Overheating is the biggest threat to the lifespan of your car’s engine. And your radiator plays a crucial role in preventing that from happening. By cooling the antifreeze as it cycles through the engine’s system, the radiator makes sure temperatures never rise too high. If you ever spot the following problems, you might need to visit your local Ford dealership for radiator repair before the engine starts to suffer.
Your Engine’s Overheating
A healthy Ford engine runs at a temperature between 195 and 220 degrees. When a radiator stops functioning properly, this temperature will soon rise, which you’ll see on your dashboard’s engine temperature gauge. As your engine reaches above 220 degrees, it will start to experience problems.
An overheating engine will make strange ticking and knocking sounds as the mechanical parts struggle against each other with increased friction. Your engine power will also drop, and the hood will become hot to the touch. As it nears 240 degrees, the coolant inside the radiator will begin to boil, causing white steam to escape from your hood.
Your Coolant’s Leaking
When coolant leaks, it’s no longer running through the engine, controlling temperatures. Leaks usually originate from the radiator’s cap or one of the hose connections.
Coolant is a brightly colored fluid, usually red, pink, blue, green, or yellow in color, and it smells sweet. So if you see a sweet-smelling bright residue anywhere on the radiator or a liquid like this pooling under your car, your radiator has probably sprung a leak.
Your Radiator’s Rusting
Rust can sometimes be an issue with radiators, especially in cold or humid climates or when the car is left unused for prolonged periods. When you inspect your radiator, look for signs of rust or corrosion anywhere on its surface.
A thin patina of rust can usually be cleaned away with white vinegar or any rust removal product. If the rust is internal, you’ll notice the coolant inside the reservoir changing to the color of rust. Fresh coolant has strong anti-rust properties, so you can often fix internal radiator rust by flushing it out with water, adding new coolant, then repeating the process a few months later.
Your Radiator’s Damaged
As the radiator is positioned near the front of the car, close to the grill, small stones and other debris can sometimes fly in and damage or clog up the radiator’s fins. It’s good practice to occasionally inspect your radiator’s fins for damage. You can clean away deposits of dirt or organic matter, but any serious damage to the fins will require the attention of a technician to repair.
How a Ford Dealer Pressure Checks Your Radiator
While inspecting your cooling system for damage, a technician will pressure-check your radiator’s cap, fan, thermostat, and other parts. This is an effective way to identify leaks and any malfunctioning parts.
Have your radiator inspected and repaired today at Lundeen Bros Ford Annandale. We have a terrific range of vehicles and top-notch technicians and sales staff to match.
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