97 XLT in Montana ....After -25 temp...

[elvisthedj]

Greetings from Montana -

I have a 97 XLT with 230k miles. A couple years ago, a stuck caliper caused a fire so I had to have the whole front end redone. And, the tow company didn't send a flat bed, nor did the disconnect the AWD so it screwed the transfer case.. 1,300 bucks later I had a repaired RWD explorer.. This was in Oregon.

Presently, I live in Montana..much colder. The truck was not winterized enough so when we got to -10 below, the radiator cracked. $540 later, I have a new radiator installed. (I know it would have been cheaper to do it on my own, but i was traveling with a 6 yr old when it happened and the ONLY place open on the weekend was a Ford dealer.. so big $$$.

Now - the question. We got down to -25 actual temp a few nights ago.. the next day I noticed coolant in the snow under the front of the explorer.. Hard to tell how much because there was a few inches of snow under the truck. In addition to the coolant, there was also what I assume is transmission fluid. A friend of mine said that at that temp, there are some fittings that could contract enough to let fluid escape, but it should be okay when it warms back up.. Could I be that lucky, or is this going to be another repair of something?

 

[rb142]

How much leaked/is leaking? Where is it located? Under the radiator? I'd say you are very lucky if it doesn't leak any more.

With coolant and trans fluid together, it may be another break in the radiator, and that is unlikely to get better on its own. Be really sure you aren't getting coolant into the trans fluid (and vice versa) through a split in the trans cooler. But even a broken radiator is a lot better than some of the things that could happen when engines and transmissions freeze. Keep an eye on the fluids for contamination and loss until you figure out where the leaks are coming from. It may be time to consider a block heater.

 

[SoNic67]

What kind of antifreeze did you use? A 50-50 mixture protects down to -34F, while a more concentrated 60-40 is good to -62F:
http://images.peakauto.com/PEAK_longlife_spec_sheet_LORES%201.pdf

 

[my98nnj]

Your friend was probable correct given the age of the vehicle, it's probable expected.

 

[crunchie_frog]

My two cents, the dealer did not do a complete drain of the fluid in the engine block, and the final mix was less than 50/50 and you have more leaks. I would take it back immediately to see what the screwed up.