All you Click and Clack listeners, did you hear last weeks Car Talk? This lady calls in to Tom and Ray because her husbands 06 mini was frozen to the street. They parked it in slush and went away on vacation. So, they can't get the car to move. They are engineer types and are talking about heat guns, pick-axes and stuff like that. Then Tom and Ray tell them to get a tow truck to lift the car while they remove the lugs and start pouring boiling water and on and on.
Am I a moron? Why not go buy a bag of road salt, pour it around the two stuck wheels and wait over night?
By the way, when one of them asked the lady if the tire spins HE said "yeah, one of the back ones" 
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Jan. 23, 2010 2:14 p.m. DrBoost Dork
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Jan. 23, 2010 2:28 p.m. sachilles HalfDork
Maybe he just meant the rear tire is free to spin.
I'd just deflate then over inflate the tire, and that should crack it enough for the car to release.
I've had cars freeze to my driveway, but it is usually cured by the gas pedal.
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Jan. 23, 2010 2:34 p.m. Mazdax605 Reader
shotgun
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Jan. 23, 2010 2:54 p.m. patgizz Dork
my truck and trailer were frozen to the ground this week. the torque of the 454 was more than enough to break it free.
therefore they need to big block swap the mini and it will all work out.
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Jan. 23, 2010 3:51 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork
DrBoost wrote: Why not go buy a bag of road salt, pour it around the two stuck wheels and wait over night?
Road salt only works down to around 12 degrees F; depending on where they are it could have been colder than that.
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Jan. 23, 2010 3:58 p.m. Will Reader
Sawzall.
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Jan. 23, 2010 5:22 p.m. DrBoost Dork
stuart in mn wrote:
DrBoost wrote: Why not go buy a bag of road salt, pour it around the two stuck wheels and wait over night?
Road salt only works down to around 12 degrees F; depending on where they are it could have been colder than that.
Boston, Christmas time. They were ok.
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Jan. 23, 2010 5:27 p.m. Run_Away New Reader
Put it in 1st, rev to 5000rpm, dump clutch.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f78/Ben_Lude/Civic/DSC01533.jpg
Repeat until this happens: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f78/Ben_Lude/Civic/DSC01537.jpg
Wasn't a smart idea, but I needed the car out that day and didn't have anything to cut the ice. Had to return the next day with axes and jacks.
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Jan. 23, 2010 5:39 p.m. Apexcarver UltraDork
big pot of boiling water and a bag of road salt. the water first gets some melting happening and once you get that foothold it is fairly free to melt. (I cant remember freezing point for salt saturation though.... hmm)
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Jan. 23, 2010 6:05 p.m. Spinout007 HalfDork
It's called a long extension cord and a space heater, give it a few minutes on each tire, should break loose easy enough. It's funny even as a kid living in alaska I don't remember that being an issue.
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Jan. 23, 2010 6:14 p.m. Spinout007 HalfDork
Run_Away wrote:
Put it in 1st, rev to 5000rpm, dump clutch.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f78/Ben_Lude/Civic/DSC01533.jpg
Repeat until this happens: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f78/Ben_Lude/Civic/DSC01537.jpg
Wasn't a smart idea, but I needed the car out that day and didn't have anything to cut the ice. Had to return the next day with axes and jacks.
Ouch
Ice 1, Knucklehead 0. I hate it when that happens!
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Jan. 23, 2010 7:13 p.m. MitchellC Dork
Would it be a bad idea to start the engine and let the ambient heat melt the ice around the front tires while it idled in neutral?
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Jan. 23, 2010 9:19 p.m. RedS13Coupe Reader
MitchellC wrote:
Would it be a bad idea to start the engine and let the ambient heat melt the ice around the front tires while it idled in neutral?
I don't think that would be enough, would it?
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Jan. 23, 2010 9:36 p.m. MitchellC Dork
I mean, how hard can it be?
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Jan. 24, 2010 3:03 p.m. alex Dork
I just heard the repeat of this show. The scenario was: back wheels stuck in ice, front wheels spin when they try to drive out. I also wondered about salt.
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Jan. 24, 2010 3:18 p.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
To quote Bugs Bunny... "What a bunch of maroons"
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Jan. 24, 2010 4:01 p.m. 924guy Dork
flame thrower....
theres a reason i dont live in the cold, cold north anymore.. my car freezing to the driveway wasn't one of them, but it is now...
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Jan. 24, 2010 7:47 p.m. Jensenman MegaDork
Plus eleventy billion. ^^^
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Jan. 24, 2010 8:15 p.m. keethrax Reader
I've unmounted both drive tires trying to drive out of ice.
EDIT: I suppose it the rims had enough traction that would have counted as "out".
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Jan. 24, 2010 8:18 p.m. SkinnyG Reader
There is only one solution:
Try to make it look like an accident.
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Jan. 24, 2010 8:45 p.m. Datsun1500 Dork
^ does not solve the problem, still won't roll
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Jan. 24, 2010 9:19 p.m. Spinout007 HalfDork
924guy wrote:
flame thrower....
Home depot sells the propane one that's used for roofing, seems like it would be a viable solution.
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Jan. 24, 2010 10:31 p.m. SkinnyG Reader
Datsun1500 wrote:
^ does not solve the problem, still won't roll
Nonsense. Ice was the problem. Ice is no longer the problem. (grin)
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Jan. 25, 2010 6:31 a.m. DrBoost Dork
alex wrote:
I just heard the repeat of this show. The scenario was: back wheels stuck in ice, front wheels spin when they try to drive out. I also wondered about salt.
No, they said two wheels on the same side of the car.
