When you consider that a bitter-cold Johnsburg winter can lead to a cracked engine block if your antifreeze isn't up to the task, you may want to have your antifreeze checked.

At the heart of your car, truck or SUV’s engine is the engine block. Can you imagine if you were preparing to leave your Johnsburg home and you discovered a puddle of green coolant under the engine. It could be a sign that the heart of your vehicle’s engine – the block – is cracked.

A cracked engine block is probably the most expensive problem you’ll ever experience with your car, truck or SUV. It’s so costly, some people will give up on the vehicle and buy another. Otherwise, you’ll need to have your car, truck or SUV towed to a trusted auto repair shop to have the engine block repaired or replaced.

Sometimes, a cracked engine block can be welded. Many times, however, the damage is beyond the ability for welding to fix the problem. The only solution is to order a new engine core – a block with a crankshaft, pistons, rods, cam and more that are essentially ready to go.

Extreme cold can lead to a cracked engine block

Imagine if you filled the radiator of your car with pure water. Sitting outside overnight, at 32 degrees, the water is going to freeze. Factors of expansion and contraction come into play and the potential for pressure to build against walls of the engine block are possible.

The engine actually has freeze plugs. These are disks, almost like small bowls, that are glued into the engine block to provide a weak point that will give before the engine is cracked. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

Or course, you’re not going to fill your car’s radiator and engine with plain water; you’re going to use coolant-antifreeze. The problem with coolant-antifreeze is that it has diminishing quality.

Even fresh out of the gallon bottles, coolant-antifreeze is intended to be mixed with a certain amount of water. The end result is a mixture that withstand extreme temperatures of heat and cold (extreme heat can also crack an engine block).

You, or a trusted auto repair technician, can use an antifreeze hydrometer to test the quality of your antifreeze. The hydrometer will tell you the temperature at which your antifreeze will freeze. It should be good to 26-degrees below zero.

If the antifreeze can’t handle temperatures that cold, you’ll want to have your antifreeze replaced. If the temperature in Johnsburg drops that cold, you probably won’t have time to change the antifreeze before you risk a cracked engine block.