coolant frozen

[widgget]

+2deg this morning, guess i mixed too much water in with the G12 since on my to work i noticed there was no heat, then the temp gauge started to climb. checked the coolant, nice layer of ice in the coolant tank. so after about 10 "cool down, go a little bit, stop, repeat" i got to work.

The wife is going to pickup some G12 at the dealer today while she gets some xmas shopping done. I hope nothing cracked or broke from the pressure trying to get it here.

guess i'm going to have to leave it here until Wednesday since it's not going to warm up past freezing until then.

HAPPY MONDAY!

[Audi Skate Snow]

scary part is it freezing in the block. My girlfriends dad forgot to drain the coolant out of his block on the boat, and it froze and cracked the whole block.

[KPC1.8TQuat]

Is it really necessary to be using G12 from the dealer? Last time I was low on coolant I just threw in some Prestone 50/50.

[dougyfresh]

I'm not even 50/50 mixed. More like 80/90 (G12/H20) and my coolant works fine. Granted it wasn't +2F today but it was around 15F this morning.

[Audi Skate Snow]

i guess if you are driving it daily it wont be a big deal, but if it sits for a while and completely freezing the coolant in the block, then you might have problems.

[dougyfresh]

I'm driving my Avant about 2-3 days a week right now.

[Audi Skate Snow]

I'm driving my Avant about 2-3 days a week right now.

Doug, you my friend are gangster!

[dougyfresh]

Doug, you my friend are gangster!

Haha.


Gangster is this:

[Audi Skate Snow]

ahahah, nice ass mang! that does look gangster

[dougyfresh]

I can't take credit for that car, just the photo. It was a pleasure to caravan down to EPL with them.

[Jibberific]

Is it really necessary to be using G12 from the dealer? Last time I was low on coolant I just threw in some Prestone 50/50.

LOL

there is a reason why the top of the coolant tank has a big exclamation point next to a picture of a book

[ApexIt]

I'm not even 50/50 mixed. More like 80/90 (G12/H20) and my coolant works fine. Granted it wasn't +2F today but it was around 15F this morning.

you mean 80/20 right? as in 80% G12 and 20% H2O right?

[dougyfresh]

you mean 80/20 right? as in 80% G12 and 20% H2O right?

err... 20% G12 and 80% H20

Sorry, my mine was elsewhere. My point was I am running mostly straight H20 right now with a little G12 to lubricate the seals and cut down on corrosion.


I'm thinking of going back to 50/50 to help with corrosion. Reason why I'm so thin on G12 is because I had a coolant leak (lower rad hose coolant sensor o-ring) and was constantly doing things to the car so it was easier to just run straight water with whatever G12 I had laying around. Now that I've worked the kinks out I'll probably drain it again and go back to 50/50.

[widgget]

got the ford registered over lunch, guess I'm going to be driving that until it gets warm enough to thaw out my baby.

[absolutegtr]

cracked block FTL

[dougyfresh]

got the ford registered over lunch, guess I'm going to be driving that until it gets warm enough to thaw out my baby.

Do you have a garage to stick the A4 in to help thaw it out?

It'll warm up tomorrow so you should be okay... High of 34 in Conway, High of 40 in Manchester tomorrow.

[francis_a]

Made me look at my coolant after I read this thread as I mistakenly filled the reservoir with 100% G12 so I emptied it out last week and refilled with 50/50. With temps in low singles, the coolant wasn't frozen and heat worked fine.

Now my wife's B6 is starting to lose coolant too, like what happened to my Avant.

[absolutegtr]

Straight coolant doesnt freeze. You should notice the car warm up quicker now with the 50/50 mix

[VAGguy]

Whoever put that prestone in, go flush the system and use only G12. Unless, of course you like your coolant looking like YooHoo.....G12 and standard coolant off the shelf at wallyworld don't mix.

[Jibberific]

Whoever put that prestone in, go flush the system and use only G12. Unless, of course you like your coolant looking like YooHoo.....G12 and standard coolant off the shelf at wallyworld don't mix.

Exactly.. When i first bought my car i was looking through all the maintenance records. One of the papers was a service invoice from the previous owner that said

"Coolant is thick, car is running very rough and constantly overheating. Customer used wrong coolant - performed coolant system flush"

I mean, IT SAYS G12 right on the tank! Don't cheap out and get the green stuff because it WILL ruin your shit.

[jackyaudi]

My friend and I put in 50/50 just to be safe when we did the TB job. It was about -2F today, the car sounded and felt like some frozen piece of metal. Even after driving above 70 mph on highway, I stopped to fuel, the temps under the hood were amazingly cold.. the intake mani was still cold when I put my hands on it. I gotta measure intake temps next time, am sure they gonna be satisfactory given am using the stock IC. I guess this is good in the sense engine and EGT temps will be as low as possible "naturally".

[OneBadAudi]

this is why i always run g12 50/50...To much h2o is no bueno when it comes to freezing temps and motors....put some warm water in there and let it thaw out..haha

[widgget]

Do you have a garage to stick the A4 in to help thaw it out?

It'll warm up tomorrow so you should be okay... High of 34 in Conway, High of 40 in Manchester tomorrow.

i'm right between conway and manch-vegas so i should be ok tomorrow, even warmer on wednesday (mid 40s). and yes, i have a garage up at my fathers farm i can fire up the space heater in and get it all thawed out completely before draining and refilling it.

i found some coolant at napa that "will work with ANY COLOR", don't trust it though.....

