I didn't have enough antifreeze in my coolant, so it froze and may or may not have broken stuff. I'm not sure. How do I check? I am not smoking out of the tail pipes so I dont think I'm burning coolant, however I hear a distinct ticking noise from the passenger side of the block... potentially a loose rocker though right? Anything I have to fear? Give me help and hope.

hell man i'll cry with ya but just cause i dont have a garage for my car in the winter and its my only car..theres my cry.. i feel bad for u tho!

Unfortunately if it froze it probably broke something. If you are lucky it won't be expensive. I would pressure check the cooling system and go from there.

How frozen was it?
Did your radiator split open, or did freeze plugs pop out? It doesn't sound like it.
Prssure testing, as mentioned above sounds like a safe bet, but the if you're lucky the ticking noise will be something as simple as an exhaust gasket.
Summer is definitely easier than winter... I'm too busy crying for myself to cry for you though... Sorry.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...941575216&rd=1

I hate it too. cant ride with the window down. cant wash your car without freezing your a** off!

It's possible to freeze w/o damage. Just depends upon how hard it freezes.

The original V6 in my car was victim to such neglect. In fact, I probably wouldn't have it otherwise. It didn't damage the radiator, but the block cracked enough to fill the oil pan with water.

Usually, when the coolant has SOME antifreeze in it, it will not freeze as hard as straight water would, so it is possible that Your motor was not damaged. I had
a car freeze once like that and once it thawed, it was fine, but had me worried too.

winter sux man

Winter or insects, pick your poison.

i dont think its an exhaust leak ticking- but it might be... lets rule that out for now- what else could it be? it's definitely an audible noise and very distinct...

If it's an exh leak it will get louder with more throttle. That's one way to rule that out for certain.
Something that would cause a ticking sound as a result of freezing??? That's puzzling.
It would have to be a REALLY hard freeze do do that sort of damage to a block, and it's likely it would be cracked as well.
Are you sure that the freeze was the cause of the problem?

no, but I'm noticing a ticking/clicking/tapping noise that increases with rpm.

Make sure it isn't the exhaust, then go to the rocker adjust.
Any mechanical noise will increase with RPMs, but so will an exh leak.

but it can't be anything SERIOUS right?
that's all I worry about. I'll deal with a noise for a few, but I dont want anything potentially engine-threatening.

A good way to find out if it's serious is to drive it... If it breaks, it's serious.
But you want a 350 anyhow, don't you?

Haha. The no-fail method....

I can't get one when I am $1500 in debt to Visa, and I have to pay for this semester still...

Better get some snow tires for your shopping cart then.

So have you tried to troubleshoot it? (Your car)

Justin Timberlake
(323) 555-1212



Pressure test the coolant system, leakdown test on the cylinders. If both are ok, then the ticking you hear probably has nothing whatsoever to do with your freezing incident. You could always get a stethescope or rubber hose and pinpoint the noise then try to really troubleshoot it. :shrug:

I agree, winter sux! I have 2 new noises that only happen when the car is cold and the temp is below 20, like this past week.
1) my brake light switch will make a click noise each time I press on the brakes, that is till the inside of the car warms up a little, then its normal.
2) the passenger side door has a squeak while I am moving somewhere, that noise also goes away when the inside warms up a little.

Also, traction sucks when it gets colder, not to mention trying to get around in snow!

Thats what I got a fwd buick for, that car is my snowmobile.

i tell you its probably your lifter ticking every winter my lifter ticks louder then in the summer i dont think you have a problem just put a quart of lucas oil in it will help.

i jus hate winter bc of salt, so i dont drive my car. summrs nice bc i can crank up that classic rock and drive with windows down, but i agree with five7kid, bugs or snow, pick yur poison.

I would watch that lucas oil. Many times I have seen it be the last thing added to an engine, if you get my drift.

hey derick you want my tuned port 350 engine to replace that tbi? im gonna see it soon let me know 500.00 125,000 miles stilll runs good.

dude thats so untrue i have used it in every car i have owned even my honda cars run betterand it even got rid of a knock i had in a car and i had a mustang and the posi wasnt working so threw in lucas fluid and wallah my problem fixed forever.i lovethe stuff.

No that is not untrue. You havent had any problems using it, thats great. MANY people have. It's not going to "fix" a tick or a knock. It may mask it and hide the sounds, but it isnt "fixing" a damned thing. Its your engine, put it in if you want. Ask a good engine builder about putting that in an engine they built and see what they say.

let me tell you something i have had nothing but good luck with lucas it is not a cure but it will help its much thicker.any problems people have had are bcause they had a bd problem to begin with im positive it wasnt because they added lucas oil it wont save an engine on its last leg i would like to see you prove it can damadge an engine? i have proof that it will help a engine increase oil presure and it can also help slipping clutches and diffs i have seen it work.also for your info i have spoke to engine builders and they like lucas also.

