With the harsh summer heat around Queensland, many vehicles
overheat. Your friendly mechanic on Gold Coast has these top tips to help you
prevent your car engine from overheating.
Check your car’s coolant
regularly
A good way to avoid a car engine overheating is to regularly
check the coolant in the reservoir and radiator. This means you can be sure you
have enough coolant to keep circulating to felicitate the effective cooling of
the engine.
The engine oil level is also important not only for
lubricating the engine’s moving parts, but also to draw heat away from the interior,
so it’s a good policy to check the oil level using the dipstick every time you
fill up with fuel.
Be mindful of your
vehicle’s temperature gauge
Many people constantly check their fuel gauge while
traveling, but it’s also important to monitor the temperature gauge as well.
Some vehicles are fitted with a warning light instead of a gauge, but which
ever one you have, they are there to give you warning that your engine is
overheating. If your engine starts overheating in normal driving conditions you
need to check the cause.
Sometimes when under load such as driving up steep or very
long hills or when towing the engine can slightly overheat, which is normal. If
it overheats too much it can cause a loss of the coolant so the cause needs to
be determined.
Find a safe place to pull over and raise the hood, this
allows excess heat to disburse while you wait for the engine to cool. It normally
takes about 20 minutes for it to cool to a safe level where you can remove the
radiator cap and fill with new coolant.
A soon as possible, take your vehicle to your friendly local
mechanic on the Gold Coast to ascertain the reason for the overheating and to
find a suitable solution.
Turn off the air con
If you find your engine temperature is rising, turning off
the air conditioner can help as it removes some of the strain on the engine.
The average car aircon, while operating on full, uses about 5 horsepower of
your engine’s power, this can be enough to cause a higher than normal, engine
temperature.
If you lower the windows and turn on the heater and blower
it will help to draw the heat from the engine quickly.
Overheating in
Traffic
It’s quite common for vehicles to overheat while stuck in
traffic, one solution is to place the engine in neutral and rev the engine so
the fan comes on and delivers more air around the engine. This can be done with
the air con turned off and the heater turned on.
Have the cooling
system flushed regularly
Most engine coolants need to be replaced every two years or
more often for high mileage vehicles. Ask your friendly local mechanic on the
Gold Coast to service your cooling system at least every two years.
A well maintained vehicle should not overheat under normal
circumstances. Have your cooling system serviced by your friendly local
mechanic on The Gold Coast and then check the coolant levels in the reservoir
and radiator when you fill up and especially just before taking a long trip.