You’re driving along and your car keeps getting hotter. You turn up the heat to reduce the temperature. This solves the problem temporarily, but temporarily is the operative word. You can cool an overheating engine by turning on the heater, but this doesn’t resolve the underlying issue. Urb’s Garage warns that if you ignore the issue, you could damage the engine. Here are eight things that overheat an engine.
1. Coolant
If your engine coolant is too low, has leaked out of the cooling system completely, is not the right mix of coolant and water, or is the wrong coolant altogether, your vehicle will overheat constantly. Old and dirty coolant can also make your car, truck, crossover, or SUV run too hot.
2. Leaks
Low coolant is often caused by cooling system leaks. Depending on the size of the leak, you might notice coolant on your garage floor. Coolant can leak from the water pump seals and gaskets, radiator hoses, the radiator itself, and the heater core. It can also leak from the overflow reservoir.
3. Water Pump
The water pump pushes the coolant through the engine and it will wear down over time. Usually, a water pump must be replaced between 60,000 and 90,000 miles, but many go longer than that. If the pump breaks down or leaks, you won’t have enough coolant circulating through the engine.
4. Radiator
The older a radiator gets the more chances of rust on the bottom. Coolant sits in the radiator and the liquid resting on the metal oxidizes it. Eventually, the rust might eat through the bottom of the radiator and you’ll end up with a coolant leak. The radiator cap can blow, too, if the engine is too hot.
5. Motor Oil
The cooling system isn’t the only thing that keeps your vehicle’s engine cool. The motor oil also absorbs heat as it circulates through the engine. Old and dirty motor oil will deposit gunk on the engine parts. This will damage the parts and also overheating the engine. Regular oil changes prevent this.
6. Thermostat
The thermostat is what gets the coolant circulating through the engine in the first place. Once the engine starts to get too hot, the thermostat releases the coolant. If your car has over 100,000 miles on it, the thermostat could be nearing the end of its life and it won’t release the coolant.
7. Fan/Air Intake
A radiator fan cools the coolant sitting in the radiator before it’s circulated through the engine again. Air is brought through a radiator vent to help cool the liquid, as well. If the fan malfunctions or the air intake vent is clogged, there won’t be enough air to reduce the coolant’s temperature.
8. Heater Core
Finally, the heater core uses hot engine coolant to heat your automobile. If the hoses that run through the core leak, your engine will lose coolant before it’s returned to the radiator. Once this happens, your engine will overheat because it doesn’t have enough coolant to reduce the temperature.
Call Urb’s Garage in Burlington, KY, today if your vehicle is overheating. We’ll fix the problem ASAP!
