(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

engine without coolant

N

Nick167

Member
Is it safe to run an engine for a few minutes without coolant? That combine I bought has the coolant drained out since it has a slight leak and its been sitting for 2 years I was planning in working on it tomorrow to see if it'd run i d rather wait to pit it in til I knew it would run and don't want to damage the engine
 
Why chance it? Fill with water and drain when done. Or antifreeze and drain when done would be safest incase a complete drain doesn't happen. A lot of heat is created in combustion chamber and with nothing to dissipate it things can crack or warp fast
 
To start it... just to see if it ~will~ run... yeah. For a minute or two at most. I think given the present climactic conditions I'd rather that than water...

Rod
 
Not directly relevant to your engine, but when I was taking an engine-building course at a tech school many years ago the instructor told an interesting story. Someone had donated a running Ford 6-cyl. engine to the automotive department. To show students what happens if you run an engine without coolant, the instructor drained the block and radiator and removed the fan, then fired it up. He said it ran for half an hour with no ill effects, at which point everyone had gotten bored watching it. He shut it down, drained the oil and fired it up again. With no oil, it lasted only about two minutes before seizing. As I said, apropos to nothing, but nevertheless interesting.
 
The seal in the water pump needs water or coolant to lube the ceramic surface .I'd fill it with water then drain , might help to flush out some rust & crud too...
 
Top fuel dragsters run about a minute without any coolant for each run- staging, the burn-out, etc.- so you can go a couple of minutes with a combine engine, methinks.
 
The Cadillac Northstar was run 60 miles by engineers with no coolant. However a small block Chevy will not make it home half that far.But you can ride until you see the gauge go to far.
 
My Dad had a 41 JDModel A and he kept it in a shed about 300 ft from the barn. He drove it up to the barn to put water in. Never hurt it as far as I know. I used it for 40 years after that.
 
If you're worried about the water pump seal take the belt off. Won't hurt it if you don't run it long enough to get it hot.
 
Don't see that hurting anything for a minute or 2. When I pulled the water pump off the oliver 80 this week I drove it out of the shop. Ran for about 2 minutes to get it into storage.
a211563.jpg
 
Might help if it got a little hot. In my younger days was running an old 35hp evinrude outboard motor and did not notice the water pump quit until it shut down. Replaced the pump and the engine ran smoother and with a lot more power with no apparent problems.
 
Either way, I wouldn't put straight water in it. I did that with my Oliver 70 Industrial that had a bad water pump, so I could move it out of the way. Just filled with straight water, ran it a few minutes, pulled it into it's new spot and shut it off. Opened the block drain in the side of the block, and the lower radiator hose drain, and drained all the water out. Left the draincocks open. Well, some water must have set somewhere in there, as the next time I looked at it I had a 6 crack down the side of the block along the water jacket.

Ross
 
I read a story about 30 years ago about a race car driver retiring his tow vehicle. He was running a Dodge Challenger with the 426 hemi as his racer. He used a town and country station wagon with a 440 as his tow vehicle. The tow vehicle had about 200,000 miles on it so he decided to retire it. He drained the oil and the coolant out of it and started it, placed a brick on the throttle to get the rpms up a little. It ran for about 20 minutes before it seized up. He then hit the key the next day and it fired right up again. That would not have been my luck though. A little low on oil or coolant and I would have a disaster.

Steven
 
Well I'll have to tell an embarrassing story on myself along this line. I ran my SC Case for at least ten minutes without water. I shut it down when the paint started burning on the block. That was at least 15 years ago and I am still running it every year and it does not lose anti- freeze.

I had put new sleeve Orings in it one summer and put straight water in just in case an Oring leaked. I always run anti freeze in it and I never gave it a thought when I parked it for the winter. The block broke and dumped the water and by the time I fired it up the next spring the water that got away had dried. To fix the block I carefully laid the tractor over on its side and welded the crack. Got lucky! If I ever pull the head I might not like what I find though.
 
Steven we ran a Detroit 8-71 or 92, I'm not quite sure, out of water and it siezed on I-15 north of Idaho Falls. We hooked a pickup to it and towed it To the truck stop in Roberts. This was our service truck. We thought about off loading the tools and tires and junk the next morning and calling a salvage yard to come get the truck. The next morning while we were off loading tools one of the guys pumped up the air tank (air starter), hit the starter and it roared to life. It made the 1200 miles back to Iowa but every 200 miles it needed more water. By the time we got home the oil looked like a chocolate milk shake but it made it. After it was shut down at home and it never ran again. For some reason it seemed to have more power than before. Instead of slowing the rest of the trucks down in the mountains it was leaving everyone else behind. Go figure!
 
If you're real concerned put plain water in it and drain it when you're done. If I've had an engine apart I always do that to check for leaks and to see if the thing is actually going to run.
 
I will do that sometimes on a new engine overhaul if I cannt put a good load on it right away. Helps seat the rings.
 
I will do that sometimes on a new engine overhaul if I cannt put a good load on it right away. Helps seat the rings. Just my way,right or wrong but works for me.
 
Seems like one of those situations where $15 worth of new antifreeze plus a gallon of water can eliminate the potential for hundreds of dollars of future repairs.
 
I have done that a couple times just to make sure the motor ran okay. Limit was 10 seconds. When the motor runs there is different points that will heat up very fast. If you have a coolant it will absorb the heat. Last thing you want is to heat up a certain point extremely fast because metal expands with heat. Good way to destroy some thing. So be awful careful if you plan on doing that. Remember you might have to pay out of your pocket if something goes wrong. I have done it but would not recommend anyone to do it. Just your preference. Just my 3 cents worth. Norm
 
A lot of tractor pullers are running dry blocks with no problems. At a pull in Tunica, MS a guy had a G JD with no water in it. He had a leaf blower hooked up to it and blew air into the bottom of the head and it vented out the top of the block. He claimed to have run it that way for years after it developed a water leak he couldn't get fixed. It drew a lot of interest but not to practical of a set up.
 
I don't favor the straight water approach followed by draining. It would be too easy to miss draining it all out and then having something freeze.
 
That's what their TV commercial said. LOL. What they did not tell you is after you overheat a northstar the head gaskets are blown and it is a disaster to replace them. Most of the head bolts will pull the threads out so you will also need to put timeserts into each hole. Worked at a GM dealer in the parts dept. so I know the truth about them !
 

Running the "Road"..I once was running East on I-80 and heard a "Roadway" Driver say "Man, she's runnin GOOD" (Maybe a 318 Detroit)...

Someone else said "Let him out in the Hammer lane, so he can enjoy it"...SHE'S GONNA BLOW"....he made it maybe 10 miles before she Died....!!

Ron
 
I'd be more worried about the block splitting if you don't get all of the water drained out... Seen it happen.

Rod
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

3
Engine Coolant
Replies
4
Views
590
rustred
rustred
C
MF 245 diesel coolant/engine oil recommendations
Replies
2
Views
78
chris142
C
M
3550 ford industrial leaks coolant.
Replies
2
Views
89
Moparminnion
M
A
A big cloud?
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
used red MN
U
D
Perkins ad4.203 engine has coolant in oil
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
Diymechanicmike
D
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top