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My Car Is..... Advice Needed!!

-RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
edited January 2010 in Chit chat
Well I am a nob head!!...(I know, I got that in one!)

Well, brought some anti-freeze yesterday, was gonna put some in the motor this morning/today....

Got up for work...wouldn't start :(

Bloody hoses/pipes were froze and also the water in the tank.....

I think I'm gonna have to get it towed and put it in the work's warehouse for a bit, and let it thaw out naturally.....

Any advice???

Am I doing the right thing???

I have only started tried to start the car once, and that was this morning :(
Heard about that you ice can break the "block" or water pump..... :(

Really hope it hasnt done that
Post edited by -RubberKeys- on
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Comments

  • ADJBADJB
    edited January 2010
    -RubberKeys- wrote: »

    Well, brought some anti-freeze yesterday, was gonna put some in the motor this morning/today....

    Stable door, horse, bolted.
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited January 2010
    -RubberKeys- wrote: »
    Well, brought some anti-freeze yesterday, was gonna put some in the motor this morning/today....

    Does your car have a block-heater?     If so, then plug it in! (Or is that just a US thing?)
  • hypostomushypostomus
    edited January 2010
    Wouldn't start in what way? Did the engine turn over and not fire up, or did nothing happen at all?
    Also, what exactly do you have and is it petrol or diesel?
  • -RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
    edited January 2010
    hypostomus wrote: »
    Wouldn't start in what way? Did the engine turn over and not fire up, or did nothing happen at all?

    It wants to start but doesnt if u get my drift.....nearly fires up

    Petrol too
  • thx1138thx1138
    edited January 2010
    spray some Easy Start down the air intake, don't make a habit of it though.
  • ADJBADJB
    edited January 2010
    On a more useful note....

    If you can get it inside do so. You can use a hair dryer to thaw out the pipes but that probably won't be enough to defrost the pump.

    If you can get it inside try and get one of those industrial airblowers on it. There will probably be one in the warehouse anyway to keep it warm so you might as well get the most from it.

    Even when its defrosted be careful because the expansion of the frozen water might have cracked joints / pipes or even the pump.
  • -RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
    edited January 2010
    Just had a look at the pipes...

    They are squidgy now, and if you press/squeeze them (esp. the one to the radiator)...you can hear a sound to tank...like its bubbling the water....

    But it looks like the water in the tank (min to max tank)...is solid....

    Do you guys think its best to try and start the car or will it damage something??

    Sorry for the crap description but aint got a clue about cars (hence me not putting any antifreeze in to late!)

    Oh yes, its still got a shit load of snow/ice etc..all over the damn thing...

    Best to give clean it all off or leave it on for insulation lol
  • -RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
    edited January 2010
    ADJB wrote: »
    On a more useful note....

    If you can get it inside do so. You can use a hair dryer to thaw out the pipes but that probably won't be enough to defrost the pump.

    If you can get it inside try and get one of those industrial airblowers on it. There will probably be one in the warehouse anyway to keep it warm so you might as well get the most from it.

    Even when its defrosted be careful because the expansion of the frozen water might have cracked joints / pipes or even the pump.

    Thanks mate, yeah gonna get it in warehouse...1st thing tomorrow morning and leave it there until Monday....

    Should thaw it out

    I really hope I aint f*cked the car up :(
  • grey keygrey key
    edited January 2010
    I don`t know anything about cars, but I would assume that the only safe way, is to allow it to naturally thaw, there is no point rushing anyway as in most places, the snow is too bad to use it anyway. If we get the next cold spell which they predict, it is perhaps better to keep it under cover and slowly coax it back to life....Good luck !
    Every time I read that the oldest person in the world has died, I have to do a quick check to see it isn't ME..........
  • WinstonWinston
    edited January 2010
    thx1138 wrote: »
    spray some Easy Start down the air intake, don't make a habit of it though.

