Don't search further! Problem was the CHRYSLER!

Don't mix Chryslers with Hondas, especially in those years.

And:
I have never heard of such a thing happening! Would you care to document it?

That means every bridge (aluminum or steel) would need to be equipped with a blockheater to keep them from cracking!?

 

Yeah, you're probably right...Spend thousands on that POS....At 288,000 km I finally had it towed to the scrapyard.

Let's just say that I have never regretted my switch to Honda

 

last week when my TSX was in dealer for type 2 services, and told services advisor to re-torque the drain plug. then i still have problem remove the drain plug from top. on weekend, i jack up the car and use a flexible handle, and the bolt was easily lossen. then i remove the bolt on the top.
i follow the instruction mostly; but i tried to save as much coolant as possible, this is what i do
1 open the rad cap to release any pressue; then tighten it back. i did not drain any coolant from rad.
2 lossen the drain plug on engine a bit (working under without drain any coolant.)
3 install flange bolt by hand and wrench, loosely(working under, from access from wheel). place a drain pan under work area.
4 had heater plug nearby and then went directly to remove the drain plug on engine from top (save me from coolant shower).
5 once drain plug removed, quickly insert heater plug and tighten by hand to prevent further coolant loose(from top).
6 tighten heater plug with a short ratchet(from top)
7 using flexible ratchet/handler, tighten drain plug to spec torque (under car, thisis only way i can find to apply such force.)
8 water wash work area to clean up coolant.

i can't find any room for my torque ratchet to work on flange bolt, so i just tighten it with hand.... is this any bad?
overall, i lost very little coolant, probably less then 100ml. the drain bolt is so tiny.(so is the opening) that get me to wonder how effective this heater.. it took about 1hr but can be less; i use my hand to feel mostly because most spot are not visible fron top.

 

Ah, sorry for not being clear. It's not the aluminum that will crack under cold temp. It's the coolant/water that expands under those condition. The expansion can crack radiator or engine block. It's similar to exposed water pipe of a house under freezing temp.

Here are some info on the subject...

http://www.heraldsun.com/bigdeals/story2.html

http://www.diynet.com/diy/ab_auto_co...271298,00.html

 

i think Honda pre-mix coolant has a freezing point of -30C? and Honda does not sell concentrate coolant anymore, so to lower it's freeze point would be impossible? anyone has info on this? thx.

 

Hmm... Isn't it then possible to buy yourself some concentrated anti-freeze to replace the -30C?

-30C is still pretty wimpy across much of Canada during the deep winter days.

Besides, if your antifreeze freezes, that pretty much means you're going nowhere. And a block heater isn't going to prevent it from freezing in the radiator...

 

I don't know about Honda pre-mix coolant, but both the Prestone and Motomaster (CanTire house brand) I have are rated for -64C when mixed 70/30 with water and -37C when mixed 50/50. I usually mix 50/50.

 

Really? How can half the coolant be frozen?

 

When the engine isn't running, there isn't any coolant circulating. On one side of the engine you have the thermostat that's shut tight because the coolant is cold, and on the other side, you have the pump, effectively isolating the coolant in the engine from the rest of the circuit.

So how can a block heater prevent coolant from freezing in a radiator if it's too diluted?

 

I was guessing that this goes away when the block heater heats the block/coolant.
Right.

I guess I'm still not clear on how these things work.

 

Ah, I see where the confusion is... When the thermostat is closed and water pump not moving, it doesn't mean the coolant passages are blocked. In fact, there is a coolant passage right at the thermostat housing routing coolant to the bottom of the injector base manifold, then inside the cylinder head. Then from the cylinder head to the radiator via the upper radiator hose. The actual coolant directional flow is not there because the water pump is not moving, but the coolant passages are there. Also, there is a second coolant passage from the thermostat housing routing coolant to the heater core inlet, then from the heater core outlet back to the cylinder head. Clear as mud?

 

My grand father had several older dodge Rams (318cu gas versions, not cummins) through out the years all of them had block heaters like the TSX installed one. Fricken awesome in the winter, it could be -10 'f and the trucks heater would be nice and toasty in seconds.

He use to keep the truck in the driveway and plug it in over night, the engine would definately turn over easier too. I might have to install such a heater on our TSX that looks nice, I'm always warming the car up on cold mornings.