It’s obvious that an engine coolant leak will cause your automobile to overheat, but Stringer Auto Repair can find the source of the coolant leak and fix it. It’s important to do this sooner rather than later because an engine that runs constantly hot gets damaged. Don’t cause unnecessary and expensive repairs. Here are common locations from where engine coolant leaks.
Head Gasket
Damage that can cause your engine to overheat or can be caused by an overheating engine is a blown head gasket. When this happens, coolant and motor oil can mix and cause catastrophic damage to your engine. Engine coolant will also leak outside of the head gasket and flow onto the ground.
Radiator
More common in older vehicles, the radiator itself can start to leak if the bottom has rusted out. The radiator is made of metal and corrodes over time. The leak might start small with pinholes in the bottom of the radiator only to increase as more corrosion eats away at the metal.
Tubes and Hoses
There are a series of tubes and hoses that circulate the coolant through your vehicle’s engine. Naturally, if any of these tubes or hoses develop leaks, the coolant will seep or flow out of them. As with the radiator, age is a primary factor in the development of radiator hose and tube leaks.
Gaskets and Seals
The same holds true for your radiator’s gaskets and seals. One common place of a coolant leak is the radiator pan gasket. The drain plug can also cause leaking, and if the cap that seals the radiator can no longer contain the pressurized coolant, it will leak or spray out from underneath.
Water Pump
Your vehicle’s water pump is responsible for taking the coolant that is released by the thermostat and circulating it through the engine to draw heat away from it. Water pumps, which generally last about 100,000 miles, can begin to leak coolant out of cracked casings and other parts.
Heater Core
Finally, your automobile’s heater core has a series of tubes that allow hot radiator fluid to flow through them. As the air blows over these tubes, it is warmed and then pumped into your vehicle’s cabin. As with any automotive tube, the heater core tubes can develop leaks over time.
Any number of these things can cause coolant to leak from your automobile. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Stringer Auto Repair, LLC, in Johnstown, OH, can find the source of your cooling system leak and fix it, so you needn’t worry about overheating the next time you drive your car.
