A Beginner's Guide To Diagnosing A Broken Car Radiator

Radiators are very important in the ongoing usage of your car, as they cool the engine down and allow it to function without overheating. When you consider that most engines create a lot of heat, you start to realise that without a working radiator, the engine is liable to break down quickly as well. That is why you must always stay on top of whether you need a car radiator repair in the near future. Here are a few ways to determine whether your radiator is about to give out and what you need to do about it. 

Leaky Coolant

Your car radiator works by sending coolant to the engine to take away some of the heat caused in the combustion process. This coolant travels from your radiator through the engine and then back to the radiator in a loop. If a section of this loop is damaged, you will notice that your car starts leaking coolant. You can check this by looking under your car after you have parked or when you start up your car and move it from its previous resting place. Coolant is generally either green or orange, so if you see either of those two colours, then it is time to take your vehicle in for a car radiator repair.

Smoke

Clearly a sign of distress, the most common cause of smoke coming from the front of your car is a broken car radiator. This can be because the cooling system that is supposed to extract heat from the coolant is broken and needs to be replaced. Never drive once your car starts to smoke, as this problem only gets infinitely worse. Either call for roadside assistance or a tow, as the only way your car will work again is if the broken metal cooling system is replaced so that the coolant can function properly again.

Clicking Noise

If you hear a consistent clicking noise coming from your car, then that could be the sign of a faulty flushing procedure from your radiator. It is actually pockets of air that are being created in your radiator and being moved around which cause these clicking noises. If they stick around for too long, they can cause serious damage and cause your whole radiator system to begin to shut down. However, this is quite rare, so as long as you get your car to a car radiator repair technician in a decent amount of time, you should have no trouble getting it repaired. 

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