What's new
What's new

OT- How cold for how long does it take to crack an engine block with no antifreeze ?

Milacron

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
Diesel box truck had coolant leak for so long I'm sure it had zero antifreeze. I got some in her before the recent cold snap (down to 19 here Monday night) but that got me curious if I was frantic to get the antifreeze in for good reason or not. For all I know it would take a week of 10 degree temps....but you higher latitude types, tell me.
 
Car engines will freeze overnight if it's 10-15 degrees outside. The core plugs - "freeze plugs" do nothing to protect them, the ice will open them up the block like a can of sardines.

A big iron diesel block might make it longer if it's put away nice and hot- definitely wouldn't fool with it though.
 
Highly dependent on the engine and material. Aluminum block can distort more before it pops. Cast iron not so much. High nickel content cast iron has very little give, think truck blocks usually. Design of the engine also makes a huge impact on your time before cracking. A V has different weak points than a inline, etc. A sedan close to the ground where it doesn't get much cold air underneath, especially with a undertray as most modern cars have and and enough snow to make a little igloo will be damn near balmy. A big 4x4 uncovered with a standard V8 thin wall block (mid 70's and later) and you can pop it in one evening. Also the thickness of the water jackets and main webbing area (as it will be rigid and shift more stress to the cylinder liner area will affect things.

Sorry to not be able to give a more exact number there are just a ton more variables than one would think. But ballpark if it is a V type diesel motor filled to the top with water only with no air space to expand into and the temperatures are well below freezing you can get a crack in as little as one long night if the vehicle hasn't been run. If it has it can retain heat for hours if iron and delay the whole process quite a while.
 
one nigh below 15f can crack the block. Also it can squeeze the cylinders in on the pistons, just a few thousandths" and it's scrap.
 
Basically it's a crap shoot. It comes down to mass, design, location, duration.
It's a gamble you don't want to take especially with a high dollar engine.
I have had to winterize Mercruiser inboard/outboard engines for years. The engines were always in an engine bay that was covered which gave me more time but there is nothing cheap about a boat engine so I never wanted to push my luck.
 
As soon as it freezes solid, it can crack badly. Depending on daytime temperature, one real cold night, like your 19*F recent temperature could easily wipe out the block. It may pop out its' frost plugs but they do little to help reduce the pressure of a solid freeze up. As mentioned above, the water jacket area will simply rupture and the cylinders may crush inward.

High probability you will also find your radiator is leaking as well. I have seen water filled rads freeze and spring multiple leaks.

Also, I have seen cast iron cylinder heads cracked by frozen water and water pumps suffer as well.

.
 
I'm originally from Houston, Texas, where it rarely freezes, and only snows about once every 10 years. When I was young, in the 1960's, some of the older jalopy cars would be run without antifreeze, because it was too expensive. Guess what a freeze in the mid 20-30 F would crack auto blocks overnight. Nothing to be done with the old cucarachas except scrap them.
 
I would think it could also split the radiator and heater core, overflow tank, windshield wash tank, assorted hot water valves. I can not find any windshield spray in California that is rated as freezing below 32 F.
Bil lD.
 
I would think it could also split the radiator and heater core, overflow tank, windshield wash tank, assorted hot water valves.

+1 . . .

I have over a dozen running / driving vehicles plus heavy equipment - I remember the first really cold snap we had in a while when it was forecast to get down to 5 degrees at my place. I scurried around with my anti-freeze tester and portable battery and checked every rig while it was still above freezing. I ended up adding going through about 10 gallons of anti-freeze, some of which was stuff I had drained from rigs I was junking.

Saved them all!

When it did get cold, it only got down to about 25 degrees and my daughters corolla cracked a block and destroyed the heater core and radiator on the first night. :rolleyes5:
 
A lot of good replies, except the first reply!

Because cracking due to freezing is not a cumulative result, it can happen in one night or less....basically as soon as the water freezes enough to expand the block past it's cracking point, it's cracked. As noted, there are lots of variables but in the end all you need is frozen water and a block that can't handle it.
 
A diesel block is a bit more robust but think about how long it takes the water pipes to split at home.
In case you have not had this fun a few times, about half a night below 25 degrees at the pipe.
You wake up wondering why the water pump is running continuously and you just don't want to look in the basement or crawl space.
Getting down to 10 and it works fast, at 0 faster than you can flow the water over the skating rink you are building in the back yard leaving a crappy, wavy surface.

You could have just left the truck running all night or and old style incandescent work light under the hood does wonders. :)
Really screw up have no antifreeze and -0 degree coming, put a blanket over the engine, some cardboard "walls" underneath and a plug in heater blowing under it.
Of course if I owned a machine warehouse I'd just make some room and pull it inside.

I've worried a lot, done the light bulb and the heater thing, but never lost anything in the cars so I'm not much help.
I just break pipes in the house, cabin, and shop.
In the cabin well pit I've learned to put in two light bulbs so that when one dies when I'm not there I don't have a bad weekend.
Look on the bright side this weather only happens once every 15-20 years.

Not so much the truck, I hope the boats are inside or ready for it.
Bob
 
Sometime ye 'mericans are crazy. How the hell can someone even consider running a vehicle without antifreeze.....

*For the record: Even though i live on the latitude of newfoundland, we have not had a single day of winter so far. Has been one endless autumn. Blessed be the gulf stream and the seas wide :D *
 
I would think it could also split the radiator and heater core, overflow tank, windshield wash tank, assorted hot water valves. I can not find any windshield spray in California that is rated as freezing below 32 F.
Bil lD.

Chuck a bottle of tequila into the reservoir, that'll protect it.
 
Maybe I'm completely missing the point, but did this engine have antifreeze in it at one time but it leaked out? So there's no coolant in the block? You didn't replace the leaking coolant with straight water? If there's no water in the block it's not going to crack from freezing. It'll probably overheat if you drive it though.
 
if it's not in a garage you need to take care of it right away. At 19F I would expect it to bust out.
Ok, so guess I was right to be frantic about it. Got about a half gallon of antifreeze in (small Hino diesel) right before the "snap" and let 'er idle for 15 minutes. Started it up this afternoon, runs great, no leaks.
 








 
Back
Top