Have you started to notice that your car is running hotter or even outright overheating? There could be a few different reasons that is happening, and A1 Automotive has the details.
Broken Thermostat
Your car has a thermostat and it’s a tiny trooper. It does its job for years and years, but when it finally goes bust, that one problem can do a lot of damage to your car’s engine. The thermostat is responsible for keeping coolant flowing, so if it breaks, it’s not doing that at all. Once the thermostat fails, it has to be replaced.
Lower than Optimal Coolant Levels
The easiest fix for an overheating engine is to add more coolant. If your coolant levels are lower than they should be, the coolant doesn’t have time to draw heat away from the engine and then release that heat to recirculate through the engine. Make sure to check your coolant levels regularly by looking at the reservoir under the hood. If the levels are even a little low, add some coolant.
Leaks in the Cooling System
One of the biggest ways for your car to lose coolant is through leaks in the cooling system. When your car’s cooling system isn’t holding onto the coolant, the levels can drop too low very quickly. But there can be other issues, too. Depending on where the leak is, coolant may not even get to where it’s needed most. Any time you see coolant under the car, it needs to be checked out.
Trouble with the Head Gasket
Your car’s head gasket fits between the cylinder head and the engine block. That gasket keeps your car’s combustion cylinders free of anything that shouldn’t be there. If the gasket fails, which happens at times, you’ve got big problems and they start with an incredibly hot engine. It’s considered a catastrophic failure almost always, which is very bad news.
Too Long Between Oil Changes
Your car needs regular oil changes to help the cooling system do its job. The oil circulates through the engine, working to keep the engine parts lubricated and clean. But the oil also draws heat out of those parts as it circulates, so keeping up with oil changes can help with engine heat.
You don’t have to keep guessing. Give A1 Automotive in Lincoln, NE a call to set up an appointment and we can drill down to exactly what is wrong. We’ll let you know what your car needs in order to stop overheating.