The Importance of Antifreeze and Cooling Systems

The Importance of Antifreeze and Cooling Systems

By Ron Haugen

The engine in your car runs best at a fairly high temperature making the efficient operation of the antifreeze and cooling systems essential. They serve the purpose of heating up your engine quickly while removing any excess heat from your engine and keep it at a constant temperature.

With a cold engine, the components can wear out faster, making the engine operate less efficiently and emit more pollutants. An inefficient system can produce costly repair bills in the future.

How does a cooling system work?

During operation, your engine burns gasoline of which a little less than a third of the energy released goes into the mechanical operation that runs your vehicle while the rest is converted into heat.

Some of the heat generated is released through your tailpipe and the remainder heats up the engine. Without an efficient cooling system, your engine could be heavily damaged due to excess heat in less than 30 minutes of startup.

The cooling system works by moving coolant, such as is a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (C2H6O2), also known as antifreeze, through the engine. Once through the engine, the coolant becomes heated and is moved through the radiator, where its heat is then released into the surrounding air.

A well functioning cooling system has the capacity to maintain the engine at less than 100 degrees temperature during continuous 50mph level drives on cool days. Overheating can be detrimental to your vehicle and your wallet.

If your antifreeze and cooling systems in your vehicle are not working properly, the damage that this can cause to your engine can be quite costly. Sometimes an engine overheat can be corrected by simply fixing the root cause of the problem. However, overheating all too often can cause consequential damage that could cost you over a thousand dollars to fix.

The most common overheating damage is a broken head gasket. The overheating causes the head and the block on the engine to expand differently or at radically different rates, causing the break. This results in high labor costs as well as the high costs of the parts.

Another significant overheating damage risk is pre-ignition detonation which is caused by operating a vehicle with an engine temperature that is too high, resulting in damage to various components in your engine which can lead to total engine replacement. Engines are usually not too expensive to replace (depending on the type of vehicle), however the labor and time involved with installation can be quite costly.

Regular maintenance can save you money while keeping your vehicle operating at its best. Cooling system preventive maintenance can make an operational as well as a cost effective difference. While your vehicle may operate perfectly now and it may seem to be a waste of money to do the yearly maintenance, your technician may be able to spot and fix small problems that could become large problems. By simply servicing your vehicle's cooling system each year you can prevent costly repairs in the future.

If you are looking for honest advice, prioritized repairs, options on repairs, maximized fuel economy, and a good feeling with who you are doing business with go to http://www.westsideautopros.com

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