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COOLING SERVICES
If your car runs hot, you may need to have your cooling system serviced. The most important and effective way to ensure your cooling system stays in top shape is to make sure the system is clean. At HonToy Care Auto Repair, we can clean your cooling system to help it run cool and help prevent systems overheating.
Over time, your vehicle’s radiator can build solid deposits which can result in clogged pipes and lines within the cooling system. HonToy Care can perform our Cooling system Service solving this problem and keep your cooling system in shape.
An important component within your cooling system is Antifreeze Engine Coolant. It is important to remember to change your antifreeze when its PH drops to 7.0 or below. Our mechanics can help you change your antifreeze engine coolant to ensure your vehicle’s system does run acidic fluid eating away at seals hoses and metal.
WHAT IS AN ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM?
Your car would quickly overheat without the cooling system. The system uses a coolant mixture (also known as antifreeze) as a medium to remove heat from the engine. Here’s how it works: first, the water pump circulates coolant through passages in the engine.
Then, when operating conditions are correct, the thermostat opens, allowing coolant to flow through hoses to the radiator. The radiator is located behind the car’s grille. Cool air is forced across the unit as the car is traveling down the road. At a stand-still and at low speeds, a supplemental fan provides airflow.
In both scenarios, the cool air removes heat from the coolant inside the radiator, lowering the fluid’s temperature before it re-enters the engine. Hot coolant also helps keep your car warm on cold days. The fluid flows through a radiator-style device called the heater core. A motorized fan blows air across the core to warm your car’s interior.
SIGNS YOU NEED A COOLANT SERVICE
Routine service
Don’t wait until your coolant is discolored and funky looking. Make sure to service your antifreeze coolant at the time and mileage recommended by the automaker.
Dirty-looking coolant
In some cases, if the coolant goes long enough without service, it will start to darken and become brownish in color. But you don’t want to let it get to that point. That’s why you should have your coolant serviced per the recommended service schedule.
Gunk build-up
If you’ve got antifreeze gunk build-up in your radiator or radiator hose, your car is long overdue for a coolant service. Deteriorated coolant becomes acidic and eats away at metal cooling system components in your radiator and other parts of the engine. Eventually, the un-flushed coolant/debris mixture, in your radiator, turns into a brown sludge that can clog vital parts in your radiator hose and other parts of your engine, leading to engine overheating. A good routine service of your antifreeze coolant system helps us avoid this problem.
HOW URGENT IS A COOLANT SERVICE?
Your car isn’t going to break down immediately if you’re a couple of days overdue for a coolant service. But the coolant system service is something you need to have done on a routine basis to prevent damage to your car’s radiator, engine, water pump and overall cooling system.
An overheated engine that leaves you stranded on the side of the road is a hassle. You hope to be on your way as soon as your engine cools down and you top off the antifreeze. But overheating is one of many signs of trouble with your vehicle’s radiator or coolant system. And some of those problems can escalate to irreparable engine damage.
WHY IS MY CAR OVERHEATING?
Engines often overheat due to problems with the vehicle’s coolant, thermostat, and the radiator itself. Some of the most common problems include:
Low engine coolant
Radiator systems can leak for many reasons, such as corrosion or impact from small rocks and road debris.
Blocked coolant flow
Sediments and foreign objects in the radiator, head gasket, and other spots can prevent coolant from circulating.
Broken or stuck thermostat
The engine thermostat can fail or become locked in the closed position.
Broken radiator parts
These include the water pump and radiator fan.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF COOLING SYSTEM FAILURE?
Low coolant levels
Take advantage of HonToy Care Auto Repair coolant check to determine if your coolant levels are too low
High dashboard temperature gauge
Alert drivers can pull over before the engine actually overheats.
Visible coolant leak
A bright-green, sweet-smelling stain on your driveway or garage floor.
White steam from hood
The most dramatic sign of a cooling system failure is, of course, white steam rising from under your hood: your engine is already overheating.
White exhaust smoke
Not to be confused with the white steam of an overheating engine, white smoke from your tailpipe suggests that your engine is burning coolant. Catastrophic engine damage is a possibility..
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE COOLING SYSTEM FAILS?
When an engine cooling system fails, the engine will overheat, stranding you and your passengers on the side of the road. If the vehicle is driven while overheated (or suffers specific types of coolant leaks or other damage) the resulting engine damage may generate a repair cost that exceeds the cost of an older vehicle.
IS IT SAFE TO DRIVE A CAR THAT IS OVERHEATING?
It is not safe to drive an overheating vehicle. Given the hazard of being stranded on the side of the road, it’s tempting to keep driving toward a safe location.
What can happen to a vehicle driven while overheated:
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The antifreeze can boil, causing hoses to burst open and spray hot coolant.
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Engine heads can melt, affecting every aspect of engine performance.
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Many other engine and exhaust components are equally unable to withstand the high temperature of boiling antifreeze.
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A blown head gasket can allow coolant to mix with engine oil.
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This is an extremely expensive engine repair, if the engine can even be saved.
WHAT DO I DO IF MY VEHICLE OVERHEATS?
If your vehicle overheats on the road, here’s how to safely cool it down before and after you pull over:
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While your still driving, open all the windows.
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Turn off the air conditioner if it’s in use.
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Turn on the heat to help dissipate heat from the engine.
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Keep your transmission in neutral when it’s safe to do so and rev the engine (this distributes antifreeze).
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After you pull over, turn off your engine and keep the windows open.
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Open the hood to further dissipate engine heat.
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Do not remove the radiator cap until the engine has cooled down.
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Add fluid to your coolant reservoir that meets your vehicle manufacturer’s specifications. If you have bottled coolant on hand, read the label to find out whether to add water. For most vehicles, plain water should be a last resort.
RADIATOR REPLACEMENT AND REPAIR
Radiator Service
Refreshes your engine coolant to help ensure that your radiator protects your engine as efficiently as possible
Radiator Fluid Leak Repair
Helps prevent overheating now – and major engine damage later
If a problem with your cooling system extends beyond a simple service or replacement, our team can diagnose the problem. We can perform a pressure test to determine if your radiator’s pressure is correct or if any other components need to be replaced or repaired.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for cooling services and avoid expensive overheating
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