lhfarm

This morning headed out with wife and dog in our 2007 F150. It was -7 with wind chills in the -20 range. We live in the country. I warmed the truck for 5 minutes before loading up. There was light frost on the windshield and normally it will clear in that time. Head down are steep drive to the county road and still no clearing/heat. Had the heater on full blast and just assumed it was just the cold. About 3 miles in got the chime and check gauges. The temp gauge was pegged.

My wife and I are of the age that we could walk far in these temperatures and I made the decision to head home and to get as close as possible. We made it just as steam appeared from under the hood. I'm old enough to know that I may have fried the engine, but I couldn't put our well being in jeopardy.

We were late for an appointment, so just parked the truck and got in my wifes car. When we got home, I popped the hood. Couldn't see anything other than the reservoir was empty. Dumped about a gallon of antifreeze in, but still an inch or more below the cold line.

I don't have a garage to run the truck in and I'm not sure if I should try to start it before the temperature is above freezing. That won't happen till the weekend. We have had colder weather in just the past few weeks and the truck has been running fine.

Since there was no heat in the cabin, I assume it might be a water pump. Since I don't have a place to work on it, I'm assuming I should just have it towed. I also know I might have cooked the engine.

I'd like some idea of what might be going on before I have it sent to the dealer. How would you go about this? Start it and look for major leaks? Not start it and just get it towed? Any advice appreciated.

Barry

techrep

iTrader: (1)

you may have lost a freeze plug and had no coolant to begin with...no puddle under where the truck was...

Triton54HD

Like techrep said..was there any coolant on the ground? I would fill it and start it up and see what it does: leaking, check to see if the water pump pulley is moving..Little more info on what you have may help also.

corey_lax

Check your dipstick while you're at it to rule out head gasket..

Engine probably won't overheat to the point of destroying itself. Don't think that you cooked your engine yet.

Maybe replace your thermostat to see if its clogged.

60DRB

As above.

1st, identify/address the cause of the lack of coolant (where is the leak?)

If there was little or no fluid in the system, you wouldn't have any cabin heat. The coolant is what heats the cabin.

Check condition of hoses & clamps, check the radiator for cracks. Was the proper anti-freeze/water mixture in the radiator to begin with?

lhfarm

Thanks for all the replies. I'll head to town later this morning and pick up more antifreeze and try starting it. The truck is parked on a gravel drive and I didn't see any fluids, but can't be sure.

I added windshield washer to the truck exactly a week ago and checked the oil while I was in there. I remember glancing at the coolant reservoir and it appeared to be at the proper level, but I didn't remove the top. We have had a period of near 0 and subzero weather all month and no issues with the truck, which is driven 3 or more times a week.

I'll send a note when I've tried starting it.

Barry

boondock

If it's not the coolant, the next thing I would be checking is the thermostat

rubbinsracin

sounds like T-stat to me. Mine luckily stuck open. But i have seen then stuck shut many a times. Especially when you have lots of short trips that it never has a chance to open all the way.

lhfarm

I added about 3/4 gallon of antifreeze and started the engine. It started fine and sounds normal. I saw no drips/leaks. Let it come up to normal (half way on the gauge). Turned on the cab heat and cold air continued to blow.

The top and lower radiator hoses are soft and not hot. The coolant level is down some since I topped it off.

Checked the engine codes with my cheap reader and it shows 1299, which is overheating. Not a surprise.

Could it be a water pump failure? Not sure I want to risk driving it again. May call the dealer and have it towed.

PNW EFFONEFIFTY

Low coolant is the issue, a thermostat will not be the cause of LOW COOLANT that results in overheating unless the bolts to the housing are loose but you'd see it leaking if they were.


Your thermostat is most likely fine. With there being no visible leaks and if the oil is clean then there is a mystery as to where the coolant disappeared to.

Check your radiator, you may have a small leak (a crack somewhere that's hard to see). Auto shops can pressure test it for leaks.

Check hoses, any really soft or brittle hoses can leak. Check and replace (even the ones that go into your firewall where coolant lines go to your heater core, they're about 1" in diameter).

After you filled the reservoir the coolant went into the system to replace where all the air was so naturally you'll need to continue to top it off but shouldn't have to add too much more. Air could be stuck in your heater core which will keep it from heating up and needs to be purged (burped). While your truck is running squeeze any and all coolant lines that you can see (be careful they can get hot). In freezing temps it could take a while for your truck to heat up.

Are you buying 50/50 antifreeze or concentrated? Make sure if it's concentrated that you mix it 50/50 with distilled water, not tap water.

I'd top it off and take it straight to a "trusted" mechanic to trouble shoot if you can't do it yourself or can't find any reason for such low coolant levels.

Note, when water pumps fail you will see it puking coolant while the truck is running. A thermostat that gets stuck will cause overheating but will not leak coolant so this is not your "low coolant" problem either. It's all about process of elimination when it comes to problem solving.

Good luck.