Winter months are closing in here in the northeast. My trailer is my garage so the car is in the trailer all winter. I usually only run water + water wetter. Is it enough to just drain the block for the winter or should I put antifreeze in it. I really hate to do that but I don't want any issue come spring

My thought process is better safe than sorry. I always drain the water out then fill with 50/50 antifreeze. Run the pump to circulate it. If you just drain there is a potential that water is trapped and will freeze. For the cost of a gallon of antifreeze it isn't worth it in my opinion to take the risk.

Every year I ask the same question. I had been refilling with antifreeze every year but last year I just drained the block and removed the radiator and brought it in the basement. I think I’ll do the same this year. The antifreeze is another step that’s a pain then it has to be drained back out and the water always looked green unless it was flushed multiple times which I never felt like doing.

Know anyone that's broke a block over the winter?, I do. My car usually sits in a garage that has heat and doesn't go below freezing but I put antifreeze in every winter. Always a chance the power might go out or the heat doesn't work, not taking chances. I've seen people get away with a small heater in the trailer or a block heater on a thermostat.
Antifreeze is cheap, another block and the labor isn't.

Think about it for a moment. Antifreeze is around $15.00 a gallon. 1 hour of your time. VS a new block, machine work, labor to reassemble, pulling the engine and reinstalling. You willing to take that risk?

All good points. I will just have to figure a way to flush all of it out come spring. I just hate the smell of it . I know it sounds stupid.

Blocks that sit empty after having just water in them rust worse and quicker.

I add anti freeze and leave it full over the winter...

Nothing worse than an engine from a boat with raw water cooling....rusted to death !

I drain water in fall and replace with PEAK GLOBAL LIFETIME 50/50 that is Amber in color. In spring I drain this antifreeze and save to put back in next fall.

I have over 5 yrs on this same antifreeze and it still checks better than -30*. This amber color of any residual antifreeze (very little in mine) that remains in the engine after draining in spring is visually undetectable in the 11.5 qt system I have when mixed with water.

I also add one bottle of Lucas Super Coolant to the tap water when filling in spring and never have any rusty water. I used Water Wetter prior to this and found it to be an inferior product imho.

quote:

Originally posted by SCDIV1:
Blocks that sit empty after having just water in them rust worse and quicker.

I add anti freeze and leave it full over the winter...

Nothing worse than an engine from a boat with raw water cooling....rusted to death !

Ya know that’s a good point. I think I’ll get an an cap for the lower radiator hose and just fill the block with antifreeze. This way it doesn’t go through the whole system so it will be easier to drain in the spring....best of both worlds?

I didn't see anyone mentioned it, I just dump the water and replace it with the non toxic R/V antifreeze run the pump to mix it, then just dump and flush in the spring.

Even though our car is in a heated garage all winter, things happen. A few years back we needed the garage space for a weekend project in January and pushed the car outside over night. About 2am I woke up in a panic thinking the block had frozen, lucky it had freeze protection in it.

My days in the engine shop and also doing some engines from boat world showed me the rust issues...
Water jackets with tons of rust after boiling the block in the hot tank.
Chunks coming out when I rinsed those blocks...and nothing worse than a marine engine.

I just disconnect my lower line AN fitting on my Saldana radiator and open the block drains.....close it back up and fill with 50/50 green A/F and I have used the same anti freeze over and over.

My engine needs to come out and get super sized shortly so no need to fill it up this year...

I know RV antifreeze will work but if I remember correctly some has alcohol in it which is no good for water pump seals and such.

Put antifreeze in it. even if you drain the water there is low spots below the freeze plugs that can hold water and it will freeze.

Regarding rust, logic would suggest it has to inhibit heat transfer. However back when Glidden was crew chief for Jeg/Schumacher in pre-season warm up in Bay City they drained the water out of that Dodge and it was the rustiest mess you ever saw. I guess they replace their equipment so often it wasn't of any concern. Although they attended to such detail as to have a pad heater on the rear end housing. Go figure.

For years I have run straight water and a bottle of water pump lube. I suppose over time, the lube has left a coating on the interior of the block as when I drain it at the end of the season the water is clear. I live in an area where we have a run of overnight cold temperature just about every year. Lucky so far I suppose? We did put RV juice in one engine one year but someone forgot that it gels in cold weather and tried running the electric pump - it melted the connector and wiring. Just FYI

Evans coolant good till -40 degrees been using it for 15 years it gets to around -15 degrees every few year mostly around -5 to 10 degrees during winter.

quote:

Originally posted by eric doukas:
Evans coolant good till -40 degrees been using it for 15 years it gets to around -15 degrees every few year mostly around -5 to 10 degrees during winter.

Why?, you still have to drain it for race season.

You don't have to drain the Evans coolant. NHRA has deemed it legal if I'm not mistaken.

Regarding the evans. Is there any negatives to using it ?

They might be a sponsor but you still have to drain it.