all water in radiator

[John Bartman]

I flushed my coolant today and broke the drain plug in the radiator , it still seals but i dont want to put the new antifreeze in until i get the new plug so I was wondering if iI can run my trac on all water for one day without anything going wrong

 

[Richard L]

Maybe, maybe not? Coolant (not just antifreeze anymore) does more than just lower the freezing point, but it also raises the boiling point...That changes when the coolant turns to steam and creates pressure. When pressure builds, it is vented out through the radiator cap to the coolant reservoir....With just water in the radiator, you can easily boil over and jump too much water from the radiator into the coolant recovery bottle than it can handle. You will loose coolant faster.



Can you get by for one day? It depends on how far you have to drive, your speed, engine load, traffic conditions, and how hot it is outside....it might even depend upon how well your fan clutch is working?



Sorry, but there is not real answer to your question without knowing all those variables...and even then it would just be a guess? People may claim they drove for weeks with just water in the radiator, but you might not make it more than a few miles down the road because your driving conditions may be very different from the conditions the other person encountered.



...Rich

 

[scott degroot]

While it is true that coolant helps raise the boiling point of the coolant the radiator cap is mostly responsible for this. Typically a 15 psi cap will raise the boiling point approximately 45 degrees, if your vehicle is running that hot you have alot more problems. Running straight water for a short time should not have any long term affects. Over a longer period of time you will have lubricity issues and also have some corrosion problems that can get costly but even if you let it go for a month you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[Richard L]

John,

I just looked at your profile, and since you are from PA, I would tend to go along with l1tech.



I live in Texas where it is a lot hotter (already over 90 degrees for the past month with one or two days over 100 degrees) and if I was only running water, I would have my eyes glued to the temperature guage....LOL



Being that you live in PA, and if it did not get too hot, you probably could run on water until the first freeze...but I would not push it that far....Just keep your eye on on the temperature, and you will probably be alright until you get around to fixing the radiator drain cock.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

The drain cock on the new style radiators, are a pita. Too easely broken. Many of them dont drain very well, until it is almost falling out....



Why dont they just install a bulkhead female nipple. Then install a mini ball valve with a nipple for a drain hose??

It might even be cheaper to manufactor.Nothing to mold into the plastic tank. only a hole for the bulkhead. The mini valve could be transfered to the new replacment rad.



Some times things are too simple for engineers.....LOL

 

[swshawaii]

A 5/16" allen socket prevents stripping the nylon petcock.

Better yet, pull the lower hose and prepare for the flood.

 

[Yardsale]

Petcock drain plug = non-reuseable part :angry:

 

[mike burns 3]

The main thing will be to get the water out and replace with a mix to stop rusting and freezing problem.