1996 Chrysler Cirrus Antifreeze frozen

1996 CHRYSLER CIRRUS
130,000 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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SAMARA71
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I went out to start car and the check engine light stayed on. I then noticed that the heat was rising, above normal opp levels.

so, husband looked under the hood. It turned out that the antifreeze was frozen. We had it all checked and put in 50/50 solution of green stuff in December.

We put in a lilttle more green antifreeze and used a tool to break up the ice in the over flow container of antifreeze .

After a few minutes of the engine running, the stuff in the overflow container started to turn really brown and looked a little like sludge.

What is going on? do we need to flush it and replace Thermostat?
Jan 20, 2008 at 10:21 AM
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BLACKOP555
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If that brown stuff is oil which is likely then a flush nor thermostat will fix it, if the coolant froze in the lines and the engine itself then chances are you coudl have cracked or warped a head even blew the headgasket, you should perform acompression test on each cylinder to verify this, lowest cylinder should be no more then 25% less then the highest.
Jan 20, 2008 at 11:22 AM
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SAMARA71
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I am pretty sure it is not oil. I think it is rust -- it is brownish and not mixed on top of the coolant.

I also checked my oil and I didn't see any white foamy stuff, so I hope probably not a cracked engine block or blown head gasket.
Jan 20, 2008 at 3:03 PM
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BLACKOP555
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in that case flush it and see if that changes the problem inspect the thermostat also.
Jan 20, 2008 at 8:02 PM