Dumb move on my part

[GM Guy]

Guys, check your antifreeze concentration. ):h

I was to come back to college this week in my truck as usual, but the day was not normal. it was 4 below, when it is usually about 10-20 degrees. Long story short, the antifreeze was slushy. i knew this when i was a half mile from home, and the temp guage was over normal. i had to shut it down three times and let it cool for fear of hurting something on the way back home.

had to bum a ride with a friend, and leave the truck at home.

Before giving up, i tried letting it puke some weak stuff out, and replacing it with straight, but at that temp, nothing would mix, so i still had the slush. luckily, i think i still got some sucked into the engine, so the block is safe, but, depending on how cold stuff gets, my heater core might get hurt.

does anyone think i hurt it letting it get pretty well pegged out on the guage? It was all at less than 30 mph, within 1 mile, and i shut it down three times to let it cool. Im thinking at that little running time, and that little load, nothing should have been messed up.

Do you think anything will break, since there is some antifreeze in there? I feel like shit that i didn't check my concentration. :mad2:

 

[davo727]

will cross my fingers for ya dude

 

[GM Guy]

thanks.

 

[just a number]

what about using to block heater to unthaw it and drain some of it off? just an idea

 

[GM Guy]

oh, it has been drained.. just not the proper way! ):h The quick way we did it hoping to get it to mix and get me down the road was to just pull the cap. a little column of slush rose, and then it blew all over.

i need to get it washed ASAP :rolleyes5:

Put a full gallon in, so the block should have got that. just concerned now for the heater core.

 

[just a number]

they only way that i know how to check them is to use it. maybe keep a piece o pipe or joiner, and a couple of clamp just in case. better cold then cold and stranded

 

[GM Guy]

also, this was on my 1991 daily driver, and it never came with a block heater.

 

[96TD]

I'd sit in it let it idle but watch the temp. See if you can get it to circulate. Once it does, it should melt all of the slush. Your problem is probably that it isn't flowing through the radiator. If the truck is stationary, then the engine heat should melt what's in the radiator. If it does start to get hot, shut it off for a little while, then try again. Once you get some flow in the radiator, you could probably dump some in then. Good Luck.

 

[Dave Barbieri]

does anyone think i hurt it letting it get pretty well pegged out on the guage? It was all at less than 30 mph, within 1 mile, and i shut it down three times to let it cool. Im thinking at that little running time, and that little load, nothing should have been messed up.

Do you think anything will break, since there is some antifreeze in there? I feel like shit that i didn't check my concentration. :mad2:

Nope. As you've heard form others, our gauges are famous for being inaccurate. As I discovered this weekend in OKC, doing some emergency cooling system repairs, my temp gauge reads 20 degrees low! Driving thru the Arbuckle Mountains on the way up from Tyler, TX, my alternator decided to dive off the engine. By the time I got it over to the side, the temp gauge was headed for the red zone and the cap was whistling and vibrating like a cheap tea kettle. Made the repairs Sunday and drove it home Monday. 325 miles; no problems. So, speaking from experience, the fact that you sent the needle into the red is not necessarily a disaster.

The chance that you damaged your heater core is also pretty slight. Remember, water expands when it freezes. This is what would cause your heater core to swell and burst. As you pointed out, the coolant was slushy, not frozen. No expansion, no problem. :thumbsup:

 

[tommystunes]

been there,done that....(tho not w/ 6.5)....should be ok if its not frozen hard enough to blow freeze plugs.

 

[Matt Bachand]

I'd sit in it let it idle but watch the temp. See if you can get it to circulate. Once it does, it should melt all of the slush. Your problem is probably that it isn't flowing through the radiator. If the truck is stationary, then the engine heat should melt what's in the radiator. If it does start to get hot, shut it off for a little while, then try again. Once you get some flow in the radiator, you could probably dump some in then. Good Luck.

Same thing I would do. Your mix allowed it to partically freeze at those temps, It would have to get considerably colder than that to solidify/expand.

Keep eye on Antifreeze level and smoke to double check you didn't crack anything. Same with Oil Level.

My fingers are crossed for you too. Why did you let the temp guage peg out hot? You know better than that.

 

[GM Guy]

Same thing I would do. Your mix allowed it to partically freeze at those temps, It would have to get considerably colder than that to solidify/expand.

Keep eye on Antifreeze level and smoke to double check you didn't crack anything. Same with Oil Level.

My fingers are crossed for you too. Why did you let the temp guage peg out hot? You know better than that.

Had to get it off of the main road and back onto our dirt road! I shut it off about three times in one half mile. Luckily it was around zero degrees and really light load (just propeling the empty truck)

 

[GM Guy]

OK, so this all went down last sunday.

On this last tuesday, it got up to 15 degrees, and my dad dumped almost a gallon of straight antifreeze in. (plenty of capacity in radiator, as i opened it when it was weak and it blew over a gallon out ) he fired up, drove to our barn, and shut down when temp guage rose. he loaded staw, then topped off radiator w/ more straight antifreeze. by the time he had it back to the house , the heater was putting out. They took it to town, and it performed fine.

This past Saturday we attended an auction40 miles away, and it did not drink any antifreeze, and it did not blow any smoke. The oil is just under full, where it usually is.

So, I got away with that incident w/ no engine damage. But that was too close!

 

[hereismylife]

Good to here. When you get a chance I would drain all the antifreeze and run the proper mix to be safe. I always use the 50/50 mix. Never had a problem yet.:thumbsup:

 

[GM Guy]

Good to here. When you get a chance I would drain all the antifreeze and run the proper mix to be safe. I always use the 50/50 mix. Never had a problem yet.:thumbsup:

That is for when the temperature rises! ):h Got up to 20 yesterday..w/ 20-35 mph winds for a -10 wind chill, and it got up around 10 today.
Next time it gets around 60 degrees (it has been known to hit 70 in KS in january) i need to drain everything (block included) and change t-stat & quick connect. The quick connect has been leaking all summer, and nothing but water has gone in. I forgot to restore the mix! Damn quick connects!