Complete Winter Idiot

[Arthu®]

Ok before starting let me explain that after I had done the following I had already realized that it was a very dumb idea but it was kind of too late...

So I have never experienced winter before in my life. Well ok I know this thing called snow and I know what freezing is but where I come from -2/3 Celsius is about the worst we get. So now I find myself in a country where it's constantly -20 Celsius and the salt is all over my car. So I thought it being the old car that it is and already having some rust issues I better get that stuff off. So I took it out to this self service washing place and I got a little excited... So most of you can probably already feel what's coming... Because my car was made by a couple of lazy Russians who were sick of communism using nothing but a hammer my car has some "quality issues". It's not exactly water tight so basically there was water everywhere. So as soon as I got home the first thing to notice was the fact that I couldn't open my door anymore... but after applying some force I broke the ice... So I step out and my car is one ball of ice. I mean everything it is frozen shut... The hood, the wipers, all the locks (although I already sort of solved the trunk and drivers side lock and put a huge amount of oil in it hoping it will keep it from freezing shut again). Is there any good way too remove all the ice? Especially the hood kind of sucks that it is now frozen shut, as my car (being the one put together by the Russians with hammers) needs an oil transplant every couple of x kilometers it would be nice to be able to open it again. I think it's the water that got into the actual locking mechanism of the hood, because the release inside is actually not doing anything...

Please help a very stupid non winter guy to get rid of all the ice... I know placing it in a hot garage would solve it, but I don't have one haha. One plus is that the paint looks mighty nice and shiny with the layer of ice covering the whole car. It has never looked this good haha.

Any tips and tricks from you winter guys are appreciated. Oh yeah and I hate the cold and have no idea what the hell I'm doing here hehe.

Arthur

[RD]

give a mechanic 20 euro to let it thaw out in his heated garage. then squeegee the water away for him. 

[ACUDANUT]

Yea, that's your only choice. 

[71ChallengeHer]

I use a spray de-icer. You could also use rubbing alcohol it will dry the water.

[ACUDANUT]

I use a spray de-icer. You could also use rubbing alcohol it will dry the water.
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[moparstuart]

I use a spray de-icer. You could also use rubbing alcohol it will dry the water.

rubbing alcohol does  a great job , we use it to get the moisture out of our used headlamps also .

  it evaporates it away pretty fast .
 

[PocketThunder]

 

We need Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[moparguy01]

when iget out of my truck for the night I actually use a bedsheet over the windshield. I close it in both front doors, and if I'm in a 4 door car I do the same for the back window. Then you come out and remove it in the morning, and I don't have to scrape them as much. Unless you get freezing rain, then its frozen to the windshield and I just say to hell with it and stay home, it's too cold. haha.

[Arthu®]

Thanks for the replies guys so here is what I did. Today was actually a pretty nice day (-5 celsius) and I loved the spray de-icer idea (it's so simple yet brilliant, thank you jacky) but I went to the store and I saw all these different de-icers but they were kind of expensive I thought because next to it was screen-wash which was good to -20 so I brilliantly bought a 4 liter jug (which was about the same price as 500ml of de-icer and as a student that's all that counts). The car had already warmed up inside from driving to the mall and so I turned on the engine and emptied the jug over all the vital parts and it did wonders within a minute or so everything was working again. Than I drove the car for an hour as fast as possible (don't know if it helped but it was fun) and now the car is dry again (except the floor in front of the driver seat that is still a frozen lake every time I come back) but that's mostly because the snow melts off my shoes and creates a puddle.

And PocketThunder what exactly do you want pictures of? Who on earth would want to see a frozen Lada or a Lada in general haha. Though this car is the most fun I have had in a long time. Took her out to the woods today where there only had been snow plows and no salt and man it slides nicely. Although it is not very forgiving there is a 1% margin either way so go into the corner too fast and you have so much under steer that it will put you into the ditch and if you give a little too much power going through the corner it will spin you around instantly. But after an hour or so I really got the hang of it. This snow thing is so much fun while driving I should invent something that creates this much fun but without the cold.

Arthur

[b5blue]

I don't know how to put this politely but in an emergency you can "PEE" on locks and latches that are frozen to get in if needed......I'm just saying... I will warn you to keep the inside dry as the floorboards will heat and you could come out and find frost on the inside of your windows after letting it sit overnight, it happened to me and when the sunshine hit it my whole windshield turned pure white and I could not see a thing in traffic! 

[Arthu®]

I don't know how to put this politely but in an emergency you can "PEE" on locks and latches that are frozen to get in if needed......I'm just saying... I will warn you to keep the inside dry as the floorboards will heat and you could come out and find frost on the inside of your windows after letting it sit overnight, it happened to me and when the sunshine hit it my whole windshield turned pure white and I could not see a thing in traffic!  

