So we have a bad snow storm. Llke a few feet deep. The jeep overheated and I thought it was the thermostat. But the next morning my hoses were frozen solid and the engine overheated. What should I do? I'm afraid that the engine could be damaged from the freeze. What should I do?

 

For starters you need to get in somewhere warm so that it can thaw out. then start it up and see if anything leaks, if you cracked a head or the block. Stop putting water in the radiator in the winter, especially if you live somewhere prone to large amounts of snow.

 

the only thing i can tell you to do is thaw it out good and put new antifreeze in it. and hope the block isnt cracked

 

its like 5 ft from the garage so i gotta firgure out to to skoot it in. Its kind of strange cause i put properly mixed Coolant/water in it. the only thing is i just got it, and im not sure if the previous owner properly mixed it. or how old and dirty it is, might not work as good. just a bad day cause my tire is flat too. lol

 

damn.lol well i would make sure its a proper mix and hopefully nothing happened. good luck with the flat

 

Thanks! This weather is wearing me out.

 

Probably wasn't a 50-50 mix or it wouldn't have frozen.

Drag it into a shop and let it thaw out THOROUGHLY before doing anything! This will take some time.

And I would invest in a coolant hydrometer at a parts store. Invaluable for determining how low your coolant will protect you to........

Good luck!

 

If you're in a colder climate it wouldn't hurt to mix your coolant a little stronger than 50/50. Your engine wont run any hotter if you did unless you used pure anti-freeze. It would be a good pre-caution to take if you have really cold/harsh winters.

 

50/50 is good down to -34f. But if you are in an area where you see temps below that, then you can go a little stronger. But too strong, and you go backwards in protection.

So for the lower 48, 50-50 is good.

 

Well i got it all melted out and filled it up properly. New thermostat and it runs good. No leaks and doesnt overheat. Such a relief.

 

Just FYI, I live at 9,000ft in CO and it got down to -37-ºF the other night. I run a 70/30 mixture in the wintertime and never have issues overheating or freezing.

 

Was just about to say, Laramie, WY got to -42. My coolant froze too. Had 50/50, flushed and filled. Blew my lower radiator hose in half!

Luckily, block, head, core plugs, (they're NOT freeze plugs!! lol) everything was good. Put a 65/35 in there and havent had a problem.

Oh, and if ya'll get the chance, and your heat isn't blowing hot, take your heater core hoses off, and in the outlet hose, (the smaller and lower one), blow it out with shop air.

Had what looked like a nest of leaves come out of mine last night when doin my coolant in school.

 

I definitely need to do this. Can't believe I forgot to, my blower is weak.

 

Helps soo much. OP, get this taken care of?

 

Yep I melted it out and flushed it bit. Then filled it with fresh coolant. Runs good no damage. I'm very thankful.