Frozen Starter

So I believe my starter is frozen....rendering my car useless until the starter is "thawed". Anyone have any ideas (other than finding a heated garage...which would involve me having AAA tow my car somewhere) to confirm that the starter is, in fact, frozen (and not dead)? It doesn't look like it'll be > 30li for a week or so.

hairdryer and an extension cord?
heatgun and an extension cord?
heatpack in the microwave and set on top of the starter?

And for the record, I've never heard of a starter freezing - you'd have to have gotten water in there somehow. I'd guess the battery is dead, or you have water in your gas. What are the symptoms that lead you to believe the starter is frozen?

I'd try just starting it later in the mid day so suns been on it. I've had my car not start in the morning but later in the day it would.

doyl, all those would be feasible if I had ramps...but I'm stuck here with one (OEM) jack....not even a hydraulic jack (

Also, a frozen starter is actually a common problem in the colder climates. On my vehicle, it's actually mounted right by the oil pan. I actually was able to squeeze under and tap at the starter casing with a hammer, but to no avail. AAA is coming to tow it to the dealership, where it will be in a heated garage. Worst case scenario (I hope) is I need a new $195 starter...but starters generally show signs of failure before shitting the bed, and mine hasn't. It could also be a dead cell in the battery...but that seems unlikely as it didn't start when jumped...and I seem to have 100% power (onboard computer says charging system is OK too).

[quoteba43b6c221="FreeOffersNow"]doyl, all those would be feasible if I had ramps...but I'm stuck here with one (OEM) jack....not even a hydraulic jack ([/quoteba43b6c221]

Maybe place a shallow dish underneath the starter on the ground and pour boiling water into it?

Why the hell would they mount a starter underneath the engine? I made the assumption that it would be on the top of the engine, where mine, and every other starter I've ever seen is located. See I learned something today. Cool.

Turned out it wasn't the starter. Bad ground cable in the engine block. Dealership charged me $80 for the EEC test, and $89 to replace the cable and charge the battery. Worse yet, I had to take the day off of work dealing with it...and that's money I could have used to pay for it. sigh (