Radiator

Car radiator stops the engine from getting too hot. If it starts leaking or is damaged, this could spell disaster for your vehicle. If this happens, replace your car radiator as soon as possible. The engine in your car generates a lot of heat. If it gets too hot, the pistons will generate too much friction, which in turn may seize your engine. To prevent this problem, you can use water and anti-freeze to absorb heat by passing through your engine. These liquids make their way to the radiator which then transfers the heat into the atmosphere. The radiator helps preserve the life of your engine. A good one will preserve it for longer, as well as helping your car to run at its most efficient. The most obvious sign of a faulty radiator is a visible leak. If you see puddles of red or green liquid (engine coolant) forming underneath your engine when your car is stationary, you must replace your radiator immediately. Not doing so will cause serious damage. You should also bear in mind that engine coolant is toxic to both humans and animals. Low pressure is a sign that your car radiator is suffering from corrosion. Your radiator should produce between 10 PSI and 12 PSI. If the pressure level is lower than this, then you have a problem.

There are several components which make a car radiator and any one of these parts could break and cause the whole system to fail. To help you understand more about car radiators and car radiator repair, we have written this simple guide.

A car radiator is responsible for circulating coolant around the system. Without the radiator, a car would quickly run into trouble and serious problems could arise. The radiator is one part of many that makes up the cooling system and there are several functions that it carries out to keep a car’s engine at a safe temperature.

The cooling fan or cooling fans are mounted onto the back of the car radiator on the side closest to the engine. The cooling fans are in place to direct air into the engine efficiently from the radiator, mostly when a car has stopped or is going slowly. This is to suck cold air into the engine and ensure the temperature does not rise too much. Modern cooling fans are connected to the on-board computer present in cars. Temperature sensors will feed information to the computer as a car is being driven and make changes to the speed of the rotors if required. If a cooling fan needs to be repaired, the likelihood is that one of the rotors has broken or there has been an electrical fault which should not be too expensive to repair.

Engine coolant is a liquid that runs through a car engine to maintain the correct temperature for a car to operate properly. Engine coolant can become contaminated and will be significantly less effective. That is why it is important to check if the engine warning light comes on as this may be the result of engine coolant not doing its job properly and the engine coolant needs to be topped up. If a car is overheating, leaking engine coolant could also be a cause as holes can open from rust causing damage to the piping in the system.

A radiator flush is performed to remove old engine coolant from the car radiator when new engine coolant is required. The job can be carried out using water to flush the radiator or a professional mechanic can use a special machine to perform the job. A radiator flush can resolve a lot of issues and it is a simple job to carry out. If a radiator flush is all that your car needs, it will not be an expensive job as there are not extra parts required and there is very little labour involved in the work.

If there is a leak in your car radiator, engine coolant will seep out and you will have to have the problem resolved immediately. If coolant is leaking out of the car radiator, the car engine will overheat quickly and when this happens, a huge number of other issues could be caused. A radiator leak is not a difficult problem to resolve if you catch the problem early on, however, if you ignore the issue and allow the radiator leak to get worse, you’ll end up paying a huge amount of money for a radiator leak or car radiator leak replacement.

Over time problems can occur with the radiator as it is subject to significant temperature fluctuations. Older cars were fitted with brass side tanks and a brass or copper, which were particularly prone to rust and leaks. Modern cars are generally fitted with plastic side tanks which, on the other hand, are prone to crack and can also leak engine coolant. A leaking radiator should be addressed as soon as possible seeing that a lower level of engine coolant can lead to an overheating engine and severe engine damage. Additionally, radiators can also clog up with dirt, leading to the engine overheating as less coolant can run through the radiator. Should you experience an issue like this or those listed earlier, it is advisable to have the radiator inspected and, if necessary, have it replaced. Seeing that the radiator is a component that is especially prone to wear it should always be serviced as and when stipulated in the guidelines set out by your car's manufacturer.

Do not drive with leaking coolant since the radiator cools the engine, a cracked radiator may not cool the engine like it is supposed to. This can cause the engine heat to rise, and eventually the vehicle will overheat. You should have your coolant system checked before you continue to drive.

A dry radiator and cooling system will cause overheating that is likely to warp cylinder heads but will certainly take a lot of life out of your car. The long-term damage is impossible to even see let alone fix. So, the car's pressurized system plus antifreeze keep the liquid from boiling into vapor.

Sometimes, the worst part of getting your car fixed is having to bring it to the garage. We are therefore happy to offer our customers a free collection and delivery service If you prearrange a collection, we will pick your car up from your home or place of work and drive it to our premises, carry out all the necessary work (having consulted you) and deliver it back to you at the end of the day.

We are able to tow, jump start or repair your vehicle if you are experiencing problems or broken down for a small fee. If we can't sadly start your vehicle, we can contact a local recovery firm to collect your vehicle for a very competitive price.

Don't want to waste your day off?
You don't have the time to take your car in for a service or repairs?
Have you got problems with getting to and from the garage?

Here at Car Services in Reading, we believe that we offer a valuable product with our Free Collection and Delivery Service, we can collect either from your place of work or from your home address. If you are unsure about whether the address you are considering having your vehicle collected from is not within our range, then please do contact us.

Car Services in Reading operate a fleet of pool cars with a dedicated driver, so wherever we are collecting from, we need to be able to leave one of our pool vehicles either in your work car park / parking space, or if in a residential area, we would need to be able to leave our car either at your house or on the road with a permit if required. We would be grateful if you could bear this in mind when booking to use our free Collection and delivery service