Jstekk
Active Member
My engine won't warm up.... I have a 2003 Ford expedition Eddie Bauer... We had a 
snow storm in Northwest Oregon that dropped the temperatures down to 16° f in the beginning of January 2023... Inadvertently I had my cooling system filled with water because it was cheaper, I'm sorry... So when that snow storm hit, pretty much my coolant froze.
It's been 3 days and it won't warm up
I've been running it for over 20 minutes each time that I try to see if it'll warm up.... I don't think it's the temperature gauge. Every time I warm it up I open the hood and I put my hand on different places on the engine to make sure it's not getting hot... and it is not getting hot.... also the gauge was just fine in the snow Storm, it told me that it was overheating while I was driving in the snow, and I had to wait till it cooled down to get home.... (I bought 1 gallon of full strength coolant at the store I ended up parking at, and added it before I went home... I had warmed it up for 20 minutes before I took off while it was frozen in the coolant lines/bad idea)... I've been using it a little bit now that the temperature isn't️ freezing .... Somebody help is it just my thermostat stuck open? I just replaced that thing about 15 months ago? I don't think I've even put 10,000 miles on that thermostat....
Any help would be much appreciated if your expertise can literally assist any kind of diagnosis...
Thank you for your time
snow storm in Northwest Oregon that dropped the temperatures down to 16° f in the beginning of January 2023... Inadvertently I had my cooling system filled with water because it was cheaper, I'm sorry... So when that snow storm hit, pretty much my coolant froze.It's been 3 days and it won't warm up
I've been running it for over 20 minutes each time that I try to see if it'll warm up.... I don't think it's the temperature gauge. Every time I warm it up I open the hood and I put my hand on different places on the engine to make sure it's not getting hot... and it is not getting hot.... also the gauge was just fine in the snow Storm, it told me that it was overheating while I was driving in the snow, and I had to wait till it cooled down to get home.... (I bought 1 gallon of full strength coolant at the store I ended up parking at, and added it before I went home... I had warmed it up for 20 minutes before I took off while it was frozen in the coolant lines/bad idea)... I've been using it a little bit now that the temperature isn't️ freezing .... Somebody help is it just my thermostat stuck open? I just replaced that thing about 15 months ago? I don't think I've even put 10,000 miles on that thermostat....Any help would be much appreciated if your expertise can literally assist any kind of diagnosis...
Thank you for your time
Last edited:
Hope you didn't crack your engine! The above response is a valid point. Also, you can stick a piece of wood in front of the radiator to help retain the heat in the radiator. Also, your water pump may be 
