Cooling System
Dec 18, 2015
What is it:
A vehicle’s cooling system has the important task of keeping the engine from overheating. Most vehicles are cooled using a fluid referred to as coolant.The coolant runs through a heat exchanger; or what more commonly known as a Radiator. The radiator is the main component of the cooling system.The coolant flows through the inner core of the radiator and transfers its heat to the metal cooling fins that surround the core.These fins are then cooled by air flow that is provided by the radiator fan, which in turn dissipates heat from the coolant. Radiators are typically mounted in a position where they receive airflow from the forward movement of the vehicle, such as behind a front grill. Where engines are mid- or rear-mounted, it is common to mount the radiator behind a front grill to achieve sufficient airflow, even though this requires long coolant pipes. Alternatively, the radiator may draw air from the flow over the top of the vehicle or from a side-mounted grill. Radiators are also often used to cool other components on your vehicle: automatic transmission fluids, air conditioner refrigerant, intake air, and sometimes even cool motor oil or power steering fluid.
Why and How Maintenance/Repair:
Repair and maintenance of your cooling system is essential to the health of your engine. If you have ever seen a vehicle on the side of the road with their hood up and steam and/or smoke bellowing out from under it. This is most likely the result of the cooling system failing, and most commonly can be avoided by routine scheduled maintenance; the most common of which involves simple part replacement and radiator fluid exchange. Typical a gasoline engines runs a compression of 200 psi, which generates a great amount of heat. Comparatively diesel engines run at higher compression (600psi) which as a result even higher the overall engine temperatures.As a consequence, the more heat that is generated, the greater demand on the engine cooling system.As coolant ages its acidity (or PH value) increases which can result pre-mature failure of the cooling system and its components if not properly maintained.
Source: http://www.oktire.com/en/auto-service/cooling-system