Frozen cooling water...

[McLin]

Hi,

now the winter had reach us, and I had our second Lumina bought in summer, and we didnt had since 5-6 years ago the last winter.

I didnt check the cooling water, and where I lookek yesterday the water was frozen.
What I should do now? We had the last days -15 celsius and now its -7 till -2

[jeffcoslacker]

Even a short time running iced up can cause damage...the cooling system allows bypass flow around the heads even when the thermostat is closed because valve areas heat up fast.

If the hoses aren't solid ice, you're probably OK, try squeezing. If you feel a crust of ice inside that breaks easily, you're borderline...

I'd let it warm up in increments, start and run for two minutes, shut off, let it heat soak for ten minutes, restart, run for 4 minutes, shut off, heat soak, etc...to give it a chance to melt the ice without a lot of thermal shock...

When you do finally let it run for a while, make sure you feel the radiator and upper hose begin to warm within ten minutes or so, otherwise it may still be ice jammed and will overheat...

Once it's thawed out, drain 3/4 gallon or so and replace with fresh antifreeze and bleed it...or drain and fill the whole system while you're at it...

[McLin]

The upper hose can I sqeeze but the other hose is very hard. I had running the engine for 2 minutes. It run like a charm, I looked on m oil after and before and didnt see any diffrent, hope it is a good sign.
Bit I had not dared me to run the engine longer. You mean is it ok if I rund the enginge 2 Minutes, wait, 4 minutes etc?

[Blue Bowtie]

Remove the radiator cap to observe the coolant in the radiator and keep it off. Run the engine briefly - No more than 2 minutes and ONLY at idle. Do not use the heater or defroster during this process.

ACTUNG! - If the water pump is frozen, there is a risk of serious damage. Freezing can also crack castings and dislodge core plugs (freeze plugs). During this process you must monitor for any external leakage, any unusual noises, or overheating. Be prepared to turn the engine off immediately if there are any problems.

Allow the engine heat to "soak" or dissipate to the cooling system for several minutes as previously advised, then try to move the coolant hoses and check for leakage or any problems. Start the engine again and idle it only for no more than two minutes, observe the radiator to detect coolant movement, then stop the engine. Allow the heat to dissipate again, flex the hoses again.

Repeat the process as necessary until there is detectable coolant flow in the radiator. Once coolant flow is established, make sure the temperature is normal, then drain the cooling system and fill with the appropriate mixture of clean water and DexCool.

[Blue Bowtie]

BTW - Nice garage! Be sure to keep a good sealant on the paint on your Lumina. Der weiß farbe on Luminas has a tendency to peel from the primer, so sealing well is important. This only seems to happen mit der weiß.

[McLin]

All right, I will do it tomorrow, thx for infos and for not laughing at me...

Edit: I bought it from the US Army in Germany, I will see when I had time, to paint the Lumina new...

[McLin]

Yeah my Lumina is still alive, no damage on engine or somewhere else...

I love these cars...