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Thanks for ALL of the replies, I too thought it would be ok.
Well the car was a little low on coolant she said yesterday when they checked and they put almost an entire gallon of full strength anti-freeze in the car and there were still only "two balls" floating on the tester, which shows it was good to +5° above zero and let the car run for about 20 minutes to get it mixed in the engine block. Strange thing is - when it was checked last month, it also said it was good to 5°, then after the additional gallon of anti-freeze, the gauge was still showing only good to +5°. Maybe the checker was faulty.
She would do it now, but it is already 2° without the wind chill... Tennesseans are not used to this weather. lol!
Thanks again!
Yeahhhhhhhhhh, something sounds a little fishy with their tester...
In just about any car, pouring almost an entire gallon of full-strength anti-freeze into the cooling system should protect it down to zero. Basically, a 50/50 mix won't freeze solid. So even 70% water & 30% anti-freeze won't freeze SOLID, even at zero degrees.
That's a long way of saying that the car should be fine.
Yeahhhhhhhhhh, something sounds a little fishy with their tester...
In just about any car, pouring almost an entire gallon of full-strength anti-freeze into the cooling system should protect it down to zero. Basically, a 50/50 mix won't freeze solid. So even 70% water & 30% anti-freeze won't freeze SOLID, even at zero degrees.
That's a long way of saying that the car should be fine.
Sounds great! Thanks! Yeah it was one of those cheap .99¢ Wal-Mart testers. I have used them before, I actually have a few and they seemed ok, but this one may have had something going on with it since it read the same, even after almost an entire gallon of full strength Prestone added.
Back in the deep freeze of '94 I worked nights and the mercury plunged to about 15 below. Got out of work and the car wouldn't start and no amount of jumping would start it. The gas line froze so lesson learned, keep the tank near full and use gas line anti freeze( Heet). Or just go out and run the car a few times for 10 minutes or so every couple hours.
The battery, anti freeze, fuel, hoses, belts, lots of things can fail when it gets that cold.
What a day that was. Spent all day waiting for AAA to come and tow it to a garage but they were swamped with calls and couldn't get there until the following day. It moderated to zero and I called off that night after finally catching the last bus home at 6:00 PM.
I just posted this in another thread, but it's topical here, as well. I'm in Nashville on business this weekend, and when I drove back to my hotel tonight from downtown, I counted at least 5 - maybe 6; I lost count - disabled cars on the 6 or 7 mile stretch of freeway. None of them were there last night, before the cold front came through. There are a lot of things with a car that - if they're still hanging in there, but kind of on the verge of giving out - you really find out about in a hurry when the temperature drops to zero.
I just posted this in another thread, but it's topical here, as well. I'm in Nashville on business this weekend, and when I drove back to my hotel tonight from downtown, I counted at least 5 - maybe 6; I lost count - disabled cars on the 6 or 7 mile stretch of freeway. None of them were there last night, before the cold front came through. There are a lot of things with a car that - if they're still hanging in there, but kind of on the verge of giving out - you really find out about in a hurry when the temperature drops to zero.
So very true.
And what's worse, is that a lot of southerners (no insult of any kind intended), who don't deal with this regularly, are not dressed appropriately, and don't have extra clothing or blankets in their vehicles. It's a potentially lethal combination.
Coldest air we have seen here since 1996! Forecast low is 1°, which would break the old record set in 1959! A friend of mine has a old 350 V8 Chevy Impala with an iron block. She had her coolant checked and it showed to be good to about 4° on the tester. Now is that the temp it will start to freeze, or the temperature it will start to freeze solid? It is too late now, but worried she didn't have enough anti-freeze in there, but she is hoping since it is a cast iron block and it will not drop much below 4° that she will be ok... what do you think? If it was showing like 10° and was an aluminum block I may worry, but I think she is ok? It is already 5° here!
Temps this cold here are very rare... I hope everyone checked their coolant!
What year is her Impala. I have my Grandma's 74 Sport Coupe.
And what's worse, is that a lot of southerners (no insult of any kind intended), who don't deal with this regularly, are not dressed appropriately, and don't have extra clothing or blankets in their vehicles. It's a potentially lethal combination.
I was thinking the same thing. I tried to look inside each vehicle as I drove past to see if I could see anyone in there, but it was too dark. There's something the highway patrol in Minnesota does that they don't seem to do down here, but would be a good idea (especially in conditions like this.) They carry a can of orange spray paint in their cars, and when they come upon a down car, they get out and check it to make sure there's nobody in it, and then they spray the date and time on the rear window. That tells every other officer or emergency responder who sees it that it's been checked, and there's nobody in it. I think that's a terrific system, but I haven't noticed that since I moved down south. But then, maybe I just haven't seen that many disabled cars.
One thing I found interesting about the disabled cars I saw in Nashville was that only a couple of them looked like beaters, and even those were only borderline. Most of them were relatively new - 4, 5, maybe 6 years old at the most. It struck me as a good example of why it's important to keep up with recommended maintenance even on newer cars. I wonder how many of those cars would have been there if the owners had been diligent about fluid changes, battery checks, belts, hoses, etc. Just goes to show, even if it looks nice and shiny, it's still a machine that needs to be properly maintained.
And what's worse, is that a lot of southerners (no insult of any kind intended), who don't deal with this regularly, are not dressed appropriately, and don't have extra clothing or blankets in their vehicles. It's a potentially lethal combination.
Not having warm clothing and boots for a winter emergency could be risky. Also, it is good idea to have some dry foods such as granola bars, candy bars, and so on, ad well as some water. Space blankets do a good job keeping you slightly warm, too.
I always have a military canvas bag full of warm clothing, plus emergency hear. The bag contains arctic-grade insulated snowsuit, Merino wool blend balaclavas (to cover my face and head), mittens, heavy Merino will socks, and a set of Polypropylene long underwear and crew neck top. And on the floor mat at passenger side, a pair of mukluks. These are kept warm by the truck's heater. This gear is there during the winter, and every member of my family (wife and kids), have similar bags full of emergency gear.
If traveling far, then we have a lot of other stuff for survival.
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