# FROZEN in the altima



## Alltima97 (Nov 28, 2007)

oh man... So i had some fluids replaced int he summer cause my altima was running a little hot.. I havent started it in a while over the winter its been cold and i dont have to use it everyday today i find out that the radiator was filled with WATER.. and its frozen.. so i hook up a heater and things melt fine.. Freeze plugs look okay they are in tack.. My temp gauge now hits about 1/2 to middle and then goes back down to cold i'm thinking there are still cold pockets in there?... 

I get no heat either. i'm guessing that this might start working once it fully defrosts... my question other than just my venting.. is now what?... I also started it a few times to get the engine compartment warmed up.. but only for a few seconds at a time... how do i know for sure if things are okay to drive it?


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

A few seconds at a time and you may as well wait until June...
But if you were only starting it a few seconds at a time, how would the temp gauge needle get up to halfway and then go back down?

Plug in the block heater if you've got one, rent one of those kerosene fired "torpedo heaters", aim it at the car for a tank (not too close to melt anything..der...), pop the radiator cap (not the overflow tank cap, the RADIATOR cap), open up the hood just a tad to let warm air flow thru the engine compartment, crack open the radiator bleed screw, open up any air bleed screws you can find...and let it sit until the block thaws out. And have a few gallons of 70/30 antifreeze/distilled-water mix ready to put back in there once it does thaw out and you put everything back together.

Either that or tow it to a heated garage and let it sit with the hood open and the radiator cap off for a couple days... If you don't have any friends with a heated garage, ask a mechanic somewhere to leave it in his shop overnight (for a small fee) and see what happens. Ask nicely and you'll be surprised how many guys might really hook you up.

How do you know for sure you haven't cracked anything? Short of running it until it breaks? Can't be 100%.
You can do a compression check on the cylinders, pressure test the cooling system, check/change the oil and look for evidence of water. That'll rule out a lot of stuff.
But, any cracks caused by expanding frozen ice might not show up until the block gets up to operating temp. Then you might be in a world of hurt. Ya just don't know sometimes.


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## FriendlyNismoTech (Oct 28, 2012)

This is very typical of a failed thermostat. They fail open and wont let the car heat up. You cant blame the service if you didn't request it removed and tested. If you've driven it this long without it overheating it's not an air pocket, you would have overheated the first 10minutes of driving.


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