If you’ve ever had to deal with a vehicle that was overheating, you know what a hassle it can be. In order to prevent severe damage to the engine, you need to come to a stop as quickly as possible if your car begins to overheat. If you drive too far with an overheating engine, you run the risk of causing damage to your head gasket, cracking your head, or even having your entire engine seize up. If that’s the case, then you’ve just made a poor situation even worse — trust us on this one. You have no interest in participating in that in any way.
We have a range of products that have won awards and are designed to assist you at the first sign that your vehicle is overheating. Our experience in the automotive chemical engineering field in the cooling category spans more than 70 years, so we know a thing or two about the factors that contribute to vehicle overheating.
Have a look at our list of the reasons why a vehicle could overheat, and see if you can figure out what the issue is with your own. After that, make the necessary adjustments to fix the problems, and then get back on the road, secure in the knowledge that your vehicle’s engine cooling system is operating as it should. To think about cooling systems is tedious until you break down in the middle of nowhere and are smacked with a towing cost; therefore, it is a good idea to get ahead of the situation.
Causes of Exceedingly High Temperatures
In addition to a radiator and a pump, your vehicle’s cooling system is made up of cooling channels that are constructed into the engine block and the cylinder head, as well as a gasket that seals the two together. Your hot engine is cooled by coolant, which circulates through the engine, gathers up heat via thermal transfer from the engine itself, and then transports that heat to the radiator, where it can be cooled by air from the outside. After that, it makes its way back to your engine, where it helps remove even more heat. It goes in circles.
Even though the idea behind it is straightforward, the cooling system in your engine is quite complicated and dependent on a variety of different things. If your engine begins to overheat, there are a number of potential causes, including the following:
• It’s possible that your coolant level is low (due to a leak or failure to check the level on an older vehicle)
• There may be a problem with your coolant pump (which keeps your coolant from circulating)
• It’s possible that your oil level is low (meaning your engine is creating excess friction and therefore heat)
• It’s possible that your head gasket has blown (this allows coolant into your engine, where it can cause serious damage)
Stop whatever you’re doing as soon as you notice even the slightest symptom of overheating and figure out how to fix the issue. In the event that your vehicle’s coolant level is low, you can replenish it with a fluid of the appropriate sort and concentration. Keep an eye out for any leaks under your vehicle as well (if you have a cooling system leak, we have award-winning products to help you fix that affordably and quickly). If you feel that the issue is with the coolant circulation, you may need the assistance of a mechanic to assess whether or not your coolant pump is flowing an adequate amount of coolant through your engine. Keep a constant check on the amount of oil in your engine at all times since not only does low oil cause problems with overheating, but it can also cause serious damage to the moving parts in your engine, thus it is important to always do so.
But wait a minute! Our final point, which is that a head gasket that has blown, is in fact a significant issue. Take note of what is going on here. There is a strong probability that your head gasket has blown if you observe white smoke coming from your exhaust or if you notice your engine coolant level going down but you don’t see any leak on the ground. As soon as you become aware of this, you are required to take immediate action. Complete head gasket repairs are incredibly pricey to complete.
Every day, this is one of the most common issues that clients bring up in our conversations with them. We have spent years developing the items that will enable you to put an end to head gasket leaks and protect your engine from being damaged. You can use our online shop locator to find our award-winning head gasket goods near you.