Cool Motors
In our section of the country summers are very hot and winters are mild. In the summer it is quite common for older vehicles to overheat. One more old truck belching steam wasn’t unusual – he just let it cool and put some more water in the radiator. Then he kept filling the radiator with water at intervals, because it kept leaking out.
After some time went by, he knew he needed to fix the leak and bought some stuff in the auto parts store that promised to fix it. And it did fix it. He filled up the radiator with water. He didn’t want to buy anti-freeze in the hot summer – not needed, he thought.
During the winter an unusual thing occurred in our usually warm climate. The weather went below freezing more days than usual. So the old truck didn’t start at all and the repair shop hauled it in.
Although he had intended to put anti-freeze in before winter, even in the warm climate, he forgot. The repair shop guys told him the water in the radiator was frozen solid. The repair shop had to let it thaw for a couple of days, hoping that the water hadn’t expanded and cracked the radiator or worse. But it did, and you don’t want to know how much that cost to replace the radiator.
You have choices on taking care of the cooling system in your car. You can follow the tips in this article and do it yourself, or you can have a good reliable mechanic do it as regular maintenance on your car. You have to use both water and anti-freeze in the radiator. The anti-freeze keeps you from winding up like the guy in the story above, and the water helps the heat to transfer from the coolant to the radiator. So don’t just pour undiluted anti-freeze into the radiator – dilute it 50/50 with water.
There is a translucent radiator overflow tank under the hood. You should check it weekly to see if it is low, and add a mix of 50/50 water and anti-freeze if it’s not up to the maximum mark. If you don’t want to bother with mixing it, some auto parts stores sell it already mixed. Be sure to read the labels, and know what you are buying.
Every two to five years, depending on whatever your owner’s manual says, you should flush out the radiator – that is, drain all the coolant out and put in fresh coolant/water. If you don’t do this, the radiator can be damaged or the thermostat and water pump could be harmed or even the heater could get clogged. This is because the anti-freeze degrades over time and becomes dirty.
Use whatever anti-freeze is recommended in the owner’s manual of your vehicle. If you have a couple of jugs of anti-freeze in the garage, don’t mix up different kinds. If it’s pink, don’t add it to a green anti-freeze. The mix will not work in the cooling system and could cause damage.
A good reputable auto repair shop can help you with these things as part of standard maintenance if you rather not do it yourself. Pick a garage where customers keep returning – you can be assured they will do a good job.
Tags: anti-freeze, auto maintenance, auto repair, autos, car, coolant, garage, Mechanics, radiator, regular maintenance, repair shop, reputable, truck, vehicle maintenance
