polo the don
Well-Known Member
To what? Weed!?!?
Wow...
Any mechanics on here?
- Thread starter Will Ferrell
- Start date
Wow...
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
anymore it seems like you're pushing your luck with a car battery older than 5 or 6 years especially with weather extremes.
ClaytonBigsby
Well-Known Member
Seriously, BarnBuster. I stopped buying the $200+ gel batteries and just buy them at Walmart now. After 2 yrs, before the free replacement ends, I go back and get a new one.
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old shol4evr
Well-Known Member
you can tell if the battery bad with a multi meter.pop off the caps to the cells-put red lead on pos side of bat-stick black lead in to each cell one at a time if bat is bad you will no by the reading .if one is dead just buy new bat the diy shit don't work.when sticking lead into cell us a roach clip and paper clip/clip the clip on the lead were it can reach in there.if not the battery i suggest getting the car in some were warm and hope like hell u dont have cracked block
Singlemalt
Well-Known Member
Get a block heater. I moved from Calif to Minnesota years ago, got an aftermarket block heater was tits. Learn how to take care of stuff in cold weather, will save you $1000's
Growan
Well-Known Member
Or do like the Russians did with their tanks, and light a fire under the engine to get it started?
Dr.Pecker
Well-Known Member
I'm having this battery battle myself I about shit my pants at the cost of good one 200$ I dont understand why the price jumped so much. Don't they ask you questions when you take it back?
ClaytonBigsby
Well-Known Member
Walmart doesn't ask shit. Although I did have one kid try to tell me the warranty is not through Walmart. I politely explained to him that it was, but he insisted I call the 800# on the battery and they told me Walmart would take it back too. I don;t remember if I put them on the phone with the kid or got his manager, but they swapped it and gave me core deposit on the one I brought in.
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
@ClaytonBigsby @Singlemalt yep, WalMart is where I bought my last one as Consumer Reports gave them a good rating. I used to always get Interstate, but the last time I got one it was for shit. Long time ago I had a Jeep with a block heater and it was real nice to come out in the morning and that bitch would fire right up. (Sigh) and I used to have studded snow tires all around on my cars too........
One of my best friends lives off the grid in the Interior of Alaska where it hits -60 (and then some) most every year.
When it gets brutally cold he has to take the battery out of his truck & drain the oil nightly. He brings both into his house to keep them warm - when it's time to start the truck he covers it with a heavy tarp & puts a torpedo heater in the mix to warm it up. Installs the battery & pores in the oil.
Quite the ordeal!
When it gets brutally cold he has to take the battery out of his truck & drain the oil nightly. He brings both into his house to keep them warm - when it's time to start the truck he covers it with a heavy tarp & puts a torpedo heater in the mix to warm it up. Installs the battery & pores in the oil.
Quite the ordeal!
Was the antifreeze "premixed" or straight?
Just dumping antifreeze into an already partially filled system is not a good idea.
First, you have no idea to what percentage of glycol/chemicals to water you have. Not only does antifreeze protect from freezing, it also coats the inside of the water jackets & radiator with anti-corrosion properties, plus it lubricates the water pump.
My advice would be to drain the system, get a couple of gallons (3 or so) of fresh premixed antifreeze & fill your system according to the instructions.
And very importantly - do not ignore spillage, that stuff is extremely toxic to humans and pets.
old shol4evr
Well-Known Member
the pre mix i just don't trust.i buy a gallon mix myself to make sure.anti freeze is very corrosive and can cause electrolysis and eat a hole right threw cylinder walls.iv'e rebuilt a many of motors with it and it always cost you a motor.hope this helps
I agree with the premix thing - I like mixing my own and it is generally cheaper to buy the non-mixed, no sense in paying for water if you don't have to.
As for corrosive properties of the stuff, it is formulated to prevent corrosion of exposed/dissimilar metals so likely the corrosion you saw was caused by cavitation in the coolant and is exacerbated by a lack of chemical protection.
Here's what Caterpillar has to say:
"Cavitation of the cylinder wall begins when air bubbles remove the wall’s oxide film, which protects the metal from coming into contact with oxygen and corroding. Flexing of the cylinder wall (after fuel combustion) causes the cylinder liner to vibrate, and creates vapor bubbles in the coolant. These vapor bubbles form on the outside of the cylinder wall and explode inward, or implode, resulting in tiny pits on the cylinder wall’s protective oxide layer. When vapor bubbles continue to implode, enough energy is released to physically attack the cylinder wall and remove the oxide film. Corrosion and pitting then take place at a high rate."
https://marine.cat.com/cda/files/949262/7/Pitting.pdf
On another note, if you get any on painted surfaces of your car, rinse it off well - it will discolor your girl.
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Will Ferrell
Well-Known Member
Last year I poured a whole bottle of windshield cleaner in the radiator. This year I got it right and used the pre mix Anti freeze. It's probably a really good idea to flush it like you mentioned. I'll just wait for my pops or older bro to come by. They're alot better working on a car than me..
Growan
Well-Known Member
I can't beat that, but when I was 25 and lived in a broken down old military truck in the woods, I used to start a 1966 land rover with the big ends gone with the starting handle to jump start a 'rolling scrap' ford escort with a totally fucked battery and then rally that as far up the water logged rutted track out of the woods as I could. Once it got stuck (same spot every day) I'd trudge back, get the Landy and then shunt the car along the rutts up to the road, return the Landy then back to the road to drive to the bus breakers I worked at. Much fun.
I must have taken too long at it one day, because by the time I got back to the car the local gypsies had craned it onto their lorry and taken it for scrap.
To be fair, it did look more like an abandoned vehicle than something you'd want to drive to work in...