Your car’s engine has been constructed so that it works most efficiently when at a consistent temperature. If your engine is too cold or overheating, you’re likely to find yourself replacing worn out components and suffering from poor fuel economy. The cooling system works to transfer heat from the engine to the air, maintaining a constant temperature and preventing over-heating.
What Is a Cooling System?
Most cars employ a liquid cooling system. This means that there is a liquid flowing through tubes within the engine that absorbs heat. This heat is transferred to a radiator, which in turn pushes that head out into the air. Liquid cooling systems are made up of many parts working together to keep your engine working at 100%.
Coolant
The coolant is the liquid we’re talking about when we refer to a ‘liquid cooling system’. Your car needs to operate optimally whether it’s the middle of summer or below freezing, so as well as being able to absorb a lot of heat, the liquid used to keep your engine cool needs to be able to flow smoothly without boiling or freezing. To achieve the perfect balance of heat absorption and stability, most cars use a mixture of water and antifreeze.
Radiator
Once coolant has travelled through your engine, absorbing heat along the way, it reaches the radiator. The job of the radiator is to take the heat from the coolant and transfer it to the air. This removes heat from the engine and allows the coolant to continue circulating.
Thermostat
To keep your engine running at the ideal temperature, your thermostat regulates how much coolant passes through the radiator. To warm the engine up at low temperatures, the thermostat will not allow the coolant to travel through the radiator. Once the engine heats up, the valve of the thermostat will open to allow coolant to pass through.
Why Is Your Car’s Cooling System So Important?
Driving with an over-heated engine can cause irreparable damage to essential parts of your car. Even if you’re able to avoid costly repairs and replacements, a car that isn’t cooled properly uses fuel inefficiently and will cost more money to run.
How to Maintain Your Cooling System
It is essential to have your cooling system regularly checked and serviced to take care of small problems before they have a chance to do real damage to your engine. In between services, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your coolant levels. Low coolant can cause overheating, and consistently low levels of coolant could indicate a leak that will need repaired as soon as possible.