cold weather storage question, coolant related Options

[slo_celly]

Ok, my project is sitting outside with an engine and radiator full of questionable coolant/water mix, and its dropping to -12 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow.

My question...

If my coolant water mix is crap (even worse, straight water)
Is my engine doomed to leak everything come when i fire it up in the spring?

I figure i d ask before i run out side and drain the coolant system in a last ditch effort to save my project... because if it hasn't frozen over yet, it would tomorrow... any input would be awesome. Thanks.

This post has been edited by slo_celly: Jan 6, 2014 - 3:16 PM

[mkernz22]

you should probably try to get some coolant in there or drain the water.
if the water expands then there is a possibility that it could crack the block.

[richee3]

The block has freeze plugs in it which hypothetically pop out when the coolant expands too much, keeping your block from cracking. That doesn't always happen and when it does, freeze plugs are still a nightmare to replace. Like Mike said, you would be best to drain/replace the water with antifreeze, but only use the Toyota Red antifreeze. The green stuff is garbage.