uuhh, isn't dexcool (the orange stuff) a GM thing? IF you mixed Dexcool and ole green fluid, it would "react" with the green stuff and cause the mud that you are talking about. It would alos degrade the cooling properties of the "fluid" in your radiator/cooling system.
I've never heard of a freeze plug breaking or melting, but that's just me
I've never heard of a freeze plug breaking or melting, but that's just me
In theory it works. In reality, you'll have a cracked engine block.
All of the 5 plugs stayed intact while my block shattered on a nice snowy Chicago night.
slag
Lifer
- Dec 14, 2000
- 10,473
- 81
- 101
Utter crap
Dexcool works great. I've used it in a few of my GM vehicles over the years and never ever ever had a single ounce of trouble with it.
There are old wives tales floating around about how mixing it with green AF will turn it mucky or that adding water will make it turn into sediment, but those are just lies.
Mixing it with green AF will lower the lifespan of it to that of regular AF, but it does not react in any way that harms it, nor is it harmful to head gaskets or any other part of the engine.
OrganizedChaos
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2002
- 4,524
- 0
- 0
freeze plugs have nothing to do with anything freezing, its the old "its not a bug, its a feature!" routine. when engine blocks are sandcasted the holes are there so the sand can drain out. they stick a rubber or brass plug in these holes and call it a feature.
radioouman
Diamond Member
- Nov 4, 2002
- 8,632
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Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
I don't know if this was already mentioned or not but if air gets into the system, and you have a steel block and or heads, rust will form then flake off inside your engine. That is why they have sealed systems now. Could this be the "MUD" you see in your coolant?
it looks yellowish with tint of brownish red...like a thick ooze...exactly located on the freeze plug...and flowing down...very slowly.
I could not take a picture.
I could not take a picture.
QFT
Freeze plugs do not protect the block... I've never seen or heard of anyone melting a freeze plug. I've heard of them leaking... never melting.
I don't think that's even possible unless you take a torch or welder to the plug. The coolant and oil will be long gone/useless and your engine will come to a horrendous vicious screaming halt as your piston rings weld to the cylinder walls first.
From what you've described, it's a leaky freeze plug. Can be replaced and is a "common" repair. Probably not worth it if it can't be fixed quickly with a "replacement" plug. However, I'm betting you're car is already past the point of no return. It's going to cost a bunch to set the car right... time for a new beater.
EDIT: I forgot, the crank and bearings wouldn't spin too well either when overheated that much...
Of course they protect the block, why do you think they're called "freeze plugs" ?? I don't doubt that they serve secondary purposes as well, but pretty sure that's how they get their name. (so if you have water instead of coolant in your engine, and it freezes, they are pushed out to (try to) prevent more serious damage.
I agree with everyone else that they don't melt under any sort of normal condition (at least all the ones I've seen are metal) - however it is not unlikely for them to leak. And if your cooling system has "mud" in it, then it seems reasonable that this same glop is what is dripping down the side of your engine.
The freeze plug itself probably costs all of $4, however labor could be $$ depending on how hard it is to get to. (I believe it is simply a matter of yanking the old one out and hammering a new one in)
Now what you didn't mention is how much you are willing to spend, where this particular freeze plug is located, etc. You also didn't mention if you are the first owner of the car, which I doubt. And if you aren't - the coolant could be more stop-leak than antifreeze at this point. All kinds of muck can build up in a radiator after 13 years of no maintenance. What you SHOULD do is replace the freeze plug, have the radiator and cooling system flushed and possibly the radiator replaced if that yields problems, and then go from there to see how the rest of the cooling system is... however, add that plus the A/C problems, it might be cheaper to go buy another 1992 LeBaron!
PS: For $6 you can probably get a brass freeze plug which will last longer
Edit: I take it back, apparently there is quite a bit of debate about whether or not "freeze plugs" actually started as protection against freezing or simply as casting side-effects - however they certainly go bad on a regular basis and if there was not SOME intent to use them for freeze protection - it would have been a lot smarter of them to make a threaded plug instead.
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