We recommend that you have your car, truck, or utility vehicle towed to our shop if it is overheating every time that you drive it. The reason why is that the excess heat can crack the engine block, below the head gasket, or crack the exhaust manifold. This leaves you with extensive engine damage that can be expensive to repair. Here are the common reasons why an automobile will overheat all the time.
Clogged Cooling System
The cooling system should be emptied and flushed every 30,000 miles to make sure that dirt and sediment are not building up in the radiator or in the radiator hoses. Failure to maintain the cooling system can leave you with a clogged cooling system. Depending on where the clog is located, you may not have any coolant circulating through the engine, and this is why the engine is overheating.
Leaking Cooling System
Flushing the cooling system also gives us a chance to check for leaks. Coolant can leak out of the radiator, the radiator hoses, the overflow reservoir, the thermostat, or the water pump among other cooling system parts. If your cooling system is leaking, adding coolant to the system will not help. The new coolant will also leak out of the system and leave the engine running too hot.
Faulty Water Pump
We just mentioned that the water pump can leak. It can also go bad at about 100,000 miles and refuse to circulate the coolant through the engine. When this happens, you may not have any coolant in the engine and this is why it is overheating. Other signs that you have a bad water pump include growling sounds or corrosion all over the water pump.
Malfunctioning Thermostat
Another cooling system part that can malfunction at 100,000 miles is the thermostat. This is the part that keeps track of the engine’s temperature so we can release the coolant into the engine when it needs it. Unfortunately, the thermostat can die completely and, as such, it will not release the coolant into the engine. Naturally, this will cause your engine to overheat all the time.
Radiator Rust/Problems
Finally, the radiator cools the hot coolant by using airflow through air inlets and a radiator fan. If the inlets get clogged by dirt and debris or the radiator fan stops working, the coolant will remain hot when it recirculates through the engine. An old radiator can also rust through and start leaking.
Call us today if you are having problems with your vehicle overheating all the time. We will get to the bottom of the issue and repair it.