Thank you to all those who have posted and the interesting discussion it has generated. Here's what the problem was and my solution to it:
So on Friday I attacked the problem. I noted that the coolant resevoir was full of coolant, so I was puzzled. But I thought I'd attack the thermostat first. Unbolted it and much to my surprise -- no coolant either in the block or the upper rad hose. Well, actually, I lie -- there WAS coolant, but it was in the form of slush! Yeah. That's *fun*. The slush was only about 1/4 of the hose, the rest was air. Hrm. Undid the clamp on the radiator itself, no slush, no liquid. Disconcerting. So, I concluded that there must be two problems: 1) I was low on coolant, that much was obvious. 2) Besides this, it didn't have enough glycol in it to keep it from freezing. Now, as far as #2, I have no idea -- the last time I flushed it and filled, I put in 50/50. Not premix, but I know I mixed it myself correctly. And no, I didn't accidentally water 50/50 premix down to 25/75. I checked, because I have the original jug. Very confusing. So, my chore was to get coolant into the engine. But, clearly, whatever was in there was frozen somewhat or completely, and it was frozen enough to block the flow from the resevoir into the block itself. So, I hauled out the garden hose, attached it to a hot water tap in the basement, and drug it out to the car. I started off with just a dribble of warm water playing over the rad core and then increasing until I felt it was suitably warm, then started with a dribble into the block and worked up to a full flow until it filled up. At that point, I waited a bit and kept putting in little by little as it would sit, then bubble and go down. Eventually, it must have melted through, because the upper rad hose connection started spitting coolant out, so I clamped the hose back on, filled it, and then stopped. So, at this point, the block was full of water and the rad was full. I turned on the engine to let it stir things up in the engine and get the air bubbles out. The thermo was still off at this point. Remember, the resevoir is still sitting there, not doing anything. Let that run for ~5mins or so, then shut it off. Put the thermo back on, bolted down, and reclamped the upper hose. Now, while there was fluid in it, there was no way to bleed it out, because the resevoir wasn't working -- still blocked up. So, I decided the only way to get it working was to get the engine HOT. Took it out for a 12 mile drive to the Interstate and back. Temp rose up to normal levels but stayed there like it should. Got back, propped the hood and went in to warm up. Came back about 15 mins later and tested the fill cap on the resevoir, then removed it when I found it cool enough to avoid those oh-so-painful steam burns. :) My hope was that it would now be hot enough to "burn" through that ice that was keeping the fluid from flowing, and sure enough, it was. I opened up the bleed valve on the side of the thermo housing and the fluid level dropped in the tank, so I knew I was in business. Tested for temp and found +10F -- whoa! Poured in 50/50 solution for an entire gallon and then went and drove around and tested again -- -20F. Not shabby for now. I'll need to drain it out again on the next nice day, fully, and refill with 50/50 premix (not taking the chance) and it should be completely correct, we hope. I still haven't solved the problem of #2 -- where in the hell the fluid went in the first place. But I've driven it about 80 miles since then and have checked the fluid with paranoid frequency and it hasn't lowered a bit, so either it is a VERY slow leak and I haven't been diligent enough, or something very wrong happened. Thanks to all who replied and offered suggestions...much appreciated. Nathan ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
