Your Ford radiator plays a vital role in cooling your car's engine. If the radiator is worn or damaged, your engine won't be able to cool effectively. This can cause your engine to overheat and suffer serious, even permanent damage. To prevent this damage needs to be repaired ASAP. As your Ford dealer, we can help when you need a radiator repair. These are a few signs that your radiator isn't working correctly.
3 Signs You Need a Radiator Repair at Your Ford Dealer
Coolant Leak
Coolant is essential for your engine, as it can absorb heat. The coolant is pumped through your engine at high speed, absorbing engine heat as it travels. When the coolant enters the radiator, it's cooled by air movement over the radiator tubes. The coolant is recirculated to continue the cooling cycle. Without coolant, your engine has no way to remove heat.
Leaking coolant is usually easy to spot as it's brightly colored. Green, blue, yellow, and pink are typical coolant colors. If you see patches of this liquid underneath your car, you have a coolant leak. Our technicians will trace the source of the leak and repair it. Once this is done, we'll refill your engine with fresh coolant.
Damaged Thermostat
Coolant flows through your car in response to an increase in engine temperature. When your engine temperature rises over 185 F, coolant will be pumped through the system to reduce the heat. Once your engine temperature drops below 185 F, coolant will stop flowing. The release and withdrawal of coolant are controlled by a component called the thermostat.
The thermostat is a small valve that monitors your engine temperature, and it opens when the temperature rises. The valve is simple, but it can fail in time. If this valve fails, it will jam open or closed. The broken valve can lead to your engine overheating due to lack of coolant, or using more fuel due to too much coolant. Our technicians can quickly and easily replace the thermostat.
Damaged Hoses
Two rubber hoses connect your radiator to the rest of the cooling system. The hoses are made of reinforced rubber that's designed to survive the hot conditions of your engine. These hoses routinely carry coolant at 280 F or higher, so they must be heat-resistant. Rubber hoses allow the flexibility for the hot liquid to reach the radiator.
Over time, however, the rubber hoses will become less flexible. Cracks can form on their outside surface, and these cracks can widen into holes. Coolant moves at high speed, and a hole in a hose can lead to hot coolant spraying into your engine compartment.
If you have a radiator problem, call us right away at Ken Ganley Ford.