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Frozen coolant

Tiny
JUSTIN BRODEUR
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 BUICK LESABRE
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130,000 MILES
Car I just bought I did not know it had mostly water in radiator and it is overheating. When I tried to start it today the coolant was frozen is there any tricks in thawing it out in now fifteen degree water? It was only two degrees this morning.
Friday, December 16th, 2016 AT 11:29 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,494 POSTS
Sorry to hear that.
No real tricks to melting ice. If it will start you can let it run until it gets warmish, shut it off, then repeat.
Remove whatever parts of the cooling system you can, bring them inside and thaw them. Things like the radiator, heater hoses, radiator hoses, thermostat, then fill the radiator with straight antifreeze and keep trying to get it to circulate. If you have a portable heater or even a hair drier or heat lamp you can aim it at the engine to try to warm it up. Put things around the underside of the body to hold in the heat (blankets, hay bales, whatever).

The problem will be, did the freeze do major damage? At the moment you wont know until you can get it thawed out. As water freezes it expands, in an engine that is not a good thing. Sorry again.
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Friday, December 16th, 2016 AT 11:54 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,494 POSTS
The other option would be to get it into a heated garage and just let it thaw. Again you wouldn't know pf any issues until it thaws out. Your call.
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Friday, December 16th, 2016 AT 1:32 PM

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