16 f350 frozen coolant

[gdhillon]

Long story short, decided to check on the battery tenders on the ol 6.7. I noticed my primary level is over max. I shook the truck a bit and only saw some coolant move around. Seems like the recent cold spell froze my primary.

The secondary over flow looks ok.

The somewhat good news being I only really use the truck as a sled/quad hauler.

Any ideas on my best course of action

Plug it in and let it sit for awhile to thaw?

Or let it sit until spring/summer and revisit then? (Should I take the overflow cap off while it thaws?)

I’m def hoping for the best but fairly certain the damage would have been done as it froze

 

[ABMax24]

I doubt it froze solid, coolant normally gels up and gives at least a few more degrees protection before it freezes enough to burst.

With the warm weather coming I'm sure it will thaw on it's own. Or pull it into a warm garage or shop to thaw. If you haven't already it's probably time to drain and replace the coolant anyway, so I'd let it warm up and change it with fresh 50/50.

Biggest concern would be hydro-locking the engine on first startup, but I'd say the chance of that is minimal if the coolant isn't froze solid. Could always pull the dipstick to check for coolant, or the oil pan drain plug quick to see if any coolant comes out (coolant would be under the oil in the pan and would come out first). After that any coolant in the oil would trash the bearings and internals. Assuming it froze hard enough to actually break anything and leak coolant into the oil pan.

 

[neilsleder]

Yah I don’t think I’d be to worried. If it did freeze hard I’d think the block would be fine just thin stuff like oil cooler or intercooler might split. I’d wait till this warmer weather and start it and let it run see what happens. Check the oil to see if it turns milky.

 

[gdhillon]

I doubt it froze solid, coolant normally gels up and gives at least a few more degrees protection before it freezes enough to burst.

With the warm weather coming I'm sure it will thaw on it's own. Or pull it into a warm garage or shop to thaw. If you haven't already it's probably time to drain and replace the coolant anyway, so I'd let it warm up and change it with fresh 50/50.

Biggest concern would be hydro-locking the engine on first startup, but I'd say the chance of that is minimal if the coolant isn't froze solid. Could always pull the dipstick to check for coolant, or the oil pan drain plug quick to see if any coolant comes out (coolant would be under the oil in the pan and would come out first). After that any coolant in the oil would trash the bearings and internals. Assuming it froze hard enough to actually break anything and leak coolant into the oil pan.

View attachment 278735

Thanks man, that makes me feel less depressed lol

I did drain the primary when I replaced my rad hose to the oil cooler a couple winters ago.

Back then I assumed more coolant vs Distilled mix would be better for the truck. After some research and your post I see more isn’t necessarily better. I really wish the ford coolant came premix lol

I don’t have a heated shop unfortunately to pull it into, I’ll have to just let it sit for a bit.

I will pull the dipstick at the very least, and def plug it in for a few hours before I do fire it up

 

[ABMax24]

Thanks man, that makes me feel less depressed lol

I did drain the primary when I replaced my rad hose to the oil cooler a couple winters ago.

Back then I assumed more coolant vs Distilled mix would be better for the truck. After some research and your post I see more isn’t necessarily better. I really wish the ford coolant came premix lol

I don’t have a heated shop unfortunately to pull it into, I’ll have to just let it sit for a bit.

I will pull the dipstick at the very least, and def plug it in for a few hours before I do fire it up

More coolant isn't a terrible thing, but generally 60/40 (antifreeze to water)is about as strong as you want to mix it, higher antifreeze content lowers the heat transfer ability of the coolant.

I think it'll be fine, as neilsledder wrote, pull the dipstick after the initial startup to verify the oil isn't milky.

 

[Luke The Drifter]

What flavour/colour of coolant are you running? I know that era of 6.7 powerstroke, Ford was using some pretty maintenance intense coolant that was orange in colour if I remember right. They wanted you to test the coolant for proper additive package quality. They ultimately went to a green coolant that didn't require testing every year. With that said, I don't think you hurt anything as others have mentioned. I'd get it flushed out and filled up with the newer style coolant from Ford.

 

[sirkdev]

https://www.motorcraft.com/us/en_us/home/our-products/chemicals-and-lubricants/ac-and-engine-cooling-products/engine-cooling-system-products/yellow-concentrated-antifreeze-coolants.html

They call it yellow.. but it sure looks green to me is the latest recommendation from Ford, did 2 trucks this summer with concentrate and demin water 50/50, so far so good even pulling 15k through Las Vegas at +45C. Sure gave the fan a work out though..

This is important overlooked maintenance everyone forgets that can save you thousands down the road, no need to flush unless you are contaminated just drain and refill, lots of vids on youtube.

 

[gdhillon]

What flavour/colour of coolant are you running? I know that era of 6.7 powerstroke, Ford was using some pretty maintenance intense coolant that was orange in colour if I remember right. They wanted you to test the coolant for proper additive package quality. They ultimately went to a green coolant that didn't require testing every year. With that said, I don't think you hurt anything as others have mentioned. I'd get it flushed out and filled up with the newer style coolant from Ford.

The yellow/green ford diesel stuff.

I did do the test strips last summer because the ‘check additive’ prompt came up. On that note, any tips on checking the secondary. I have rigged a test strip onto a piece of chicken wire and lost the strip before

Thanks for the advice !

 

[gdhillon]

https://www.motorcraft.com/us/en_us/home/our-products/chemicals-and-lubricants/ac-and-engine-cooling-products/engine-cooling-system-products/yellow-concentrated-antifreeze-coolants.html

They call it yellow.. but it sure looks green to me is the latest recommendation from Ford, did 2 trucks this summer with concentrate and demin water 50/50, so far so good even pulling 15k through Las Vegas at +45C. Sure gave the fan a work out though..

This is important overlooked maintenance everyone forgets that can save you thousands down the road, no need to flush unless you are contaminated just drain and refill, lots of vids on youtube.

Thanks man, yes used that stuff.

For sure, I religiously watch arod and diesel Tech Rons (RIP) amongst others. And frequent 6.7 tech on FB

I appreciate the advice!

 

[gdhillon]

More coolant isn't a terrible thing, but generally 60/40 (antifreeze to water)is about as strong as you want to mix it, higher antifreeze content lowers the heat transfer ability of the coolant.

I think it'll be fine, as neilsledder wrote, pull the dipstick after the initial startup to verify the oil isn't milky.

Thanks, will do.

From what I recall I went pretty heavy on the concentrate (may or may not have had a few wobbly pops during the job lol)