The story of "Swamp Thing"

[Purplefade]

Dude, at least you caught it before catastrophe happened that is awesome

I watched a technician drain the oil and pull the filter from a new formula 1 firebird back in the day, take a phone call, walk away from the car and then proceed to lock up the engine when he came back, lowered the rack, pulled it out into the parking lot and give the owner the keys back...

Owner walked out, started the car, looked at it funny for a minute and then drove away. He made it less than a mile before it seized up. Cost the company north of $10K to put a new engine in the car.

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Purplefade

Dude, at least you caught it before catastrophe happened that is awesome

I watched a technician drain the oil and pull the filter from a new formula 1 firebird back in the day, take a phone call, walk away from the car and then proceed to lock up the engine when he came back, lowered the rack, pulled it out into the parking lot and give the owner the keys back...

Owner walked out, started the car, looked at it funny for a minute and then drove away. He made it less than a mile before it seized up. Cost the company north of $10K to put a new engine in the car.

I know myself fairly well so I make sure to build in a fail safe (or two) depending on the level of potential damage at hand. Many of my projects involve heading back to the store, or waiting on parts etc and sometimes I miss something.

The frozen puck in the drain pan was right at 3 liters so I'm hoping that would give everything enough room to expand and not crack anything.

Hopefully it will thaw out in the next couple days so I can get the coolant in there.

Now that I'm thinking about it, what would happen if I start the engine and something like a hose or the heater core is frozen to the point where fluid won't circulate?

Would the water pump be able to create enough pressure somehow that it would burst a hose or do some other damage?

[Purplefade]

I might pull the lower hose and heat up the radiator real good to empty it, you could also cycle the engine a few times, let it run until the temp gauge moves a bit and then shut off and let residual heat start to melt out what might be in the block, then “rinse and repeat”. I don’t think the pump would generate enough pressure to blow a hose, car shouldn’t get hot enough to do that.


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[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Purplefade

I might pull the lower hose and heat up the radiator real good to empty it, you could also cycle the engine a few times, let it run until the temp gauge moves a bit and then shut off and let residual heat start to melt out what might be in the block, then “rinse and repeat”. I don’t think the pump would generate enough pressure to blow a hose, car shouldn’t get hot enough to do that.


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The radiator is definitely empty.

What I'm concerned with is if I fill the system back up again and then start the car, what happens when the water pump starts going? Its going to push the non frozen fluid right? But to where?

What about the electric aux water pump? If the fluid is frozen and the pump tries to run won't it burn out or snap something?

[Purplefade]

The water pump I wouldn’t sweat, but the aux pump is a valid concern. Maybe reach under the hood and unplug it for the moment until the engine heats up and you see flow at the expansion tank.

You figure IF there is ice in the block, or even slush doe that matter, it will offset the temperature of the engine for quit a while, as the block heats up the slush will thaw and you should be good to go. Once you have flow, just plug the aux back in.


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[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Purplefade

The water pump I wouldn’t sweat, but the aux pump is a valid concern. Maybe reach under the hood and unplug it for the moment until the engine heats up and you see flow at the expansion tank.

You figure IF there is ice in the block, or even slush doe that matter, it will offset the temperature of the engine for quit a while, as the block heats up the slush will thaw and you should be good to go. Once you have flow, just plug the aux back in.


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Ok I'll unplug the aux pump but other than that we're not worried about the water flow? Or lack thereof?

[Purplefade]

Nope, the water in the engine will be cold enough to offset any overheating, just keep an eye om the temp gauge and as it starts to go up, I'd shut it off somewhere before it gets to operating temperature and let the rest melt off. May even stick a large insulated blanket under the hood before I closed it to trap heat and help thaw things out. As long as it gets warm enough to open the thermostat and the bottom hose is loose, you should get good drainage. Again, just keep an eye on the gauge and shut her down BEFORE its to operating temp, assuming some rise after shut off as the engine drains down. May be "safer" to do it in waves, warm it up a little, let it drain, gauge drops, warm it up a little, let it drain - all based on your comfort.

[Purplefade]

Optimistically it isn't as frozen as you think and as soon as you start it, it begins to drain

[Fifty150hs]

Got an electric blanket? Throw it over the engine and turn it on. Close the hood and give it a few hours. You only have to get the block up a little above freezing for the ice to melt.

[c-bass]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Got an electric blanket? Throw it over the engine and turn it on. Close the hood and give it a few hours. You only have to get the block up a little above freezing for the ice to melt.

I was thinking about using an electric blanket but management will not allow domestic items to be used as car accessories.

If I lived closer to the city I would hit up my friend for one of those kerosene flame throwers they use when they pour concrete in the winter but it's a 3 hour drive one way and that thing won't fit in the convertible so that's not going to happen.

I just checked the weather and they claim it will be above freezing for the next 3-4 days so I guess we wait.