If your car, SUV, or truck overheats whenever you drive it, your cooling system needs to be serviced or repaired. Do not worry. We can do this at our shop. Generally, it is recommended that you have the cooling system serviced every 30,000 miles to prevent the problems that we are going to list below. These problems are the reasons why your automobile is overheating all the time.
Clogs
Part of the 30,000-mile service is to flush the cooling system to make sure that grime has not built up inside of it. This includes grime building up inside of the radiator. Unfortunately, the cooling system can get clogged by sediment and dirt. When this happens, the coolant will not be able to circulate through the entire engine. Consequently, the engine will overheat when you drive your automobile.
Leaks
Another part of the 30,000-mile service is to check the cooling system to make sure none of the parts are leaking. There are numerous cooling system parts that can start to leak if they need to be replaced. This includes the radiator. If your cooling system has a leak, the coolant level in the engine is reduced by this leak. As such, again, the engine will overheat when you drive your automobile.
Faulty Parts
There are specific parts in the cooling system that can go bad after you have driven your vehicle for 100,000 miles. These parts are the water pump and the thermostat. Generally, they last about 10 years. The water pump circulates the coolant that the thermostat releases into the cooling system. If either part has failed, you may not have coolant circulating through the engine at all.
If this is the case, your automobile will overheat quickly after you start it. Thankfully, it is not a major repair to replace the water pump or thermostat. We can do this at our auto service shop and get you back out on the road quickly with an engine that doesn’t overheat.
Radiator
Finally, the radiator also lasts about 10 years. In all honesty, you will likely get more years than 10 out of the radiator, especially if you have the cooling system serviced. This being said, if you drive an older automobile, you may need a new radiator. The radiator can get damaged or succumb to corrosion caused by the coolant that it stores.
Call us today if you need to set up an appointment for a cooling system inspection. Again, this should be done every 30,000 miles.