Engine Coolant

Engine Coolant is used to move heat away from the engine. This is to prevent expensive damage occurring as a result of overheating. Water does a good job of holding heat but as we are all aware it freezes at zero degrees Celsius and it boils at 100° C.  This is the reason why coolant is mixed with water. It lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point as well.  A 50/50 blend of water and coolant is the usual recommendation.

Consider the environment where the coolant has to work.  It is a very hot, high pressure area. We depend a great deal on the quality of our cooling system for the well being of our vehicles.

And on the top of that it has to protect the cooling system components from corrosion. The cooling system itself has steel, aluminum, plastic and rubber and the coolant has to be formulated to protect against corrosion in all these materials. This is the reason why we have different manufacturers recommending different coolant for their vehicles. Your Owners Manual will tell you the specifications recommended for your vehicle.  Total Care Auto will know what to use in your car.

Cooling system failure is the most common problem people would face. In order to prevent failure and maintain your warranty one of the things that should be done is coolant replacement and cooling system flash at specified intervals.

You need to be aware of how seriously expensive overheating can be. Your motor can literally melt down and require a complete replacement.

At some point of time, everyone has to deal with an overheating problem. If you see your coolant temperature light is on or your temperature gauge is in the hot zone, here is what you should do; turn off the air conditioning, turn on the heater to maximum and run the fan at high speed. Also you may want to roll down the windows. You are going to get all sweaty and uncomfortable but that will take a lot of heat away from the engine.

Pull over as soon as you can safely do so specially if you are stuck in slow moving traffic because your radiator will not get enough air blowing to cool the engine. Shut the car off and raise the bonnet. You need to wait until the engine cools down completely before opening the coolant reservoir cap to check the coolant level.

Call us at Total Care Auto to arrange for an inspection of your cooling system before it fails.