1997 Plymouth Voyager engine freezing

PUPPETMASTER2001

MEMBER
1997 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER
3.3L
6 CYL
AUTOMATIC
190,000 MILES

I am having problems with my coolant leaking and I am not sure where I'd coming from. Last night I drained the coolant from the radiator because there was more water in it than coolant and I was afraid of that freezing. Well it got below freezing. Now I'm worried about the engine being frozen. Is that possible? What should I do, or how will I know for sure that the engine did or did not freeze. I'm afraid to put more fluid in and risk starting the engine. Please advise?

Thursday, January 1st, 2015 AT 2:55 PM

1 Reply

WRENCHTECH

MECHANIC
20,761 POSTS

The biggest concern isn't running the engine, it's the ice freezing and expanding and causing things to crack.

If you are concerned about it being frozen, start it up and let it run for 10 minutes and shut it off for 15 minutes and then repeat that process a couple times until you know you have warmed up the engine enough to melt any ice in it. You don't want to overheat the engine because the coolant isn't circulating. Now, if you get the engine up to operating temp and you still have no heat, that could mean it was frozen and the heater core still is. That's when you get it into a heated building ASAP before it gets any colder and bursts the heater core. If you see and leaks after running, that's a good indication it was frozen also.

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Thursday, January 1st, 2015 AT 3:12 PM