Froze my A4...

[Max]

I did it... was so focused on getting the thing running again before winter that I was caught traveling when a cold snap hit. I got to the boat and found my fears were confirmed... frozen engine.

At first I thought I was OK because the freeze plug had popped out on the cylinder head (couldn’t find it though...). I cleaned off a bunch of the ice and tried to warm things up a bit with my torch to melt out some water.

As I was warming things up, things went south... I noticed a 1” hairline crack in the exhaust manifold that is weeping a bit

I removed the thermostat and body and got some ice out of there, opened up the exhaust manifold drain plug (totally blocked with frozen gunk) and the water pump hoses and left everything off so that things would melt and drain this week as it warms back up.

So... damage has been done, I need the collective wisdom here - where should I dig deeper to understand what else might be cracked and need repair? Should I just leave it drained and busted through winter and repair in the spring or what would need immediate attention?

🙁

[joe_db]

I think I see a crack in the head. You will need a new manifold and likely a new head. If the block is cracked, a whole new engine. Is there water in the oil?

[tenders]

I would winterize it as best you can once it warms up so you protect the block as much as possible.

I don't see a crack in the head but with all that ice on there it isn't a crazy bet.

Where are you located? We had colder-than-I-expected weather last weekend in the NYC area that froze the fresh water in my FW system, but was not a prolonged, solid freeze. I was thinking it was the earliest freeze I've experienced here in my 20 years in the area, but I remember now that we had snow on Halloween after Hurricane Sandy but the boat had been pulled out of the water in anticipation of the hurricane and fully winterized in time that year.

In case of emergency I can winterize my whole boat in 20 minutes. A gallon of antifreeze pumped through the head; two gallons of antifreeze pumped through the (drained) FW system; one gallon of antifreeze pumped through the A4, introduced through a Y-valve and seacock mounted to the regular engine intake. (One of many benefits of not having a thermostat.)

[Max]

Yes, the boat is in the new york area and hit by the same cold; I was clearly caught off guard by the early freeze. I removed all the ice and inspected the head closely and it looked fine without any cracks. Also looked into the #1 cylinder and everything was clean and dry there as well

I pulled the dipstick and checked for anything funny, but I'm not sure this would have shown me any water. How can I check if water seeped into oil?

Planning to get back up there this weekend, how can I do some tests to understand the extent of the damage? do I need to try and pull the head and/or manifold (would like to avoid - looks hard)? I'll plan to do a compression test at the least

Has anyone had success repairing the manifold with JB Weld?

[zellerj]

How did the water get on top of the head? The top of the head should be dry and free of ice.

[Whippet]

freeze

Max

really sorry to hear. It was close call in Toronto as well. Got the antifreeze in a few days before it hit 15F. I picked ice out of the bilge that I hadnt yet dried.

The forum has various posts for doing pressure test on block and manifold separately. Involves pressuring the system with bike pump/hoses/clamps and see if it holds pressure like 10-15psi.

Water in oil turns it to grey milkshake (assuming it got mixed).

[Max]

When the ice pushed the freeze plug out, it froze on top of of the head. Chipped it off pretty easily

[Max]

Thanks Whippet - Ken was very helpful on the phone as well. I'll get up there this weekend and check that everything has drained out and try some pressure tests. Worst case, will just winterize and try to sort it out in the spring

[Jimlett1]

Jim

I also have a crack in the exhaust manifold as in th picture will be abl to remove it and have it welded or do I need a new one

[Bratina]

I also have a crack in the exhaust manifold as in th picture will be abl to remove it and have it welded or do I need a new one

I, personally, would not want to try to crawl off a lee shore with a weld (JB or otherwise) holding my engine together.

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