Cooling System Service Repair Shop

The cooling system of your vehicle contains many pieces that all have to work together. It’s all designed to pull off just the right amount of heat from your engine to maintain its peak performance. If an engine gets to hot then serious damage can result, but if it’s kept too cool then fuel doesn’t burn as well, oil doesn’t flow correctly and more wear and tear is created throughout the moving components.

Cooling System Overview

The major parts of your cars cooling system are the radiator, coolant, pressure cap, water pump, thermostat, heater core, and cooling fan. All of these parts need to be functioning properly in order to provide proper cooling control for your engine. Here we will highlight a few points about these parts and how they work in your cooling system.

Coolant – This is the fluid that pumps through the cooling system. It is usually a mix of water and ethylene glycol (antifreeze). The reason plain water only is not used is because while it is excellent at transferring large amounts of heat, it has a relatively low boil point and freezes at to high of a temperature for use outside. So antifreeze is added allowing it to drop to a temperature well below 0° and also raises the boiling point so that it can pull more heat out of the engine.

Water Pump – The water pump circulates the coolant throughout the engine block and the rest of the cooling system. It is typically powered off one of your belts so that whenever the engine is running, so is the water pump.

Thermostat – The thermostat is what controls how much heat is taken from the engine block. These are mostly set to 180°. They are closed when the engine first starts up so that the coolant just cycles through the engine block only, this gets the optimum temperature up quickly. Once this level is exceeded then the thermostat opens and allows the hot coolant to flow into the radiator and lets cool fluid into the engine block.

Radiator & Pressure Cap – The radiator is what holds and cools the fluid while it cycles through the engine. It’s internal design is small tubes with aluminum fins that pull heat out of the coolant, then air flows over these fins rapidly cooling the fluid inside. The pressure cap (also called the radiator cap) does more than just keep the fluid inside. It also maintains about 15 PSI on the cooling system, this further raises the boiling point of the coolant, allowing better thermal transfer from the engine. Because of this NEVER open a hot radiator! The fluid inside will explosively boil out onto whomever and whatever may be near by.

Cooling Fan – The cooling fan can either be electric or powered from the engine itself, depending on whether you have a front or rear wheel drive vehicle. Either way, their job is the same, to keep air flow moving through the radiator. Air flow is usually maintained just by driving, but when sitting still these fans are what keep your car from overheating. If you notice your cars heat level rising anytime you are sitting still then a faulty cooling fan may be the issue.

Heater Core – The heater core is connected to the cooling system, although it’s main function is not the cooling of your cars engine. It’s the heating of the interior of the car during the winter. It looks much like a miniature radiator with hot coolant flowing into it. But the air flow going through it flows into your car instead of out into the air. This is why you don’t have heat until the engine warms up. Bonus Tip: If your stuck in traffic and find your car overheating, turn on the heater full blast. It will help pull heat off the engine. It may make it uncomfortable inside but it can help buy you the time to get off the highway to safely stop the car and allow it to cool!

Regardless of what the problem is, if you need cooling system repair in Schaumburg, IL, give us a call or visit our shop today. Our friendly technicians are here to answer all of your questions and help you get back on the road again. Open 7 days a week, our mechanics offer quality and dependable car service. For the best cooling system repair, service and replacement in Schaumburg, IL, don’t hesitate to contact us!