The above almost happened to my engine.
I was a bit hazy this morning after a few too many Mickey's last night with some co-workers. So, when I walked outside this morning and saw the snow covering my 944 race car I thought, 'gee, that's pretty.'
Walked the dog, that is not euphemism, came back past my race car in the driveway and thought, 'hey, that's pretty. How cold did it get...OH MY GOD IT DOES NOT HAVE ANTI FREEZE IN IT!"
Combine track rules that do not allow you to run anti-freeze because it is slippery stuff with an unseasonable 17 degree low last night in Denver and you have a potentially cracked block.
I tossed the dog back inside and popped the hood to inspect. I squeezed the upper radiator hose and it felt like I was squeezing a Big Gulp full of Slurpee. The overflow was slushy.
Ugh. I opened the radiator drain and a trickle came out, but that trickle soon froze over.
I poured hot water over the upper radiator hose and overflow.
I am no gambler but I jammed the key in the car and turned it over. And then I waited and waited for something bad to happen. It didn't. I think I caught it just in time as today is not supposed to get over 32 and tonight drop back down to 25. I drained about a gallon out and added a gallon of undiluted anti-freeze. This should be good for protection down to 5 or ten degrees above zero.
The good news. The quickening of my pulse chased the remnants of the malt liquor rather quickly.
Checked the oil, it seemed good so no major cracks. Won't know if I avoided all damage until I run it in anger in a couple of weeks.
Photo Credit - http://piwowarczyk.us/sillypics/icecars.jpg
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