I have never seen this before...gelled antifreeze !

[Skytrooper]

My neighbor has a 2003 Dodge 2500 4x4. She asked me today if I could come over because her battery was drained enough that the truck wouldn't start. When I got there and opened the hood I saw the upper radiator hose was collapsed. Knowing this was not a good sign I took off the radiator cap and the anti freeze was gelled ! I have never seen or even heard of anti freeze gelling, and I live where it's cold ! It doesn't appear that the entire system is gelled, but I will get a better look tomorrow. It was just serviced after Christmas and got new radiator hoses, she supplied the shop with the Zerex GO5 anti freeze. So, I am pretty stumped on what actually happened to make it do this. The old anti freeze (before the work) was Zerex GO5. I know because I buy it for her with my AutoZone discount (trying to save her a couple bucks).

 

[biomedtechguy]

My only guess is it got mixed with something that made it gel.

 

[R413]

Yes it’s mixed with incompatible stuff. And why wouldn’t it be gelled everywhere.

Remember the GM Dexcool crap that would gel when mixed with the wrong stuff?

@1 Wild R/T may know about fixing this problem, he’s a smart mechanic type guy,

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

That and it is old. Or the ratio was wrong.

 

[Charged440]

Sounds like the shop kept what she provided and put what they wanted in

 

[66Satellite47]

If you don't have the correct pure anti freeze ratio in the system, it does gel/get slushy. At least in my area where it does get -20F. Guess I never mixed the odd stuff.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Remember the good old days when antifreeze was antifreeze? NOW they all have different stuff for different manufacturers. And THEN they change it up to newer stuff! I just had to order 3 gallons of the approved new Ford yellow to take the place of the old approved Ford orange to replace what is in my truck since I am getting ready to replace the radiator hoses. When I bought the truck last summer, I found a small leak, and then discovered that most parts stores don't carry the proper stuff that is compatible with the orange. And the orange has now been superseded by the darn new Ford yellow. Which AIN'T the same as the generic yellow sold in the parts stores and wally world, etc. GRRR.....
(And I seriously doubt that most shop mechanics really know, or care, about the differences! )

 

[R413]

So what to do when you buy a used rig and you don’t know what’s in there. Flush the block and heater until clear then use what stuff? If the superceed and change it.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

So what to do when you buy a used rig and you don’t know what’s in there. Flush the block and heater until clear then use what stuff? If the superceed and change it.

Yeah, I just recently bought the truck, don't know what had been added in the past. But I did notice the color of the leaked stuff. My plan, as soon as this weather warms up and the snow and ice leave, is to drain my truck and refill with 100% distilled water. Drive it for a day and drain it again. Then after replacing the hoses, will mix the correct stuff 50/50 and fill the system. That should get most of the old out. And the manufacturer says that the new stuff IS compatible to mix with the old. I just want it to be as "proper" as possible.

 

[ruffcut]

I just trade !

 

[R413]

My plan, as soon as this weather warms up and the snow and ice leave, is to drain my truck and refill with 100% distilled water. Drive it for a day and drain it again. Then after replacing the hoses, will mix the correct stuff 50/50 and fill the system. That should get most of the old out. And the manufacturer says that the new stuff IS compatible to mix with the old. I just want it to be as "proper" as possible.

One time doing that won’t have it all out, unless you pull the block drain plugs

I recently bought an 03 Cummins, hoses are old, coolant looks good, but what is in there? Who knows?

 

[YY1]

Even the actual Mopar brand MS- whatever that is the spec for my Renegade is now a different color than it was in 2015.

...and mixing them turned it brown.

WTF?

 

[WileERobby]

I'd tell her to get the truck towed over to the shop that did the work, at THEIR expense, since it appears the nimrods f'd it up. Then again, maybe get it towed to another shop that knows what the hell they're doing, at the original shop's expense.

 

[Skytrooper]

Ok, issue solved. Their tech (no longer there) put straight undilluted antifreeze in to top it off (2 gal) after the previous work. It was even listed that way on the repair sheet. Anyway Ethyl Glycol will freeze at 10F or below....which is what we had. So I started truck and ran it for a couple minutes several times to warm it back up, very slowly. Then ran it for 1/2 hour with the heater on to get it all back in liquid form. She drove it to the garage (10+miles) with temp remaining in the normal zone. The garage is doing a total flush on it today and even is giving her 2 new batteries.

 

[Budnicks]

Ok, issue solved. Their tech (no longer there) put straight undilluted antifreeze in to top it off (2 gal) after the previous work. It was even listed that way on the repair sheet. Anyway Ethyl Glycol will freeze at 10F or below....which is what we had. So I started truck and ran it for a couple minutes several times to warm it back up, very slowly. Then ran it for 1/2 hour with the heater on to get it all back in liquid form. She drove it to the garage (10+miles) with temp remaining in the normal zone. The garage is doing a total flush on it today and even is giving her 2 new batteries.

you're a good man for helping her out too