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Frozen Jeep!!!!

G

GinisKratos

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Centralia, WA (Olymipa)
Ok, so this morning i go out to start the jeep, and for the last few days its been snowing and in the 20s. I goto start it and the starter is having a real hard time turning it over. I open the hood check my water bottle (I have an 89 4.0 btw) and its just one block of ice, felt the upper radiator hose and it was hard as a rock. I thought i had added 50/50 coolant but i guess I didnt add enough. :dunno:

So i boxed off the front of the jeep and put in a small heater under there to thaw everything. I looked to see if there were any freeze plugs that poped, I didnt see any that were out. My question is, what could be broke and once thawed will I just be able to start it up and be ok? or are there specific things i should check before I do that?

Thanks again guys

Ed
 
You may have gotten lucky and just froze the external fluid. I would make sure everything is completely thawed flushed then carefully observed to make sure there were no cracks in the hoses or other parts of the cooling system...
 
After a good heating check the freeze plugs again. Also keep in mind there are plugs in the head and bellhousing.

After it's all heated up when you start it listen closely and watch closely for trouble. ALso check your oil constantly.

Then go get a block heater and install it and start plugging your Jeep in ;)
 
Also the heater core under your glove box is probably frozen as well...Slush will not flow through a water pump - I'd pull the main hose on the radiator and let her drain.
 
Did you possibly flush your system with a garden hose and then add a 50/50 mix? That would leave a lot of water in the system to mix the 50/50 you added, so you're not actually at 50/50 any longer. Happens sometimes.

Obviously, you can't just start it up and hope that it doesn't happen again. It will unless you fix the problem which sounds like weak antifreeze mix. When you get your XJ thawed out and running, after circulating the new coolant mixture, check the antifreeze for strength; you can buy an anti freeze checker for a few bucks at a parts store. It will tell you what temp you're good to. A pure 50-50 mix will give you somewhere in the vicinity of -30 farenheit.
 
x2, after I flushed I added 50/50 premix and the concentration had too much water....checked with the antifreeze mixture checker. Emptied the overflow resivoir and filled with straight antifreeze, that balanced the mixture out perfectly once it started circulating.
 
yeah I'm sure it was a weak mixture, I'm hoping it didnt freeze all the way through, I'll flush it out and make sure i get it right. I checked it at punch and the upper hose was thawed as well as the fill bottle. I'll keep the heater on it until tomorrow and make sure. These temps are the coldest we've had in over 20 yrs. So Im goign to up the mix but a block heater might be over kill =) still thinking about it tho. =) Thanks again guys... So you dont think this will mess up the water pump?

Ed
 
I have a block heater waiting to go in, just waiting to get an exhaust manifold and swap it over along with a 99 head which will give me easy access to the freeze plugs.
 
quick tip.

once the cooling system is flushed out w/ just water, add 1/2 the total capacity of coolant FIRST. then all you have to do is top off w/ water. you never have to worry about the mix if you do it this way.
 
While everyone seems to be thinking freeze...I'd like to remind folks that a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze is also a hedge against boiling over. Yes, it works both ways. Regardless of where you live...you should run a 50/50 mix. It usually protects to -40 F....and prevents boil-overs as well.

Here in Montana...we hit -20 last week...I'm glad I had a 50/50 mix in my XJ!

Block heaters are mostly used for starting when it gets really cold. I used to use them when I lived in North Dakota...when it was -40! They might be a substitute for anti-freeze...but I wouldn't recommend it!
 
I just can't wait to install the block heater...maybe over this coming summer for next winter...so I can have a basically already hot motor when starting it in the mornings!

I already installed a remote start....but the more gadgets the better.

Me thinks if you keep the HVAC controller on "defrost" that through convection, the coolant in the heater core would be warm too....and perhaps radiate (although the blower wouldn't be on) through the vents and make its way onto the windshield, preventing frost build up.
 
GinisKratos said:
These temps are the coldest we've had in over 20 yrs. So Im goign to up the mix but a block heater might be over kill =) still thinking about it tho. =) Thanks again guys... So you dont think this will mess up the water pump?
Click to expand...

When you get her thawed up, fresh coolant 50/50 and running again, I wouldn't wander too far away from home for a while (short trips) until you build up some confidence that nothing more has been affected by the freezeup. Take another vehicle to Grandma's house for Christmas.

As for the block heater, I live in Central MN where we can get from 20-30 below zero farenheit at times. Already had -22 once this year. I use the block heater primarily only when the temp goes below zero. Ensures quick engine starts, makes starts "easier" on the engine and allows you to get heat faster. So if your temps are in the teens, twenties, you really wouldn't need one IMHO. Good Luck!
 
birchlakeXJ said:
So if your temps are in the teens, twenties, you really wouldn't need one IMHO. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

I agree, here it gets maybe in the single digets in the winter, maybe like 2-3 times a year at its coldest. So i think a block heater mightbe over kill. Even when i wasin Omaha there was only once one would have been nice. And thats with winters with a high of 6 lol. Thanks for the help all... I left my key on and forgot to take it out when i checked it lastnight, so my batt is dead now LOL... if its not one thing .... so ill jump it tomorrow and see if things are shattered =) Thanks again

Ed
 
Blaine B. said:
I just can't wait to install the block heater...maybe over this coming summer for next winter...so I can have a basically already hot motor when starting it in the mornings!

I already installed a remote start....but the more gadgets the better.

Me thinks if you keep the HVAC controller on "defrost" that through convection, the coolant in the heater core would be warm too....and perhaps radiate (although the blower wouldn't be on) through the vents and make its way onto the windshield, preventing frost build up.
Click to expand...


A block heater will only keep the coolant at around 100 degrees. It will help quicken start & warm up. As long as you have heater control on defrost with blower in on position, when you use your remote start it will defrost the windshield. Your heater core won't be warm untill the coolant starts circulating after the engine starts.
 
Is my assumption right or wrong about when using a block heater and leaving the HVAC on defroster, some heat will radiate through the heater core and onto the windshield?
 
Not enough heat would be generated to keep the windows from frosting. I plug my van and both my Jeeps in and still have to scrape some mornings when the dew point is reached below freezing. The 93 Yota I let freeze.
 
+1 on blaine b.'s question. I have a block heater and love it. Anybody heard of faulty block heater cracking the block? A guy in the colorado section stated that's what happened to him?
 
I don't see how the block heater could crack the block as it is mounted in the head...so perhaps "block" heater is an old fashioned term for our 4.0's? Considering that the freeze plugs are on the head.

Even then I couldn't see it cracking anything as the operating temp is alot higher than what the block heater should heat things up to. Could you have a problem with the heater and no coolant in the motor? Maybe.

I've heard that even if running really warm with fluid you aren't really going to see a problem. What causes big problems is when you are running really hot without any coolant!

I was using an AutoZone radiator....it did not leak coolant but had a pressure leak. Would ALWAYS run hot. I was on the highway for about an hour and a half or so running at 240-250 degrees and nothing happened to me. Maybe I was lucky....I do run a CSF 3 core radiator now and she runs nice and cool.

Anyway perhaps I went a bit off topic but it all relates :laugh:
 
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