[absolutegtr]

Napa sells Pentosin G12....they should atleast, all the ones near me do

[A4 Moda]

I haven't personally experienced this, but Prestone DOES make a compatible coolant for our cars. It's their 5/150 not the usual off the shelf ones you see.

here's a direct quote from the Prestone Website:

Q. Does Prestone® Antifreeze/Coolant contain phosphates?
A. Some European automobile manufacturers request that a phosphate-free antifreeze be used in their vehicles. This issue is related to the extremely high mineral content of the water in Europe. If you were to mix an antifreeze that contained phosphates with the type of water they have in Europe, it may produce deposits that can settle in the cooling system and promote corrosion. However, in North America we do not have this type of water problem. Typical North American coolants have contained phosphates (which is part of the corrosion inhibitor package) for many years. Therefore, the question of phosphates is a non-issue here in North America. Prestone® Antifreeze/Coolant is completely safe for use in both foreign and domestic vehicles. For those consumers who would feel more comfortable using a phosphate-free antifreeze, our Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant is phosphate, silicate, and borate free. This coolant uses a special chemistry and technology that extends the life of the corrosion inhibitor package so that it lasts for five years or 150,000 miles (whichever comes first), and is safe for all cars and light trucks (old or new). Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant has been approved by General Motors under their DEX-COOL® specifications and is compatible with other DEX-COOL® approved coolants.

So, If you are stuck in cold weather on a sunday evening and you need some coolant, DO look for the Preston 5.150, rather than the regular prestone.

Hope this helps.

Z

[jackyaudi]

scary part is it freezing in the block. My girlfriends dad forgot to drain the coolant out of his block on the boat, and it froze and cracked the whole block.

Thats when your best friend becomes your worst enemy.

[KPC1.8TQuat]

Look, I've had the B6 for 2 winters now and been using regular Prestone 50/50 and the car runs like a champ. I'm anal about my maintenance as are my tuners, and not once have they said anything about my coolant.

[widgget]

the raitor fans are runing, but it's blowing hot air now so it's atleast reaching the heater core now.....

the scary part are the little "bubbles" on the dipstick when i pulled it, prob coolant. is that a cracked block or just a fucked up gasket?

JUST put all new mobile 1 in it last week, shitty....... guess i'll have to drain it and see how much shit it in it.

[widgget]

it's going to be shitty that my AWD car is going to be sitting in the garage for the second winter in a row :(

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME I AM WRONG AND ITS NOT ALL THAT BAD!

[KPC1.8TQuat]

the raitor fans are runing,

My fans seem like they are blowing constantly and when I shut the car down it sounds like a f-14 fighter jet shutting down, even from inside the cabin. Is that normal?

[KPC1.8TQuat]

Oh, FYI, Turns out I do have G12 in my system right now. I guess filling the coolant is part of their complete timing belt service.

[widgget]

i had never noticed the fans before Monday when all this shit started. and yeah, they are loud.

[KPC1.8TQuat]

hmmm...my fans have been on ever since I bought the car 2 years ago. Just thought it was normal. Maybe I should call up my guys?

[widgget]

OK, so i just took it down to napa to pickup from oil.

the car never warmed up to normal operating temp. it hangs between 1/4 and 1/2 (1/2 being normal operating temp). the radiator fans never turn off. raitor didn't seem to warmup, the side was hot but the rest of it was cold. heat blows normally now and is not colder or hotter then normal. one of my coilpacks were popped out (don't know if this is relaited, head gasket maybe?)

car drove normal, aside from the temp gauge not fully warming up and the fan.

i am going to drain the oil and coolant tonight and replace both (G12 and Mobile 1 synth 0W-40).
my biggest concern right now is the water in the oil. i'll shoot myself if i cracked the block.

please chime in people, how bad is it?

[zz2h33]

about prestone, a very reputable audi mechanic told me it will cause a chemical reaction on aluminum and eats water pumps, potentially snapping the TB. our engines have a lot of aluminum so i woudnt risk it. if your running prestone or any thing else but 50/50 G012, flush!

[widgget]

yup, doing a flush tonight.

anyone else have input? i guess i'm just going to replace all the fluids and keep an eye on it.

why wouldn't the car heatup and why is the fan running if it thinks the car is cold?

[Papachristou]

thermostat stuck?

hey and im stage 1+ so you cant laugh at me....... well as much anyway!

[widgget]

thermostat stuck?

hey and im stage 1+ so you cant laugh at me....... well as much anyway!

possible, but in the past i have found that i get no heat when the thermostat stuck in my Saab, which is not the case here.

[KPC1.8TQuat]

I'm not sure why the gauge didn't read you were up to temperature. Usually if you are getting normal heat out of your climate controls then you would think enough warm coolant would be getting to the heater core.

I'm stumped man.

Good luck

[widgget]

ok making some progress. after i cleared all the codes the fans turned off. why a "temp to low" code woudl keep them runnign i'm kinda stumped, i woudl think a temp to hi code woudl cause that but whatever, it's off now. i turned the car on 15 minutes ago to keep it warm (don't want it to freeze again before i get home ot drain it) and the car does look like it's warmed up a bit more then it was at lunch, almost up to normal temp now, we'll see what it does on the way home.

so at this point my only real concern is the little "bubbles" (water drops) in the oil. very minimal but i don't want to spend $700 for a head gasket..... or god forbid need a new block.....