    They really do get addicted to Easy Start. I knew an ex citybus (one of those minibus things that's bigger than a Transit, but not as big as a normal single decker) that was so hopelessly addicted to Easy Start, the air intake was in the cab so you could squirt a bit in while cranking the engine. It wouldn't even hot start without some.

    I suspect the "addiction" is some additional wear to the rings so until the engine is up to speed, there's too much blow by and the compression isn't good enough for the diesel to light up, so the more you use Easy Start the harder it gets to start without it.
  • murtcepsmurtceps
    edited January 2010
    -RubberKeys- wrote: »
    Well I am a nob head!!...(I know, I got that in one!)

    Well, brought some anti-freeze yesterday, was gonna put some in the motor this morning/today....

    Got up for work...wouldn't start :(

    Bloody hoses/pipes were froze and also the water in the tank.....

    I think I'm gonna have to get it towed and put it in the work's warehouse for a bit, and let it thaw out naturally.....

    Any advice???

    Am I doing the right thing???

    I have only started tried to start the car once, and that was this morning :(
    Heard about that you ice can break the "block" or water pump..... :(

    Really hope it hasnt done that



    Firstly what do mean by "water in the tank"
  • -RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
    edited January 2010
    murtceps wrote: »
    Firstly what do mean by "water in the tank"

    Where you would put the water and antifreeze mate...MAX and MIN on the side...

    Im useless with cars...Aint got a clue...AND IT SHOWS :p
  • Dave FountainDave Fountain
    edited January 2010
    If your water expansion tank is frozen its a good job it didn't start. The residue water in the block and head is without doubt frozen and it will blow your head gasket with overheating and probably crack your cylinder head. Very expensive. It does need to go inside somewhere and get that anti-freeze in double quick before you even attempt to start it again. I've done it myself, not had any anti-freeze in and come the winter I regretted it.
  • murtcepsmurtceps
    edited January 2010
    -RubberKeys- wrote: »
    Where you would put the water and antifreeze mate...MAX and MIN on the side...

    Im useless with cars...Aint got a clue...AND IT SHOWS :p

    The expansion tank then,

    As Dave say's if that is frozen you need to get it defrosted before you do anything.
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    My english is bad so i could probably be missing something relevant in the discussion but:
    Antifreeze goes into the fueltank. It's not normally needed no matter how cold unless you have water in the fueltank.
    Into the radiator goes radiatorliquid, maybe mixed with a little water but not to much or it will freeze. If the liquid in the radiator and expansion tank is frozen there is a good chance something has broken.
  • -RubberKeys--RubberKeys-
    edited January 2010
    MinerWilly wrote: »
    Antifreeze goes into the fueltank.

    I know that I don't know much about cars mate, but I'm er.......pretty sure antifreeze goes in with the water pal and not the fuel :???:
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    Ok, i did a little googleing and appaerantly you call radiatorliquid antifreeze in english.
    What do call what you are putting in the fuel tank then if you have water in it?
  • Dave FountainDave Fountain
    edited January 2010
    Hello there Minerwilly! in the UK we put in a mix of 50% water and 50% anti-freeze in the radiator and petrol in the petrol tank, we find it works best like that :) Petrol won't freeze... well not until it gets to -60 anyhow. However us English in general are a bit nuts, we put two eggs into a radiator to stop it leaking, it works for about ten minutes, enough to get you off a hard shoulder. Always carry eggs, if all else fails at least you get a poached meal.
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    You mean in the UK you don?t use water to power your cars yet? This is old technology, invented in the eighties. KITT in Knight Rider was one of the first to do this! ;)
  • Dave FountainDave Fountain
    edited January 2010
    Without going into too much detail I once had to make my own windscreen wiper fluid on the motorway.
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited January 2010
    Actually MinerWilly is quite right ... here in the northern US, where it frequently gets down to -30?C in winter, people do put ... err ... some sort of antifreeze liquid in with the petrol. I don't have a car but I do remember when I used to drive that I had to do that occasionally.
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    That same "fluid" is also very handy if the doorlocks has frozen!
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    ZnorXman wrote: »
    Actually MinerWilly is quite right ... here in the northern US, where it frequently gets down to -30?C in winter, people do put ... err ... some sort of antifreeze liquid in with the petrol. I don't have a car but I do remember when I used to drive that I had to do that occasionally.

