Possible popped freeze plug?
#1
Possible popped freeze plug?
(1988 s4 T2)
I have a huge water leak without even turning the vehicle on it pretty much dumps as fast as I can fill it, and its pouring out of the little peekaboo spot on the tranny, I'm asuuming a freeze plug since we hit like 17 degrees last night and had no antifreeze in it. My question is is there a plug on the back plate somewhere around the flywheel or what? I can see the two on top of the housings they are fine.
I have a huge water leak without even turning the vehicle on it pretty much dumps as fast as I can fill it, and its pouring out of the little peekaboo spot on the tranny, I'm asuuming a freeze plug since we hit like 17 degrees last night and had no antifreeze in it. My question is is there a plug on the back plate somewhere around the flywheel or what? I can see the two on top of the housings they are fine.
#5
Sharp Claws
iTrader: (30)
so lets stop the urban legend that water is so horrible in the cooling system without antifreeze.
i drive it daily still by the way.
#7
Are you experienced?
iTrader: (18)
And i believe you. I will say this, for anyone running straight water, add an additive to inhibit corrosion buildup and lubricate the water pump.
Some brain food:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze
Most automotive engines are "water-cooled" to remove waste heat, although the "water" is actually antifreeze and not plain water. The term engine coolant is widely used in the automotive industry, which covers its primary function of convective heat transfer for internal combustion engines. When used in an automotive context, corrosion inhibitors are also added to help protect vehicles' cooling systems, which often contain a range of electrochemically incompatible metals (aluminum, cast iron, copper, solder, et cetera).
Antifreeze was developed to overcome the shortcomings of water as a heat transfer fluid. In most engines, freeze plugs are placed in the engine block which could protect the engine if no antifreeze was present, or if the ambient temperature dropped below the freezing point of the antifreeze. If the engine coolant gets too hot, it might boil while inside the engine, causing voids (pockets of steam), leading to localized hot spots and the catastrophic failure of the engine. If plain water is used to cool an engine, it would promote galvanic corrosion.
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#8
Engine, Not Motor
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I have a friend who insists on running straight water because it "cools better". Last year his engine froze and cracked the center iron, so we pulled it apart. Inside it was very, very rusty. Oddly, he had also gone through several water pumps...
#11
Sharp Claws
iTrader: (30)
i admit it's not ideal but it's not nearly as bad as some people make it sound unless you leave it in there for extended periods of time.
tell ya what, i'm going to be tearing it apart in a few weeks so i'll post my findings then good or bad.
from experience though, usually the rust will stay localized unless actual air pockets get into the system, not your oxygen in water description. at which point it then starts to shed and continue to shed rust into the system peeling off layer after layer. even though the internal surfaces may be rusty there isn't an ounce of rust being shed into the cooling system noted by the flushes i have been doing.
light layers of internal surface rust aren't a huge deal.
tell ya what, i'm going to be tearing it apart in a few weeks so i'll post my findings then good or bad.
from experience though, usually the rust will stay localized unless actual air pockets get into the system, not your oxygen in water description. at which point it then starts to shed and continue to shed rust into the system peeling off layer after layer. even though the internal surfaces may be rusty there isn't an ounce of rust being shed into the cooling system noted by the flushes i have been doing.
light layers of internal surface rust aren't a huge deal.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 02-05-11 at 12:42 PM.
#12
Engine, Not Motor
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Distilled water would be worse than tap water. Distilled water will try very hard to replenish it's mineral content and adjust it's PH...and it will do so by corroding metals.
#13
Haven't we ALL heard this
(1988 s4 T2)
I have a huge water leak without even turning the vehicle on it pretty much dumps as fast as I can fill it, and its pouring out of the little peekaboo spot on the tranny, I'm asuuming a freeze plug since we hit like 17 degrees last night and had no antifreeze in it. My question is is there a plug on the back plate somewhere around the flywheel or what? I can see the two on top of the housings they are fine.
I have a huge water leak without even turning the vehicle on it pretty much dumps as fast as I can fill it, and its pouring out of the little peekaboo spot on the tranny, I'm asuuming a freeze plug since we hit like 17 degrees last night and had no antifreeze in it. My question is is there a plug on the back plate somewhere around the flywheel or what? I can see the two on top of the housings they are fine.
#14
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
Wouldn't be just as easy to say, iron, water and heat= rust. Have you ever heard of any car manual that say's just add water? Additives like ethanol glycol protect the cooling system from freezing and corrosion.
What does extended periods of time mean. Pure water is rust within a month. I don't know about everybody else but I flush my engine every 24.
What does extended periods of time mean. Pure water is rust within a month. I don't know about everybody else but I flush my engine every 24.
#15
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"Freeze plug" is a misnomer. They are actually core plugs that fill casting holes, and they are not intended to pop out at a given temperature or pressure.
It does in fact cool better, as he eventually found out, lol.
Purified water is better for the cooling system. In its normal lightly-acidic state it will not absorb a significant amount of aluminum or iron, and when mixed with coolant it will lose its acidity and not absorb any minerals.
Straight tap water isn't so great because the minerals in the water could cause corrosion in the engine cooling system, although the extent depends on the properties of the water in the local area. When mixed with coolant, tap water is OK to use, although I still prefer purified water.
Straight tap water isn't so great because the minerals in the water could cause corrosion in the engine cooling system, although the extent depends on the properties of the water in the local area. When mixed with coolant, tap water is OK to use, although I still prefer purified water.
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