cracked engine block

is there any way to distinguish if an engine cracked from being over heated or frozen?

is there any way to distinguish if an engine cracked from being over heated or frozen?

You didn't specify wether the engine is dismantled or not so here is a generic answer.

If the the engine is dismantled, yes you can determine if it is cracked due to heat or freezing. If if is cracked due to overheating the generally there is discoloration in the area of the crack, where as if the crack is caused by freezing there would be no discoloration.

If the engine is not dismantled then it is next to impossible to determine what caused the crack unless the freeze plugs are blown out and there was water in the cooling system instead of antifreeze, these things would tend to lead to the assumption of freezing damage.

Marco