$0.99 at a-zone will get you one of these.

 

[sandcruiser]

while water will freeze at 32 in lab conditions, in real world conditions, inside of a container, water won't usually freeze unless the air temp is in the 20s. ie: puddles don't usually ice over (the earth has latent heat). Your water bottle will take a looong time freeze if the temp is 30 outside (but probably will freeze, eventually).

Besides, even "clean" water usually has something dissolved in it, and that usually lowers the freezing point a little.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

while water will freeze at 32 in lab conditions, in real world conditions, inside of a container, water won't usually freeze unless the air temp is in the 20s. ie: puddles don't usually ice over (the earth has latent heat). Your water bottle will take a looong time freeze if the temp is 30 outside (but probably will freeze, eventually).

Besides, even "clean" water usually has something dissolved in it, and that usually lowers the freezing point a little.

no need to get into an argument over this, but it depends a lot on what is in the water, whether it lowers the freezing point or not. salt will lower it, but particles mostly not. they might even accelerate the freezing, as they serve as seeding points for crystals.
Anyway, I suggest not to spread the idea that water freezes 'in the mid 20's'.
cheers,
J

 

[sandcruiser]

fair enough, its all academic to me anyway: "cold" is 70 here.

 

[cruiser_guy]

fair enough, its all academic to me anyway: "cold" is 70 here.

That's why we don't get "antifreeze" here, just "coolant" if the folks are smart enough to put that in. I'm wondering if "coolant" was used in this case.