Radiators

Radiator & Cooling System Services: Murrieta, Temecula

The radiator is at the heart of any cooling system is the radiator. This large, flat tank of coolant is positioned at the front of your vehicle, just behind the grill. The radiator has many small channels that coolant flows through to dissipate heat. Directly behind the radiator will be one or two fans which help the radiator cool the antifreeze.

On most vehicles, there will be a radiator cap on top of the radiator. For some vehicles, the radiator cap is on the coolant recovery reservoir.

Cold coolant is pulled by the water pump, through the lower radiator hose, and into the engine. The coolant circulates throughout the engine, keeping it from overheating.
When the engine has reached normal operating temperatures, the thermostat opens, allowing the hot coolant to flow from the engine back to the radiator where it is cooled again.

When you turn the heat on inside your car, coolant flows from the engine into the heater core. The heater core is sort of like a miniature radiator located inside the dashboard that uses the heat from the coolant to warm the air in the car’s cabin.

Experts agree that at last every two years, you should take your car in for radiator maintenance, including a coolant flush, and radiator service, if needed. Your car’s radiator needs to be clean to efficiently cool your engine. Over the course of time, your car’s radiator channels become blocked with debris from the engine that is cycled though the dirty coolant and will eventually completely clog the cooling system. A regularly scheduled quick and inexpensive radiator flush at California Car Care is the best thing you can do to ensure your car’s cooling system stays in tip top working condition.

Common Problems With the Cooling System

Normally, your car’s cooling system will work flawlessly for many years, but when a problem does occur, it is usually one of these:

If you see anti-freeze leaks on the ground or garage floor, it probably is due to one of these causes:

•     Bad radiator hose. A crack or break in a radiator hose can cause coolant to leak.
•     A crack in the radiator itself can also cause anti-freeze to leak on the ground. Replace any worn hoses or repair/replace the radiator.
•     Bad water pumps can also leak anti-freeze

If you are needing to add coolant, but cannot see any leaks on the ground, it could be due to 1 of these 2 causes:

•     Blown, or broken head gasket. If your coolant level is dropping, but you do not see any signs of leaks on the ground, check your oil. If the oil is milky, then you have a blown head gasket, allowing the anti-freeze to mix with the oil.
•     Bad radiator cap. Have your radiator cap pressure tested. A bad radiator cap may let steam escape, thus lowering the level of coolant.

Other Cooling and Radiator Symptoms Needing Repairs:

• Coolant does not get cold – A broken fan clutch (if your fan is belt driven) or an electrical problem (if your fan is electrically driven) can disable the fan.
• Engine overheats – There can be many causes of this. First, check the coolant level in the radiator. Next, check for any liquid leaking out of the weep hole in the water pump; leakage here indicates a bad water pump. If the water pump and coolant levels are good, check the thermostat. A thermostat that is stuck closed will not allow coolant to circulate. When the engine is warm, feel the upper radiator hose. If it is hot, then the thermostat is not stuck closed.
• Engine takes a long time to reach operating temperature – The thermostat is stuck open, replace the thermostat.
• There is no heat coming out of the vents – A thermostat that is stuck open will increase the time it takes to get hot air out of the vents. If you do not get any hot air, the heater core may be plugged or bad.
• Coolant is leaking into the front passenger leg area – The heater core is clogged.

California Car Care offers the following radiator services:

•     Industrial radiator repair
•     Automotive radiator repair
•     Radiator leak repair
•     Radiator maintenance
•     Radiator parts
•     General radiator service
•     Replace radiator

If you have any questions regarding regular radiator maintenance, radiator service, and/or radiator maintenance please feel free to give one of our highly trained radiator repair specialists a call or email today, or just drive the problem, such as a radiator leak, in. We will fix the radiator or replace it, as quickly and inexpensively as we can.

Whether we replace a radiator for you or you choose us for other automotive radiator repair needs, our 35 years of auto radiator repair and superior customer service will make you happy that you chose California Car Care, Remember, when you need auto radiator repair, radiator maintenance, or radiator service, California Car Care is Murrieta’s radiator repair expert.