It is time to talk about what purpose the radiator has, and how it works in conjunction with the other components in your cooling system to prevent an overheating situation that cause a need to find a rebuilt engine.

Simply put a radiator is the heart of your cooling system, it is part of the cooling system team. The other team members include the water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, hoses, freeze plugs, coolant level and quality and water pump drive belt.

During an overheating episode, the most vulnerable component on the car is your engine, which is easily damaged due to the delicate soft parts inside, and particularly if the heads and engine block are aluminum.

A car’s engine, and transmission both have several hundred parts that are constantly in motion. Any sort of movement creates friction, which in turn produces heat. In an engine, engine oil is pumped throughout the engine to lubricate the parts, but this is insufficient to overcome the tremendous heat generated. To counter this problem, the radiator is put to use. A car radiator is a heat-exchanging device that keeps the transmission and engine cool by getting rid of excess heat through the radiation process.

A car’s radiator, usually made of an aluminum tube, is bent into several folds to form a rectangular shape. The purpose of this design is to maximize the surface area. The radiator is filled with a liquid coolant, usually a summer coolant/anti-freeze. As the heated coolant moves from the engine block, past the thermostat to the radiator, it gets cooled because of the aluminum or copper body of the radiator that dissipates the heat, being assisted by a fan clutch which forces the cool air through the radiator, thus cooling the liquid inside.

The radiator cap, known as a pressure cap, regulates the pressure generated by the steam within the radiator. Once a predetermined level of pressure is reached, the radiator cap gives way to release the excess pressure and avoid any explosion under the cars hood. A seemingly simple component like a radiator cap can cause an overheated engine and the need for finding a rebuilt engine.

The car radiator should be well maintained in order to get optimum transmission and engine life. It should be yearly checked for blockages in the path of the coolant that may dampen the cooling process. Apart from this, one should also regularly refill the coolant in order to enjoy a wonderful and safe car ride. Be cautious about how as often you add coolant, as to often may mean you have a leak. Putting you at risk for an engine problem and perhaps the need for a  rebuilt engine.

It is easy to see that geographically speaking, we need to be responsible to the environment we live in. As In, Florida, where I live is very hot, therefore GotEngines.com blog has in a past, posted the need for a well operating cooling system, using a good summer coolant/anti-freeze. Conversely, if you live in Minnesota, your primary need would be to keep the cars engine from freezing necessitating a good anti-freeze/summer coolant…It is not unusual to neglect your cooling system and essentially put you in a spot where a rebuilt engine is in your future.