Lets not turn this into a **** eating contest. I dont take pictures and write down dates of when I see things. Sorry, I cant present you with a smoking gun. If you dont want to believe it, that's fine with me. I can guarantee that it will never go into any engine that I own.

And yes, most people put it in an engine in an attempt to "fix" a problem. Contrary to your last post, earlier in this same thread this is exactly what you were instructing someone to do.

i am still telling im t use it because it will help lifters because i is thicker and lubricates better than oil im sure you have seen the little wheel in the auto parts store spin them and just see how much better the lucas is. i dont want to argue with you either we are all third gen lovers here and its christmas besides oh and merry christmas.i will just say that it has allways helped my cars and i think it could help his if the problem is not to severe allready.

Update: My car is running like ****. I don't know if it's due to the freeze thing or not- but I have problems.

If I'm idling and I stab the gas and let it back out, the car tries to stall. If I'm accelerating, the car lugs sometimes around 1800rpm, even at WOT. If I'm on the highway, I can feel shaking sometimes- and it's not a "vibration" shake either... it's a bad tune type shake. I'm also getting significantly lower gas mileage than fall (16-17 to 10-13mpg...)

I'm going to reset valve lash- I hear the best is while the car is running to pull the valve cover, loosen the rocker until it chatters, then tighten until it stops, then add 1/2 turn more. Is this correct?

Token, rather than screw around with guesses, get a good starting point. Something like, oh I don't know... this perhaps?

---------------


With regard to the Lucas...

I'm unsure if it 'lubricates' better than oil, I'll wait for some documentation on that one, but I don't doubt it would be worse than oil (particularly the true synthetics), nor is it better because it is thicker. If that were the case they more than likely would have been bought out and everyone would be running gear lube in the crank.

As far as their product making the oil 'cling' to everything... why would I want to do that? They sell crank scrapers to get that **** off it, not keep it on. The first time I saw Lucas' display at a parts store I laughed out loud. The manager asked me what was so funny and I told him I'd like to see the temps after the oil pump or in the pumpkin with that crap running through or on the gears.
He got a glazed look like he was trying to comprehend something.
Take temp samples and you'll have proof that it does something undesired in your engine. Those sorts of things lead to other undesired results.

As for it 'helping' an engine 'increase oil pressure'... it does nothing of the sort, it increases the resistance of flow of the liquid, it does nothing to the engine itslef. If you have proof it actually effects the engine post it. Same with the clutches et al. They are on the way out and their clearances have increased. The Lucas does not 'repair' jack.

It is similar to the Marvel Mystery oil. People swear by it to solve the 'ticking lifer' etc. It's a bloddy bottle of kerosene. Whoopie. If there were a 'sticking' lifter, it would more than likely be due to either wear or contamination. For the first you'd want better lubrication, not worse, and for the latter you want better detergents. I personally like tranny fluid for that over kerosene. :shrug:

And last, but by far not least, what do you think happens at startup with all that thick crap in the filter? I'll tell you what isn't happening, filtration. Think that is a desirable trait for your engine? Do you think that longer unfiltered events are better than shorter ones for your engine?

How about you give me proof that it does something good for the engine that can not be duplicated with better product with less deleterious results.

Hmm...this is a bit different than just a ticking noise. This looks more like fuel delivery problem. Sounds like what my car was doing with the leaky and dirty injectors. Hows your fuel filter? Fuel pressure? Fuel hoses?

i've seen cracked blocks in third gens before, it ain't pretty. my friend ryan, he bought a 91' RS for cheep because the lest owner had a headgasket blow and it leaked coolant, so he just filled it up with water, then winter came and it froze solid, cracked the hell out of the block. we are in the process of sourceing a new 305 for him.

You're probably right- I'm overdue to replace the fuel filter.

well i can sell you my 350 tpi for a d price it still in the car and runs good.

can I have the shortblock? lol

you can have the longblock for 500.00

Luckily I hastily added the coolant I needed before the deep freeze and now we'll be heading to the 40s again by new years...in the heart of winter no less! Yeah
A few days back it dipped to 20 below, and aside from snow, which I can almost stand... bitter cold is my least favorite element... I can't express my disdain enough over that unpleasent Canadian blast! UGHHH!

Yeah....last time i checked, bugs didn't dissolve your paint and make driving above 25 suicide.

But then again, I've heard some stories from Georgia...