How To Analyze Your Cooling System

A car’s cooling system is one of the most important parts of your car, as the engine that makes your car go is generating a lot of heat. If the engine starts to overheat, then the internal parts can become damaged, which can eventually lead to your car breaking down.

To prevent that, a car cooling system was created that continuously cools down the engine and keeps it at a safer temperature whenever you drive. Your engine needs to still produce some heat, but not enough heat to where it is melting the other parts of your engine. 

Such an important system has several moving parts to it, but before we look into those, let’s see how a car cooling system works and why it is important.

A Car Cooling System

Car cooling systems circulate coolant liquid, which is mostly water mixed with antifreeze through the cooling passages in the engine. A pump takes the coolant around the engine, with the cool coolant sharing the cold and then absorbing some of the excess heat. Then, the excess coolant gets pumped out toward the radiator’s air stream and the cooled liquid flows back into the coolant channels again.

If you understand how an air conditioner takes the excess hot air from a cold room and then vents it outside, a car cooling system works the same way. Fans are also used, both when the car is moving and when the car is still, and they trigger when the temperature reaches a certain point. These fans blow over the radiator and help to cool it down.

Maintaining A Car Cooling System

Whenever your engine starts to overheat, it is because one of these moving parts is not doing its job. If you notice hotter than average temperatures with your engine, don’t be afraid to pop the hood and see what is going on. Most of the time you can see the problem with your own two eyes and fix or replace the busted part with a new one.

Additionally, always check the lifespan of the different parts of the cooling system, some are going to need to be maintained and checked more often than others. If you keep the parts up to date you won’t have a massive shut down because everything is frayed and overused. 

Now that you know all that, we can take a deeper dive into your car cooling system and see how all of the moving parts make it up.

The Radiator

This is the backbone of the entire system, and it cools off the heated coolant when it flows by. The excess heat is then vented out of the car to cool the coolant from the heat of the engine.

If your radiator is bad, then you need to have it looked at quickly, otherwise, non-cooled coolant is just going to keep cycling through your engine and potentially damage the parts.

Water Pump

The pump is what makes the whole circuit possible, moving the water around and then pumping it through the engine block, cylinder heads, to the heater core, and then to the radiator. Without it, the coolant just wouldn’t go where it needs to go, so this is another feature you need to check every few months.

Hoses

The entire cooling system is connected by these rubber hoses that make sure the coolant gets where it needs to go. Hoses are very durable and should last for about four years, which is when the manufacturers suggest that they should be replaced. 

While your hoses might not look like they are damaged from the outside, you should still focus on replacing your hoses every four years as there could be internal damage.

Thermostat

This thermostat is different from the one that controls your car’s AC system. Instead, it is focused on maintaining a minimum temperature for the engine. It acts like a door, staying closed when the temperature is where it needs to be while also opening once the engine warms up. Then the coolant passes through and the cycle begins until the engine has reached a cool temperature and it cools down again.

Fans

Cooling fans provide a handy backup on hotter days, where they sense the temperature and are triggered to turn on at certain temperatures that are higher than normal. Once they turn on, they can help to cool down the engine until it reaches a temperature where it can power back down.

Keeping It Cool

The car cooling system operates on the same principle as your car’s traditional AC and the AC units in your house. The entire cycle is very interesting if you stop and think about it, and now that you know the cycle you can work to keep it going.

You’ll have a well-functioning car engine, and that can keep your car running all on its own. Who doesn’t like that?

Where To Get Cooling Parts

At PartsMax we carry a wide inventory of aftermarket parts, order online or call us today.