Car Service: Signs Your Radiator Is in Decline

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How to Improve Your Car

Welcome to my new auto blog. My name is Kevin. I am 48 years old and I live with my family in Alice Spring, Australia. Living so far out in the middle of nowhere means that you need a car to get around. I have been driving cars since I was 17 and I used to spend hours hanging out at the local auto repair shop. During those long summer afternoons, I learnt all about how a car works, how to repair the different components and systems, and how to accessories a vehicle so it looks cool. I hope you enjoy my blog.

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Car Service: Signs Your Radiator Is in Decline

5 April 2017
 Categories: Automotive, Blog


One of the most important components of your vehicle is the radiator as it is tasked with ensuring the engine stays cool. If your radiator has started to decline, it will cause overheating of your engine. If the radiator is not serviced as soon as possible, you will be at risk of becoming stranded when your vehicle breaks down on the road. Therefore, it is important for motorists to be wary of any indications that their vehicle could be suffering from radiator problems. Here are a few of the signs to be wary of that would imply that your radiator is in decline.

There is white steam billowing from the bonnet

Once your engine begins to suffer from overheating, you will start to notice billows of white smoke emanating from the bonnet. This white smoke means that the engine's coolant is being boiled and vaporising into the air. The moment you notice white smoke coming from your vehicle, it is crucial to stop driving the vehicle and keep the engine turned off. To facilitate the cooling of the engine, you may pour some water directly onto it. However, you need to wait until the smoke has stopped coming from the bonnet to prevent the risk of injuring yourself. Once the engine has cooled, it is prudent to call a mechanic to attend to the radiator before you choose to drive the vehicle again as constant heat will cause irrevocable damage to your engine.

The coolant levels are consistently low

Every motorist is aware that they should refill their coolant as it becomes depleted. As such, you may have your own individual schedule that you have come up with for refilling it. If you find that your coolant levels have started to become lower faster than usual, it is possibly a warning that there is something off kilter with your radiator. In some cases, the low coolant levels could be caused by an undetected leak. Alternatively, an overheating engine that is using up more coolant than usual could also be the reason for the depleting levels. No matter the reason, it is important to take your vehicle for servicing so that a mechanic can diagnose and fix the low coolant levels post haste.

The radiator has become discoloured

Brownish discolouration on your radiator should be a warning sign to have it serviced as soon as possible. The discolouration typically comes about from coolant leaking directly onto the surface of the hot engine and burning off. Not only does this indicate a leak, but it also poses the risk of structural damage to the body of the radiator, making it prone to cracks.