Should I Be Worried

[wksetter77]

HI everyone,

I have a question. This past Saturday we the temp got down to about 20 degree's, I went to drain the block in my boat and found that it was frozen. ( So much for saying we needed a hard freeze for a couple days for this to happen)

I immediately through a space heater in there to thaw it out. Has this ever happened to anybody? Are there any concerns I should have? I have owned a new Bu for the past 5 years and have never had this happen.

[BlastRlxi]

I'd be worried. Can you see any visible cracks in the block? If not, you may be okay. Take it to the dealer and have them check it out. If they fire it up, you will probably find out pretty quick.

Good Luck.

[88Skier]

Start it up, make sure it is ok, then bring it to the dealer and have it winterized.

[aneal000]

There are a lot of opportunities for ice to screw up an engine, many of which will not be visible in the form of a crack on the outside of the block.

It would be interesting to know what the weather was like, 80 deg then it got down to 20 one night? Or has it been right around freezing with the occassional freezing then you got one night of 20 deg weather? Just asking, because one night of 20 deg weather - if it has been above freezing for a while should not freeze the water so solid that it would crack anything. Did your "freeze plugs" pop out? Might be the first thing to check.

Did you get it thawed out and drained?

[aneal000]

Don't start it if there is still ice in there!

You can damage both waterpumps.

[edgeski1]

check your oil

clear= good

milkshake= oops

[jetskipro550]

I thought this was pretty cool...Block Temp Chart

Edited December 11, 2006 by jetskipro550

[SGY]

Although some are skeptical regarding this, my insurance agent told me that your boat insurance covers this type of thing. If you do have a problem, you should at least look into making a claim.

Good luck.

[Hman442]

HI everyone,

I have a question. This past Saturday we the temp got down to about 20 degree's, I went to drain the block in my boat and found that it was frozen. ( So much for saying we needed a hard freeze for a couple days for this to happen)

I immediately through a space heater in there to thaw it out. Has this ever happened to anybody? Are there any concerns I should have? I have owned a new Bu for the past 5 years and have never had this happen.

My money says your boat is OK. The shower seems to be the first to go, so check it too. See this recent link that had a good ending (I couldn't say "Happy Ending" without this thread taking off in a different direction). Link http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....ic=7263&hl=

[wksetter77]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I have been out of town.

I got the block drained after putting the space heater in it over night. The weather was in the 40's and the temp got down to 20 that night. It was frazen pretty solid. There were no visible cracks in the engine, however a couple of the 1 inch hosed had some buldges in them from the ice. I was more worried with the internal pressure from the ice. I will take it to the dealer when I get a chance. Hopefully all is well.

Thanks again.

[WakeGirl]

One thing that I learned in talking around with different people regarding the above thread that Hman posted a link to, by the time one of these blocks pops its freeze plugs it's generally too late. I heard that often enough from people that would know that I beleive it to be true. Several people said that if it were a Ford block, then the plugs generally work as designed. But something about the way that the Chevy blocks are built doesn't allow the plugs to work right & they generally end up cracking before the plugs pop. Having grown up in a Mopar family I can't speak to how true that may or may not be.

[vette-ski]

I've replaced a frozen indmar. Block cracked on both sides, inside and outside, one head cracked on the outside, one exhaust manifold cracked on the outside. One plug popped on the exhaust manifold, none of the plugs popped in the block. Don't rely on the plugs as the indicator.

If you're mechanically inclined and have the right tools, you can pressurize the sytem with air pressure and look for bleed down on a guage. If not, thaw it out and fire it up (with a cooling water source) and look for leaks on the outside and into the oil. If it is cracked, starting it won't do any more damage than is already done. I'm inclined to think that you won't find any cracks.

[mrothwell]

One thing that I learned in talking around with different people regarding the above thread that Hman posted a link to, by the time one of these blocks pops its freeze plugs it's generally too late. I heard that often enough from people that would know that I beleive it to be true. Several people said that if it were a Ford block, then the plugs generally work as designed. But something about the way that the Chevy blocks are built doesn't allow the plugs to work right & they generally end up cracking before the plugs pop. Having grown up in a Mopar family I can't speak to how true that may or may not be.

Remember, they are NOT freeze plugs. They are plugs put into holes in the block that are necessary when casting the engine block. They will sometimes pop out during a freeze instead of cracking a block, but that is not what they are there for, and you can not rely on them for that purpose.