You don’t want your engine to overheat! This could cause major damage to your heating and cooling systems and, worse, damage to your engine. What if you notice your engine is overheating? Immediately, pull off the road and turn off the engine.

What could cause your engine to over-heat while driving? It could be caused by any one of these parts or system failures:

• Thermostat
• Coolant leak somewhere in the system
• Collapsed hose
• Bad water pump or belt
• Radiator plugged up or cracked
• Low coolant level
• Blown head gasket

What could cause your engine to overheat only at idle?

• Cooling fan relay
• Cooling fan motor
• Cooling fan clutch
• Low coolant level
• Blown head gasket

From these and other possible causes, you can see that an over-heating engine could be a major or minor repair! But whatever its causes, you want to have it checked out right away. Alabama Auto Repair’s technicians are highly skilled at diagnosing over-heating problems.

The Cooling System circulates a fluid through pipes and passageways in the engine. As this liquid passes through the hot engine, it absorbs heat, cooling the engine. After the liquid leaves the engine, it passes through a radiator, which transfers the heat from the fluid to the air blowing through the radiator.

Major System Components

• Anti-freeze – Anti-freeze is mixed with a precise volume of water to produce a solution that lowers the freezing point of this solution. This reduces the likelihood that the water in your closed cooling system will freeze, expand and damage the engine block and other system components. Anti-freeze also raises the boiling point of water under pressure, thereby enhancing the cooling system’s ability to remove and dissipate heat.
• Cooling Fans – If you’re stuck in traffic or driving slowly, you need something to “pull” the air over the radiator. This is the reason for cooling fans. Fans are usually mounted just behind the radiator. There are two types of cooling fans: Belt powered and electric powered.
• Radiator – The radiator is the cooling device designed to dissipate heat which the coolant has absorbed from the engine. It is constructed on a large surface area to dissipate the heat through convection with the air flowing through the radiator.
• Radiator Cap and Hoses – The radiator cap is an often-overlooked crucial part of the cooling process. It is designed to keep the coolant circulating under pressure and if it becomes defective, it should be replaced. Hoses are used to connect the engine and the water pump to the radiator. There are upper and lower radiator hoses.
• Water Pump – The water pump continuously circulates water around the engine which carries away the heat generated by it. If it were not for the water flow maintained by the pump, the engine would heat up substantially at high RPMs and eventually breakdown. In modern cars, the flow rate of water pump changes according to the value of the engine RPM. As the engine shifts over to higher RPM values, the water low rate increases simultaneously. This is achieved with the use of a thermostat.
• Thermostat – The thermostat is responsible for allowing the engine to warm up to the proper operating temperature before allowing the cooling system to begin circulating coolant. The thermostat is located between the engine and the radiator and is essentially a temperature-sensitive spring valve. It stays closed during engine warm-up and then opens when the system reaches the proper operating temperature.

So, what if your vehicle is experiencing problems with the heating and cooling system? The knowledgeable technicians at Alabama Auto Repair can check out the system components, let you know where the problem is, and then tell you how we can fix it. We’ll also provide you with a written estimate for any work that needs to be done.

For your vehicle’s Heating and Cooling needs, come to Alabama Auto Repair!

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