Frozen Windshield Washer Fluid

[Lone]

For those who are not already deep into winter . . . Went out to run errands in Lone this AM. It was 21 degrees out and I tried to use the washers to clear the light frost on the windshield. I could hear the motor trying, but there was no juice. Got my gallon jug of fluid to refill it and could only get about a cup into the reservoir. After Lone warmed up, I started to get some fluid. Through deductive reasoning, I'm guessing my Ranger was delivered with non-antifreeze fluid and it froze. I drained it and put in -90 degree stuff and then ran it to clear the lines. Before the freeze comes to your part of the country, I'd advise yinz to do a check and refill.

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[Indy650]

some of the cheap stuff that isnt supposed to freeze does I've had cheap -20 freeze at around zero. Where did you find -90 winshield fluid?? I've only seen up to -50.

 

[Sarge104]

Personal preference I use Windex -35 all season (123235). Works real well with the oem wipers and I'm impressed with the RainX Silicone Advantedge, especially with the wife's G6 slanted windshield on the highway.

 

[Lone]

Where did you find -90 winshield fluid?? I've only seen up to -50.

Ooops! I plead guilty to having a senior moment - for most of December, so far. Rechecked the jug and it is -20. Sorry.

 

[TrebMaxx]

I don't have to worry about this since my dealer failed to properly perform the delivery prep on my Ranger when I purchased it. I had it about two weeks and maybe did about 3 windshield washings and it was empty. I filled it up with -20 washer fluid at that time.

 

[VAMike]

Through deductive reasoning, I'm guessing my Ranger was delivered with non-antifreeze fluid and it froze.

It comes basically empty. So your dealer gets +1 for doing the PDI and topping it off, but -10 for topping it off with water.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

For those who are not already deep into winter . . . Went out to run errands in Lone this AM. It was 21 degrees out and I tried to use the washers to clear the light frost on the windshield. I could hear the motor trying, but there was no juice. Got my gallon jug of fluid to refill it and could only get about a cup into the reservoir. After Lone warmed up, I started to get some fluid. Through deductive reasoning, I'm guessing my Ranger was delivered with non-antifreeze fluid and it froze. I drained it and put in -90 degree stuff and then ran it to clear the lines. Before the freeze comes to your part of the country, I'd advise yinz to do a check and refill.

Hi Mikchael,

Ford does not use non antifreeze...Ford has a specification for this fluid, which the supplier must meet. It is usually delivered to the Assembly Plant in a tanker truck. Why your fluid froze is a mystery to me, but wonder if the dealer just cheaped out and added only water???? JMO...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[chasvs]

FLORIDA!

 

[Indy650]

Ooops! I plead guilty to having a senior moment - for most of December, so far. Rechecked the jug and it is -20. Sorry.

lol i was gonna say where can i get some of that stuff

 

[Indy650]

My F150 always froze up while driving until they carried out the repair to insulate the line that was exposed to the cold rushing air at highway speeds.

imagine the terror at highway speeds when you get salt spray off the car in front, go to wash the windows and theres no fluid...the wiper just wipes the salt across the glass and it dries into that white, non see thru crap.....ugh. death is imminent.

ahh your'e making me cringe at that thought! The sound the wiper makes as it drags across the dirty dry windshield is horrible too, for me it's like fingernails on a chalk board.
Your'e right this is a very dangerous situation. It happened to me last winter driving on a 350 mile round trip. I couldn't see hardly anything with all the salt crap on there. luckily the road was wet and at times tractor trailers were spraying up mist which worked as fluid but then the condition would soon re-appear. A few times I had to stop and use snow.

 

[Hounddog409]

For those who are not already deep into winter . . . Went out to run errands in Lone this AM. It was 21 degrees out and I tried to use the washers to clear the light frost on the windshield. I could hear the motor trying, but there was no juice. Got my gallon jug of fluid to refill it and could only get about a cup into the reservoir. After Lone warmed up, I started to get some fluid. Through deductive reasoning, I'm guessing my Ranger was delivered with non-antifreeze fluid and it froze. I drained it and put in -90 degree stuff and then ran it to clear the lines. Before the freeze comes to your part of the country, I'd advise yinz to do a check and refill.

It was 12 degrees this morning. No issues with ww fluid freeze

 

[FULLSCALE]

I made sure I used my as much as possible to get it empty so I could fill it up with the Rain-X all season fluid. It’s much better than the old blue stuff!

 

[Msfitoy]

Hi Mikchael,

Ford does not use non antifreeze...Ford has a specification for this fluid, which the supplier must meet. It is usually delivered to the Assembly Plant in a tanker truck. Why your fluid froze is a mystery to me, but wonder if the dealer just cheaped out and added only water???? JMO...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

H Phil...in my case, Ford used vapor fluid..meaning my truck was delivered with an empty washer reservoir

 

[T-Wrecks]

H Phil...in my case, Ford used vapor fluid..meaning my truck was delivered with an empty washer reservoir

Mine had about 3 washes in it too! Washer fluid is a methanol/water mix which is why it's only good to -20F. We've had colder nights than that but I've never seen it freeze. However when it's that cold you don't need your wipers .

 

[Rinn69]

I use the -35 purple stuff that I run all year and my reservoir was pretty much empty when I got it home in May . No issues yet, but plenty of real winter to go.

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