You did check the anti-freeze, didn't you?

[MikeNash]

At 8 this morn its -10C in the Toyota (read facing the ground and sheltered under the car), -12C on the wall (this usually aligns with met figures) and minus 13C on the bench facing the sky (but insulated with ice). Angd all this is in the soft, sunny south!

You may need more anti-freeze than you think! Regards, MikeN.

[moggyadventurer]

Tell me about it. We had minus 14c last night. I think I may be using the modern car today and checking the rad on the weekend.

[Cam]

Google says it's -13 in Stoke at the moment and that is usually a couple of degrees warmer than here. eeeep!

[d_harris]

Worrying thing is that I'm not sure how much A/F is in the trav, seeing as I've not even moved it since Sept....

[rv8]

drain and fill with 50%antifreeze and 50%water

[mike.perry]

Sigh of relief, after removing 15 inches of snow from the Traveller bonnet I was able to open it, remove the rad cap and see that the coolant was still liquid

[moggyminor16]

did mine last week to -25 may need to add more

[eastona]

Years ago in derbyshire I worked on my Land-Rover and forgot to put anti-freeze in it. cue terribly cold weather and a totally frozen solid engine.

I tried to start it and caused loads of damage to the water pump impellor (it was the horrendous rattling screaching noise as the bits broke off and lack of an engine starting that alerted me to the problem). The rad and pipes were frozen solid and there were icicles hanging off the water pump.

It took ages to thaw out with repeated kettles of boiling water and a blowtorch.

I'll not do that again.

Andrew
(nervously disapearing off into the cold to check the Morris!)

[beechford]

my 1937 austin 7 used to pop out her welch plugs, looked like an iced lollipop

[Cam]

Well, I was a bit worried this morning, so at about 7:15 I decided to check the antifreeze on Lilly. Firstly, my fingers stuck to the bonnet handle, then when I had opened the bonnet & opened the radiator cap I stuck my finger in the top of the radiator and found to my relief that it was still liquid but it was SO cold that it felt like a terrier had bit the end of my finger!!

[xpress]

hi there guys and girls. what sort of coolant should i get to refill, is comma standard blue ok?

next question, what's the capacity for the morris and do people bother draining the block from the block drain plug underneath kerbside near the manifold, or do you just drain the rad out?

what's the capacity of the rad and the block?

*nervously goes to see if the coolant isn't frozen in the rad*

thank you.

[MColes]

Checked the coolant in my car today and thank goodness it was still liquid. I turned the key and the car started first time

[PSL184]

hi there guys and girls. what sort of coolant should i get to refill, is comma standard blue ok?

next question, what's the capacity for the morris and do people bother draining the block from the block drain plug underneath kerbside near the manifold, or do you just drain the rad out?

what's the capacity of the rad and the block?

*nervously goes to see if the coolant isn't frozen in the rad*

thank you.

Yes, that's fine to use - I think about 6 pints in total fill the whole system. Drain the block if you can but mostly the drain plug and the block around it is full of crud so nothing happens when you open the tap. If so, then unscrew the tap and poke the block with some welding wire to clean out the gunge.

[xpress]

ah thank you for that. is it 2 pints to a litre? so it's only about 1.5 litres of concentrate and 1.5 litres of water?

interestingly, i opened the garage and it's quite warm and dry in there, i could stand in there without a coat on. i opened up the rad cap and could see the fin holes, couldn't see any coolant but there was water around the cap and not slush. i can't see any signs of water under the car or any leaks due to ice expansion so fingers crossed. i stuck my nose in the rad and could smell coolant and it gave me a bit of a sore throat for half an hour so hoping it will be ok. going to drain the rad and block if i can and fill up with antifreeze and crank the car to circulate it all around. the rad fins look a bit rusty but i think that's normal for a car that age.

[PSL184]

1 litre = 0.22 gallons or 1 gallon = 4.54 litres
8 pints in a gallon
So, 1 pint = 0.567 lires
So, yes - near enough

[IaininTenbury]

Well, the two Minors and the MGB which were outside fared ok, but the Land Rover froze solid. Half hour with the space heater on a chair pointed at the rad sorted things out, but the thermostat housing looks like its split. Its a plastic thing, so I suppose its the weakest link, and hopefully the cheapest link!

[santadawes]

Hi. after reading all these messages on this subject, I was getting a bit restless. My Morris is tucked away in my garrage. It was last used in November for the NEC. I was going to get in there and give the morris a turn on the key but when I popped the bonnet I found that the cold had got to it. Frozzen rad and pipes etc. In your oppion, will it be ok after the thaw out or have I done dammage?
I won't attempt to start it up untill about March.
Raymond.

[IaininTenbury]

You may be lucky and get away with it. Dpends if there was enough air space int he system for the ice to expand into. If you don't want water on the floor, you could stick a tray or bowl underneath for when it thaws, or put a heater in there now to up the temp a little to find out. I know thats the pessimisitc view but then again if theres nothing visible amiss (such as core plugs sticking out of the block on a lump of ice) you may be ok.

[santadawes]

Just an update.
i managed to get another look today and it all looks like its defrosting now. I can't get on the floor to see right underneath but there's no water dripping from the front of the car. I will get in there tommorrow and drain the water and replace it with the antifreeze.

[xpress]

interesting reading. my morris seems fine, there's not enough water in the rad because i can see the fin slits, and there's no water on the floor or anything amiss, and the garage is pretty warm so hoping it should be ok here.

this is an aside but i am just looking for the cheapest classic insurer to get this old girl legal in the spring, any recommendations? PM me if you prefer.

cheers,

xpress