redwolf624 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 alright folks, i might be doin another engine swap thanks to 17degree weather. woke up to go move my truck to scrap some metal and the truck wouldn't start but i saw smoke, came to find my belts were being burnt and i found ice under my radiator cap, ice sickles on my lower rad hose and the upper rad hose is solid. as of now, there's no 2.8s or 3.4s in my local junkyard, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 How did your engine freeze up at 17*F? Were you running straight water in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 How did your engine freeze up at 17*F? Were you running straight water in there? I'm pretty sure he did... Red wolf just reread every thread you started about an engine swap and you'll figure it out... Although I haven't chimed in any of them but they have plenty of info you need.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunnc1991 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 It might not be as bad as you think.....if you have not pushed a frost plug out then it might be as easy as warming it up and changing the fluid......and you need to run antifreeze.....at least 25/75 was -56 F in the wind up here last week and my 2.5 did not freeze up and i only run 50/50......some go as high as 70/30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Triple Decker Auto Parts (Chesapeake) has a 3.4 listed on car-part.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 You may have just split a hose or even just popped one off. No guarantees you've cracked something bad. The belts being burnt likely means the water pump was frozen up, but there's a chance it could have survived. Burning belts means its cranking over, which is a good sign. Not starting could simply be because the frozen water pump wasn't letting the engine turn over quickly enough. If you have popped out a freeze plug (or several), it's not that difficult to carefully pull it out and tap new ones in, and they're reasonably cheap. It might also prove useful to put a block heater in place of one of them. If 17°F is the coldest it gets where you live, you may not need one, but it won't hurt anything. At any rate, drag it into somewhere heated overnight, let it thaw out, then determine the damage. Before attempting to start, check for fluid cross-contamination (i.e. coolant in the oil and vice-versa). I don't know what you're using for coolant, but as others point out, running straight water (even distilled) is bad for your motor long-term. You may not care, at the rate you've been going through motors, but antifreeze coolants also contain rust inhibitors and will raise the boiling point of your coolant. Rusty coolant passages tend to plug, and boiling your coolant can make a slightly overheating situation much worse. Antifreeze isn't just for cold climates, either, as you've discovered. As far as water content goes, anything other than distilled (or de-ionized) water should only be used if absolutely necessary, and should be replaced as soon as possible. was -56 F in the wind up here last week and my 2.5 did not freeze up and i only run 50/50......some go as high as 70/30 Windchill factors don't actually change the temperature, it just means things cool down faster. -20 with -56 windchill means things loose heat as quickly as they would in stationary air -56, but they still won't get any colder than -20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 alright, i was not running straight water in my engine, i am smarter than that, however i only had bought one gallon of antifreeze when i swapped my last engine in and it took about 1.5 gallons of water to fill it. finally got my hoses thawed yesterday thanks to my dad's heat lamps from the navy and started it, all was fine, no leaks, no weird sounds, no lights (not that i have many) and no performance issues. went to go drive it to work and i got a mile down and i get an oil light (which is my temp light, sensors are switched) i didn't remember it was the temp light so i kept goin but detoured to the auto part store; next thing i know i'm hearing a loud gargling sound so i pull over in the malls parking lot only to see a puddle under my truck, open the hood and stem bellows out but only from where the antifreeze (overflow) tank is, but i have my antifreeze all over my engine, i open the radiator cap (after it all cools down) and stem bellows out of that, i open it the rest of the way once the stem stopped and the cap shot off; nothing but stem. filled it up with 1.5 gallons of antifreeze and a half gallon of water and drove it home just fine, has me a little worried though, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 It might also prove useful to put a block heater in place of one of them does the block heater go in place of the freeze plug cause i can see that benifiting me in the cold, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 It might also prove useful to put a block heater in place of one of them does the block heater go in place of the freeze plug cause i can see that benifiting me in the cold, Redwolf Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 You have a leak somewhere, and a petty big one at that. The ice came from somewhere. It's why you overheated. If you don't mix the water and antifreeze before you put it in, it won't mix in the engine until it's been running for a while, and it'll freeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 alright, i was not running straight water in my engine, i am smarter than that, however i only had bought one gallon of antifreeze when i swapped my last engine in and it took about 1.5 gallons of water to fill it That would have given you a ratio of (+/-) 33.33/66.67......You should have been good for -25 F.........are you sure it was coolant anti freeze? As far as the other matter....run the truck up to temperature in your drive way....open the hood and crawl under....look for any leaks or drips....that will lead you to the leak :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91Pioneer Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Yeah but maybe