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| How to keep your car cool |
2006-11-14 |
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When it comes to flushing and refilling any cooling system there can always be a risk of creating an airlock in the system and causing the engine to over heat. Without the right tools and equipment the risk of over heating the engine is very high. With today’s technology available in the auto service industry we have machines that make some tasks a whole lot easier and more efficient. One of my favorite pieces of equipment used to service the cooling system today is a fluid transfer machine.
Basically the machine works similar to having a blood transfusion except we are not talking about the human body here I’m referring to your engine’s cooling system. The machine is connected to the cooling system of your car and set up to cycle, out goes the bad blood and in comes the good. Along with the service, the machine flushes and cleans the cooling system thoroughly, with very little risk of creating any kind of an airlock in the cooling system or damaging any other cooling system components. There is very little risk of causing any kind of an overheat situation to the engine. The fluid transfer machine is also capable of conducting a cooling system pressure test, exposing to us any weak points in the cooling system, giving the service technician the opportunity to repair any potential problem area’s before it’s too late. I would suggest replacing the thermostat if you have not already. As a rule the T- stat should be replaced every 24 months, if you are going to be servicing the cooling system anyway it would make good sense to replace it! Also a good practice is to inspect the water pump for any signs of coolant leakage and condition of the bearings.
Inspect belts and hoses for signs of wear and tear, cuts, nicks, cracking and oil contamination. Any components indicating these signs should be replaced right away. Give each hose a squeeze to verify its’ condition. Any hoses that feel spongy or hard should be replaced immediately to reduce the risk of a cooling system failure. The average life span of belts and hoses is approximately 4 years, according to Gates Canada. Gates, one of the leading manufacturers of belts and hoses, is one of my all time favorite companies for supplying me with quality automotive products such as belts and hoses over the years.
I suggest using a factory part when it comes to your vehicle’s thermostat. I recommend using a factory replacement because, part when it comes down to replacing your engine’s thermostat, some of the aftermarket thermostats are not quite the same and they do not perform as well as the original. You can end up doing the job over again. Believe me doing the job twice is not my idea of a fun time. The aggravation is not worth the few bucks you might save on the part. Take my advice and just buy the factory thermostat.
When replacing your engines thermostat or servicing the cooling system, I would suggest leaving the job to a service technician. Having the right piece of equipment and the experience on how to use that piece of equipment can save you both time and money in the long run. A lot of the new technology used in servicing the high tech vehicles today, saves the technician a lot of mess to clean up afterwards, and, in turn translates into a lot of savings for the consumer.
If you compare the older methods of servicing the cooling system they may have been high tech back then but they were very time consuming and messy. The old way of flushing the cooling system created an opportunity for air locks to develop in the cooling system while refilling the system with coolant. At times the engine would come very close to overheating when trying to get the air out of the system, and usually coolant would spew out all over the floor creating quite a mess to clean up afterwards. With the new cooling system equipment used toady there is virtually no risk of over heating the engine because of air locks. The new technology and service methods for the cooling system are very efficient and cost effective.
There is also a machine that will remove, recycle and revitalize your original coolant putting it right back into service in your engine’s cooling system. The antifreeze becomes just like new again eliminating some of the costs involved in servicing the cooling system. The chemicals used to revitalize and treat your original antifreeze can be expensive, so costs for the cooling system service may vary from service center to service center. Be sure to ask what method will be used to service your cooling system and what the cost will be. It is always best to clarify costs before giving the go ahead to do the work. Recycling does how ever lessen the impact on our environment by reducing waste, so if the cost to recycle versus replace is close to one another take into consideration the environment.
We all need to do our part in cleaning up the world we live in. There is nothing wrong with recycled antifreeze! It’s the same as new when recycled properly. You can buy recycled anti freeze in the stores today! Just about anywhere. And there is nothing wrong with it what so ever. Safety Kleen is one of the leading companies recycling antifreeze today then reselling the glycol collected to major manufacturers of antifreeze, ie Prestone, Arctic, Flo- Perm , Peak etc etc… All of these companies have to buy glycol in order to make antifreeze. Glycol is the main ingredient in the making of anti freeze. So relax its all good! Go for it and “Git Er Done“! Your car’s engine will love you for it and you know what? A well maintained cooling system will come back to you ten fold in fuel savings, let me explain!
The T-stat has to work really hard to maintain normal engine operating temperature (195 degrees Fahrenheit). No more, no less. The T- stat is a little valve that is very busy opening and closing hundreds of times in order to maintain normal operating temperature. There is a sensor in the cooling system called a coolant temperature sensor or “CTS” for short. The CTS has nothing to do with turning on the electric cooling fan to cool the radiator, there is a different sensor that does that job.
The CTS tells the computer what state the coolant and engine are in, cold, warm, or hot. The computer will then adjust the air to fuel mixture. If the engine is running too cold or too hot, because the thermostat is not working properly, the computer will feed the engine more fuel. This causes a rich mixture situation, thus wasting a lot of fuel.
I hope this helps you to understand how critical it is to service your cooling system on a regular basis, if you don’t it could end up costing you at the pumps! A cooling system that is running too hot will also overheat automatic transmission oil since it receives a lot of its cooling from the radiator. Over heated transmission oil breaks down very fast in turn causing severe wear and tear inside your automatic transmission. And you don’t want to go there folks! Some of these automatic transmissions in today’s vehicles require a small mortgage to repair or replace! So, there’s another really good reason to take good care of your engine’s cooling system. I
I hope you find these tips helpful in maintaining your vehicle properly, enjoying many years of happy, healthy motoring!
Your friend,
Motormouth.
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