water pipes frozen...what should i do??

[king_mo]

hi all.

i didnt put anti-freeze in, now all the inside of the rad pipes are ice.

i havnt started the car.

should i flush the whole thing..?

or...?

any help appreciated

 

[Civic98Talon94]

yeah drain and flush the whole system...and if the hoses are frozen, then the water left in the block is frozen, as well...let in thaw out and drain it also...hopefully the frozen water in the block didn't expand enough to cause the head or block to crack...good luck, and keep us informed...

 

[RonJ]

Never use straight water in the cooling system. Never. In your cooling system, coolant provides three very important benefits over water. It has chemical additives that (1) prevent engine corrosion and it not only (2) raises the boiling point but also (3) decreases the freezing point.

Concerning the OP's problem, when water freezes to form ice, it expands with a force capable of breaking rock and bending metal. Therefore, the main concern is possible damage that could occur if ice formed inside the radiator or engine.

 

[AllStockHatch]

Well since it already froze. Just get it in a shop or building and let it thaw out. Seen what all damage is done after you replace with coolant antifreeze(its called that for a reason) and started. Good luck.

 

[king_mo]

thanks for the help guys.

ill be flushing it later today (daylight)

i dont think theres going to be any block damage because the ice in the pipes werent hard, i crushed it with my thumb and forefinger...

oh and how do i get the ice out of the block..? (if any)

 

[king_mo]

did research on how to flush, all good. will post later

 

[king_mo]

flushed the radiator but couldnt get the block bolt off to drain block.

poured in the anti-freeze while the car was running.

now the car is overheating, the fans not on (and its not jammed)

i thought the anti-freeze is supposed to go down and i top up with water, but it didnt go down much, just an inch..

any ideas...?????

 

[RonJ]

Top the radiator and reservoir off with coolant and then bleed the system of trapped air. The latter is done by idling the engine with the radiator cap loose and the heater (not blower) set to max until the fan turns on twice. Having the front end higher than rear and prebleeding from the bleed bolt (if you have one) near the upper radiator hose will also help.

 

[king_mo]

oh fak! i didnt put anything in the radiator!!

i just filled up the reservoir!

damn! im stupid.

ill do it properly later, and keep you posted.

 

[RonJ]

oh fak! i didnt put anything in the radiator!!

i just filled up the reservoir!

damn! im stupid.

ill do it properly later, and keep you posted.

When the radiator has been filled, bleed the cooling system as I described in post #8.

 

[ChiefRealHard]

i had this problem yesterday as well... once everything was put back together my engine didnt overheat but there was smoke/steam coming from the radiator... i didnt notice anything leaking, does this mean i need a new radiator?

 

[king_mo]

alright mates.

i put anti-freeze and water in the radiator, then filled up reservoir tank to MAX.

the car is fine now, doesnt overheat at all and fan comes on as usual but i also noticed smoke coming from the rad..... but no leaks...???

 

[RonJ]

Where exactly is the smoke coming from? Look for a pinhole leak.

 

[matt96ex]

You probably have excess coolant being burned off. Maybe you spilled some, that's my guess.

 

[stickeyrice84]

 

[king_mo]

thanks for help peoples.

true. i did spill a little.

there wasnt any smoke/steam today.

but a weird thing, yesterday the reservoir tank was filled to an inch Above the MAX (checked when i parked it up)

and this morning just before i started it, it was an inch Below the MAX...

...?

think its leaking..?

 

[RonJ]

It's normal for the coolant level to rise when the engine is hot and fall when the engine is cold.

 

[king_mo]

sound. my car is live now. thanks for the help, very much appreciated