Thank god that there is no sunshine in this country haha. But that's good advice I will put an old towel in the car next time to dry it when it gets defrosted again after driving for a while. As for the other advice I have now bought some lock de-icer, as much as I dislike this car at times, peeing on it in public is something I would rather avoid .

Arthur

[b5blue]

There are times when I've felt like doing it when it was not frozen....if you know what I mean.  Remember if you keep your de-icer in the car and you are frozen out of it........it is an option.

[Arthu®]

There are times when I've felt like doing it when it was not frozen....if you know what I mean.  Remember if you keep your de-icer in the car and you are frozen out of it........it is an option.

you do know that inside the car is probably the dumbest place to keep lock de-icer right? But I will forever remember this advise although I hope to be soon back in the Netherlands and never have to worry about any of this stuff again in my life. I have found out during my stay that a desert suits me much better than this...

Arthur

[mikesbbody]

Kinda like Moparguy's idea I use a plywood board on the windscreen which keeps it free of ice build up. Plus, it doesn't stick to the windscreen maybe you could use this method for the doors too?

[Arthu®]

Kinda like Moparguy's idea I use a plywood board on the windscreen which keeps it free of ice build up. Plus, it doesn't stick to the windscreen maybe you could use this method for the doors too?

To be honest up until I had the great idea of washing the car I never had a problem with ice build up. The weather has been really dry only some snow at times, just really cold. So so far I do not have any problems with this just yet. But these are good tips. Except the plywood might get stolen where the sheet can be attached to the car.

Arthur

[b5blue]

You now know why I live in Florida! 

[PocketThunder]

This is the picture that keeps going thru my mind.   

[Arthu®]

haha it was not quite as thick and it was completely clear like a thin layer of glass all over the car. If I ever feel the need to do it again I'll take a picture

Arthur

[71ChallengeHer]

Arthur, Your very welcome. 

[aussiemuscle]

Who on earth would want to see a frozen Lada or a Lada in general haha.

Did you see the episode of Top Gear, where they put a lotus engine in the lada? 

[Arthu®]

Who on earth would want to see a frozen Lada or a Lada in general haha.

Did you see the episode of Top Gear, where they put a lotus engine in the lada? 

I did and they did a great job on improving it, but I did ask myself as to why...

Arthur

[charger490]

frist of all dont wash the car till it warms up
if you need to un frezze the locks use your breath by getting close to the lock and blow into the lock five or six times.

[Arthu®]

I have another question for you guys. Here a lot of cars block their grilles with cardboard or plastic when it becomes really cold and snowy. The only purpose I can think of is to make the car warm up faster, is that the only reason or is there something that I'm missing?

Arthur

[Bob]

I have another question for you guys. Here a lot of cars block their grilles with cardboard or plastic when it becomes really cold and snowy. The only purpose I can think of is to make the car warm up faster, is that the only reason or is there something that I'm missing?

Arthur

Correct Arthur, speedier warm ups and when it's bone chilling cold it will help maintain operating temperature. It's something you have to watch carefully. The possibility of overheating is greater so keep an eye on the temp gage.

[moparstuart]

Who on earth would want to see a frozen Lada or a Lada in general haha.

Did you see the episode of Top Gear, where they put a lotus engine in the lada? 

I did and they did a great job on improving it, but I did ask myself as to why...

Arthur

I love top gear , we get it on BBC AMERICA  funny show

[Arthu®]

I have another question for you guys. Here a lot of cars block their grilles with cardboard or plastic when it becomes really cold and snowy. The only purpose I can think of is to make the car warm up faster, is that the only reason or is there something that I'm missing?

Arthur

Correct Arthur, speedier warm ups and when it's bone chilling cold it will help maintain operating temperature. It's something you have to watch carefully. The possibility of overheating is greater so keep an eye on the temp gage.

Thanks that's what I was guessing, I didn't plan on doing it myself my car seems right at home in the cold. No starting problems or warming up problems, probably because it was made to survive the russian winters... Which are far worse than what we are getting here. Was just wondering if maybe there was another reason for it.

Arthur

[hemigeno]

Blocking off the radiator opening is a lot more important/useful for a diesel-powered vehicle than for a gas burner.  Diesels need temperature and compression to make power, and fairly cold weather can really affect their performance - especially on short trips when the engine hardly reaches operating temperature.  Even driving at highway speeds, most diesel vehicles don't need but a fraction of their cooling capacities in cold weather.  As already stated though, when the radiator is partially blocked you'll have to keep an eye on the temp gauge to make sure it doesn't overheat if the air temp gets too warm on a nice(er) day.

[Arthu®]

That makes perfect sense, thanks. It's definitely an experience, this thing called winter.

Arthur