Basic care tips for car radiator that every driver should know

Owning a vehicle comes with all sorts of responsibilities. Vehicle owners know that it’s not just about the long, comfortable trips and safe commute. There is also the spend and effort that they invest in the vehicle to keep it running like clockwork.

Each part of the vehicle plays a vital role and each also requires to be taken care of in a different way. The radiator is one of the central parts that make your driving experience worthwhile and Philkotse.com is here to teach you a few tips to keep it working at the optimum level.

To better care for your radiator, you should first understand what it mainly does. By doing so, we are also able to understand its importance and why we should care for it.

I. What is the radiator?

The radiator is a vital part of the vehicle that you can find under the hood. It sits next to the engine and plays an important role in the engine’s cooling system. The cooling system is responsible for preventing your car from overheating and overworking your vehicle.

Without the cooling system, the heat and strain from all the harsh activity that happens when you run your car can melt the sensitive parts under the hood. Examples are the belts and hoses that also play an important role in your vehicle’s assembly.

You can ask any expert mechanic and they will definitely agree that the radiator is a vital part that prevents total engine problems. To put simply, the radiator regulates the temperature of the engine and keeps it at a tolerable level in which the parts can continue to work well together without too much strain.

The radiator is a vital part of the vehicle that you can find under the hood

>>> See also: What to do if your car overheats: 10 must-know things for Pinoy drivers.

II. Care Tips for Your Radiator

Here are the most basic tips that you can use to take care of your radiator. They are easy to do and you won’t need any special skills or special tools to get them done.

1. Refill your coolant

Keep the radiator’s coolant filled at all times. Make sure that it’s always at the safe levels regardless of the weather condition. A standard coolant mix will be best if there are 50% water and 50% of the coolant substance. You can also purchase a ready-mixed coolant from the nearest auto-supply store.

Make sure that you don’t use new coolant and add it to your old one if there are already sediments at the bottom. One way to tell that sediments have already developed is by considering the time you last flushed your radiator – was it weeks ago? Months ago? Or years?

In a matter of months, your coolant could have already developed fine deposits. However, it is not until a few years until these deposits increase in the amount and ultimately becomes hazardous to the engine’s cooling system.

Keep the radiator’s coolant filled at all times

>>> Read more: The Safest Way on How to Put Water in a Car Radiator & Other Essential Facts.

2. The coolant chamber should be kept pressurized

That’s why the cap of the radiator is meant to be twisted tight after each refill. Make sure that you don’t lose the radiator cap every time you check on the coolant’s level.

Make sure that you don’t lose the radiator cap every time you check on the coolant’s level

>>> Related: 3 symptoms of a bad radiator cap & replacement cost

3. Regularly change the coolant fluid and get the radiator cleaned

If this is too tough for you to remember, tell your preferred auto-mechanic to remind you about it on your next visit for a tire rotation or an oil change. They will usually like the idea of charging you for their service so they’re bound to remind you when your soonest tire rotation procedure is due.

You might also want to ask them what other maintenance procedures you will need to perform on your car to keep it in tip-top shape. Also, don’t hesitate to point out any sounds or noises coming from your vehicle that you don’t think is normal.

Regularly get the radiator cleaned

4. Take your radiator to the mechanic to be flushed every once in a while

This will ensure that there are no hard traces or residue that could come from the coolant.

>>> You might like to check out: Distilled water vs Coolant: Which is the best product for your radiator?

III. What does flushing do for my radiator?

Flushing is the process wherein the radiator is emptied to prevent the particles from building and settling on the small crevices. This procedure prevents clogging so the radiator can continue to function flawlessly and keep the rest of the engine parts from heating up.

Flushing is the process wherein the radiator is emptied to prevent the particles from building and settling on the small crevices

1. What if I decide not to flush my vehicle’s radiator system?

If you neglect your vehicle’s need for a radiator flush, you should expect degrading performance quality from your car. Your vehicle will practically be asking for help if there are so many sediments in the radiator that it has spilled to the rest of the engine cooling system.

Your cooling system will eventually wear down and it will be expected to do its job on a barely satisfactory level due to being handicapped. Overall, flushing is definitely one of the easiest car care tips that we suggest you perform on your vehicle.

It won’t only keep your vehicle working well but it will also save you from possibly spending thousands of pesos to get your radiator (or even your entire cooling system) fixed.

AutoDIY: How to flush Car Radiator - AutoBuzz.my

2. How often should your vehicle’s radiator be flushed?

The frequency of flushing your vehicle’s radiator will vary depending on a lot of factors. One of the greatest one to consider is the type of vehicle that you have. A lot of the cars that were manufactured later than 2000s can be serviced at a yearly basis.

However, another factor that contributes to the frequency of flushing your radiator is how harsh are the conditions that your car has to go through.

Make sure there are no hard traces or residue that could come from the coolant

For example, if you drive your vehicle off-road for many times and it has to tread on hilly and patchy roads for most times of the year, then it will require more frequent flushing. If you’re not sure as to how to calculate the frequency of flushes against the conditions you put your car through, leave the job to expert mechanics.

They should be able to tell you when the best time would be to flush your radiator. If you flush your radiator too frequently, you may be spending too much money more than necessary. While if you flush it fewer times than it needs, then you may be overworking your radiator without taking proper care of it.

>>> Follow Philkotse.com for more useful car maintenance tips.