Came home from Posies today only to find a horrible sight in my garage. A frozen puddle of liquid and freeze plugs laying on my garage floor. I was hoping against hope that nothing would happen to my motor. Praying in fact. But this looks bad. I've never done anything stupid like this before. So give me the news. IS my motor screwed? What are the chances that the freeze plugs did thier job and popped out to relieve the prssure? What must I do to save the motor (if its possible), now that the damage is done? Anyone ever have this happen and have the motor survive? Spike
Ruh Roh (think Scooby Doo) There's a possibility that all you did was pop some freeze plugs. It's a slim possibility, though.
Well Oldbeet, It was about 11 degrees for a high today. No idea what it was in my little garage. Its a 402 Big Block Chevy. Spike
Take a good look at the block,hows the oil look? Might want to pull the spark plugs & turn her over.If all looks good put the plugs(spark & freeze) in, fire it up, and see what happens. I'll keep my fingers crossed. You'll know if it pushed out the back plugs when you fill the block back up.
The fact that it is a big block increases your odds due to larger water passages. Don't give up hope yet. I had a buddy with a boat with dual 454s and the same thing happened, but he left it in storage for a whole week of sub zero temps. Freeze plugs popped and after it all thawed he was fine... I'd say put a space heater in the engine compartment... Thaw it out and cross your fingers.
those plugs are in the side of the motor to get the sand out after they cast the block. not to prevent freezing water from destroying your block. if you are lucky, it didn't crack anything, check the oil, if it looks good and doesn't eat water after you replace the plugs, you are ok. four-thirteen
The fact that there was liquid on the ground sounds promising. Me thinks that the fact that it didn't freeze solid, there should be better odds it's ok. Got my fingers crossed for ya Spike.
I work at a boat yard, and almost every spring we discover a couple of boats that has not been conserved with anti freeze. This is engines that has been frozen solid for about 3 months. Normally we just tap new freeze plugs back in with no problems. Only mishap I remember was a brand new Mercruiser 4.3 V6. That one cracked in the lifter valley area.
You guys are giving me some hope at least.. Went to take a shower and guess what? No water in the house either. I think my well pump went bad. Just aint my friggin' day... Spike
[ QUOTE ] those plugs are in the side of the motor to get the sand out after they cast the block. not to prevent freezing water from destroying your block. [/ QUOTE ] Yup.......And I would crawl under it and look REAL close at the block,BETWEEN where the core plugs go.....THEN,if it looks O.K. Cross your fingers it didn't shove the block, inward and crack it........ Buddy of mine had the same thing happen to his big block. In the spring,when he started racing it again,we had to nickname it "Niagra"...
390 Fords =lifter galley also. Altho the one in my truck now, froze about 6 years ago. Spit the soft plugs , but cracked from plug to plug on pass side. Put some stop leak in and never looked back, still runnin fine today. Good luck to ya!......OLDBEET
Try it and see, We're all hoping for you. For what its worth, I had a 360 FE do the same with no damage other than the nuisance of changing the freeze plug.
Spike, I must agree with he concensus (that is a big word for me. three sylabols no less.) that if the plugs popped AND you have a puddle of frozen "stuff" on the ground you might be able to salvage this thing you drive. It might turn into a minor issue depending on what, or if, anything happened to the block. I would go the route of a heater just to thaw things out a bit and then re-set the freeze out plugs. Take a real good look at the motor. Not just the top end, get underneath the car and really examine the whole thing. Look for cracks, leaks, ice (?) Go to the bellhousing and check that area heavily. I know it sounds stupid but I have seen many freeze ups break bellhousings also. Dude I really feal for you. that*****s. I really hope it all works out alright for you...FAG!
Happened to me. Freeze plugs didn't do their job on my 283 and the block cracked. Had the block checked and repaired this summer, no damage inside, only the outside cracked.
Spike, Sorry to hear about the water problems. When you told Tommy and me about the water pump being so frozen it wouldn't turn, I expressed my concern. The thing to do now is turn some heat on the motor till the water is defrosted, start the engine till the water is flowing, drain the water, put in a new freeze plug and fill the engine with antifreeze. This will keep any more damage from happening. The freeze plugs are not at the lowest point in the block. Damage can still happen at those lower points. Dale
One year, I put off winterizing my 52 chevy. First 30 degree night revealed a 7 foot long crack down the side of the block! At least, it LOOKED like about 7 feet long to me.
Oh man spike, sounds like your havin a heck of a day. Sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out for the best for you. later plmczy
Well, It looks like NO external damage that I can see on the block. Warmed up the garage, took off the fan belt, and warmed up the block. Took off the upper hose and let the ice melt out. Then, I poured in more anti-freeze and let it get all inside. Of course it poured out... but now its not water in there. The radiator was still frozen and I'm concerned about it getting damaged. But thats the least of my worries. Frozen pipes were the problem in my house as well. Someone left the basement doors open. Once I closed them and it warmed up, I had water again. Amazing. Spike
excellent man!(on both)Been a****** doin stuff today with crossed fingers.(and....uncross...ahhhhhhh)
One good thing about being a rodder: Breaking something is not just a disaster, it's an opportunity to build something bigger...
To reiterate what some have said, the freeze plugs on a block are not for protection against freezing, they are actually core removal holes. The sand core is what makes the internal water passages for the block. Once it is cast, the sand has to come out. The holes for the removal of the sand are commonly called freeze plugs, but they are really there for removal of the sand cores. That said, it sounds like you might be lucky and just have soem freeze plugs to install. I hope that is all and you did not crack the block. Good luck and keep us informed as to the results once you get it back together.
I froze a 430 in my old merc when I was a kid. It popped two plugs on the block (one in a really ugly place to get to). Being a kid, I just got it into a warm spot and thawed it out. Then replaced the plugs and the coolent (used antfreeze this time). Never had a problem. Ignorance is bliss If it didn't split a cylinder wall (unlikely) or pop a chunk out of the block you're alright. My experience is that they usually break on the outside if they are going to break. Just trying to be optomistic. Luck to ya bro.
I think I just split a cylinder wall in my 302. A frost plug did pop out and I replaced it, put a new water pump in, started her up and as soon as the thermostat opened up it just stopped, but I think the motor had a few more problems anyway, like no oil pressure...yesterday*****ed
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