    Yeah, i had once a car where the fuelpipe had rusted so bad that water got in. Not even antifreeze where enough in the end.
  • Scottie_ukScottie_uk
    edited January 2010
    I have a 1999 Ford Focus with a 1.8 Zetec Petrol Engine, its been very reliable and never said no to starting in the cold. It had been sat in a car park at the end of Bristol Airport's runway for the last three weeks and turned over and started instantly in the early hours.

    I've never had a problem starting a Zetec Engine in the cold. My previous car had a Zetec 1.6 and that was the same.
    Calling all ASCII Art Architects Visit the WOS Wall of Text and contribute: https://www.yourworldoftext.com/wos
  • VampyreVampyre
    edited January 2010
    I did this nearly 20 years ago to a crappy old Metro and to thaw the pipes/engine I just kept refilling hot water bottles into the nooks and crannies and padding it with blankets. As soon as it felt thawed (like yours is now) I sat for half an hour revving the engine until the engine felt warm. I took it for a spin around the estate for an hour to make sure everything was defrosted and that car never had any ill effect.

    It's easily done if you don't drive every day. I now cycle to work but I've made sure I've started the car each morning and got some heat circulating. Never put any anti-freeze in this one.
    ZXSR - Speccy Mags Reviews
  • MinerWillyMinerWilly
    edited January 2010
    Vampyre wrote: »
    I did this nearly 20 years ago to a crappy old Metro and to thaw the pipes/engine I just kept refilling hot water bottles into the nooks and crannies and padding it with blankets. As soon as it felt thawed (like yours is now) I sat for half an hour revving the engine until the engine felt warm. I took it for a spin around the estate for an hour to make sure everything was defrosted and that car never had any ill effect.

    It's easily done if you don't drive every day. I now cycle to work but I've made sure I've started the car each morning and got some heat circulating. Never put any anti-freeze in this one.

    You don?t live close to me, that's for sure! This moring it was -29?C outside here. :p
  • VampyreVampyre
    edited January 2010
    MinerWilly wrote: »
    You don?t live close to me, that's for sure! This moring it was -29?C outside here. :p

    Holy crap!!!

    The wife's car reckoned it was -6C at 7.30am and my bike thermometer said -4C in the shed at the same tiime. I reckon with the wind chill on the pushbike I was getting maybe -8 to 9 as it was blowing a gale this morning.... I had snotticles by the time I got to work!

    But -29C!!!!!! Do you even bother getting out of bed?!!

    I think the British Isles would internally combust if it had such temperatures (but only if London hit it). The 24 hr news would implode from such devastating temps, the reporters would need oxygen masks as it would no doubt be freezing the very air that they breathe.

    Everyone else in the UK would get the bloody hell on with it.

    I mean, how dare it snow in the middle of Winter!
    ZXSR - Speccy Mags Reviews
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited January 2010
    The coldest temp on record where I live was -51?C back in '96 ... and that's without the wind chill.
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited January 2010
    MinerWilly wrote: »
    This moring it was -29?C outside here. :p

    Well ... it was -35?C outside here this morning ... so there ... neener-neener ... I win! :-P ;-)

    If you and I were to have a pi$$ing contest we'd have pi$$icles ... not something to brag about really ( Nor something you should mention outloud! -Ed ) .
  • STeaMSTeaM
    edited January 2010
    ZnorXman wrote: »
    If you and I were to have a pi$$ing contest we'd have pi$$icles

    Let me ask this, does AdBlue really have pig wee-wee in it?
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