When Your Car overheats it may be Time for Some Car Repair Help to Find out Why

If your car is overheating it's important to pay attention to when and how it is overheating. Your car repair may be something simple such as adding coolant or it may be a more complex mechanical fix. The more you know about what to look for the more likely you can get your car running right again.

When a car overheats it cannot be driven any further until the engine cools down again and this can be both inconvenient and taxing on your nerves. If your car is overheating the most obvious reason why is a lack of coolant fluid. Anti-freeze, also known as coolant works to keep your car's engine cool by traveling through all of the engines components. Without this needed component your car's engine would become overheated in minutes and bring you to a standstill.

Don't ever attempt to check your car's radiator fluid levels on a hot or even a warm car. Remember the radiator cap seals in a lot of pressure that helps the coolant work effectively and if you remove the cap the pressure can send a hot stream of fluid and steam right at your face and upper body. You are risking some serious burns if you try to take off a hot radiator cap so let your engine get cold before you even attempt to check fluid levels.

You should also make sure your car is level on a flat surface so your fluid reading is accurate. If you have plenty of coolant in your cooling system the problem of overheating may require a car repair expert.

To better help your mechanic diagnosis what type of car repair you need, pay attention to when your car is overheating. Is your car overheating when you're driving on the highway at high speeds or when you're at a stop or idle? When your car is developing heating problems can help your mechanic narrow in on the correct root cause of your engine problem.

For example if your car is overheating when you're in park or idle it could be the electric cooling fan motor that is located near the car's radiator. An easy way to test if the electric fan is faulty is to run the air conditioning unit and check to see if the fan comes on. If the fan doesn't come on it may have a faulty sensor that needs to be replaced or the fan itself may need to be replaced.

If on the other hand your car is overheating on the highway the root cause may be several things including a faulty thermostat or kinked radiator hose. It could also be a faulty radiator. If rust and water calcification build up in the radiator overtime this could cause poor air circulation and the end result will be your car overheating at high speeds. The most common car repair in this case is to either replace the radiator or take it apart and clean the rust and calcification out and put the newly cleaned radiator back in the car.

Since an overheating car can be caused by such a wide spectrum of reasons, the best solution is to have a car repair expert diagnose and fix the problem as soon as possible to avoid causing any further damage to your car's engine.

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