his first gallon was 50/50 stuff and then 1.5 gallons of water. That would dilute it even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Yeah but maybe his first gallon was 50/50 stuff and then 1.5 gallons of water. That would dilute it even more. I was just about to edit to say that :thumbsup: That would bring it up to somewhere around 20/80.....or good to 12 F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91Pioneer Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 A bit of an aside here but I don't understand why Prestone and others who already have a 50/50 jug don't also offer a 60/40 premixed jug. If that was a choice (which it should be in all of Canada), they would sell tons of it. Some people don't want to have to mix. I think there would be plenty of states too that would find that helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 It might also prove useful to put a block heater in place of one of them does the block heater go in place of the freeze plug cause i can see that benifiting me in the cold, Redwolf Yes alright, i was not running straight water in my engine, i am smarter than that, however i only had bought one gallon of antifreeze when i swapped my last engine in and it took about 1.5 gallons of water to fill it That would have given you a ratio of (+/-) 33.33/66.67......You should have been good for -25 F.........are you sure it was coolant anti freeze? As far as the other matter....run the truck up to temperature in your drive way....open the hood and crawl under....look for any leaks or drips....that will lead you to the leak :thumbsup: thank you, i've never heard of a heater block untill yesterday, don't know anything bout em except they heat my engine block, and the mixture ratio is what i figured when i added it all, didn't make since to me when i found out i had a frozen coolant system. and i ran the truck untill operating temp at work and checked it over You have a leak somewhere, and a petty big one at that. The ice came from somewhere. It's why you overheated. If you don't mix the water and antifreeze before you put it in, it won't mix in the engine until it's been running for a while, and it'll freeze. i had it in my system for a few months prior to yesterday Yeah but maybe his first gallon was 50/50 stuff and then 1.5 gallons of water. That would dilute it even more. i never buy 50 50 stuff, i watched my buddy make that mistake when i was visiting in PA in winter, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 so i did manage to get the MJ to work today and brought it into a bay and found out the damage, i need upper and lower radiator hoses, the hoses that run from the water pump to the firewall, coolant tank, and radiator (i'm gonna just replace the cap to cause i'm that far), upper radiator hose doesn't seem split or anything but since i got a busted radiator (several small leaks), and i gotta replace the lower radiator house (due to all the ice sickles on it, i'm assuming it's busted somehow), i might as well replace all my hoses; and when i first dropped a new engine in it i never replaced my hoses from the water pump to the firewall. it might be time for them, i also had ice around there. the coolant tank pours out the bottom which i'm sure it's not supposed to. i was supposed to do my brakes next payday, but i still got life, cooling system seems a little more important right now since my truck still stops on a dime, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 The lines to the firewall are your heater hoses. :thumbsup: If you're replacing three known bad hoses, it just makes sense to replace the last one. You don't know how long it'll last, and it saves dumping all your coolant again. If the radiator itself is leaking, you should probably replace it as well. You should be able to get a new one for under $100, and (at least on my '91 4.0) the replacement went so smoothly I still have a nagging suspicion I did something wrong, because it just seemed way too easy... It's one of the few jobs I did on my MJ where it didn't seem like it was fighting me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 The lines to the firewall are your heater hoses. :thumbsup: If you're replacing three known bad hoses, it just makes sense to replace the last one. You don't know how long it'll last, and it saves dumping all your coolant again. If the radiator itself is leaking, you should probably replace it as well. You should be able to get a new one for under $100, and (at least on my '91 4.0) the replacement went so smoothly I still have a nagging suspicion I did something wrong, because it just seemed way too easy... It's one of the few jobs I did on my MJ where it didn't seem like it was fighting me. trust me i'm replacing all hoses and radiator since it's leaking (bottom row of "fins" seem to alway be wet) just wonder if i need to do the water pump? Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 silver lining here is that all of these items will also work with the 3.4 :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 There's a chance pushing against ice (with the belt burning against the pulley) bent the impeller blades, yeah. You could always pull it off and check it out while your coolant is drained when you're swapping hoses. Bear in mind you may not be able to reuse the water pump gasket if you do pull the pump off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 silver lining here is that all of these items will also work with the 3.4 :D i figured someone was gonna say somethin like that :rotf: There's a chance pushing against ice (with the belt burning against the pulley) bent the impeller blades, yeah. You could always pull it off and check it out while your coolant is drained when you're swapping hoses. Bear in mind you may not be able to reuse the water pump gasket if you do pull the pump off. oh trust me i know, i never reuse gaskets, we burn through drain plug gaskets at work cause i put new ones on every oil drain plug, boss hates the order he has to do for gaskets :rotf: Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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