A cooling system leak can start small and end big in a very bad way. Brookwood Automotive can find where your engine coolant is leaking from and fix it so you don’t end up with serious engine damage. The hotter your engine gets as the coolant leaks out of it, the greater the chance of catastrophic engine failure. Don’t take chances. Here are five places that cause serious coolant loss.
1. Radiator Cap
The radiator cap puts up with a lot of heat and pressure, and as it ages, it can begin to leak or even fail completely. Your cooling system needs the tight seal the radiator cap provides, and if it can no longer keep the coolant and pressure inside the radiator, it’s time for a new cap. This is not an expensive part, so don’t put off replacing a worn and leaking radiator cap replacement.
2. Expansion Tank
You know that reservoir where you add extra coolant when it gets low? That’s the expansion tank. This tank ensures your radiator always has enough coolant by supplying coolant when the radiator needs it and storing excess coolant when the radiator heats up and the coolant expands. The tank itself can leak, or the cap or hoses connecting it to the radiator can crack and leak.
3. Head Gasket
Remember when we said above that a leaking cooling system can cause catastrophic engine damage? Well, a blown head gasket is one of the things we meant. Resting between the engine block and cylinder head, when this part begins to leak – blows – you’ll end up with your motor oil mixing with the engine coolant and a seriously overheated automobile. This is bad. Very bad.
4. Radiator
You don’t generally need to worry about this cooling system problem unless your automobile is quite old. Your radiator is made of metal, and, eventually, metal rusts. After years of having liquid coolant in it, the bottom of your radiator will oxidize and the rust will eat through the metal for its nourishment. This leads to a leaking radiator that must be replaced to fix the problem.
5. Water Pump
The water pump is the cooling system part that circulates coolant through your car, crossover, or truck’s engine to keep it cool. This part can leak from the radiator hose that connects it to the cooling system or from the pump itself. Sometimes, the hose has just come loose, and tightening it will fix the problem. Other times, you might need to replace the hose or the water pump.
Schedule an appointment with Brookwood Automotive in OKC, OK, the minute your engine starts to run too hot. The sooner we find the problem and fix it the fewer chances of serious engine damage.
