Your car’s cooling system is one of the most vital components when it comes to keeping your vehicle running. This is because without it there would be no good way to regulate the temperature in modern engines. In the past, air cooled engines could be used, but with the higher compression of modern engines, this is not possible anymore. Understanding your cooling system is more important now than ever.
Everything is Under Pressure
Everything in your cooling system is under pressure. This is by design since the pressure lets the water heat up beyond its boiling point and keep the engine at the correct operating temperature. Where this becomes the problem is that as parts age they get weaker. Radiator pressure caps, for example, have a habit of springing a leak when they are worn out.
Since everything is under pressure in your cooling system, you should never open a hot system unless you know what you are doing. If you open the system hot like you would when it is cold, then you will likely burn yourself. Seeing as the system can get over 200 degrees under normal operation, you should expect pretty decent burns. If you have to open the system when it is hot be sure to use a towel over the cap to keep coolant from spraying everywhere.
How is it Regulated?
Your cooling system is designed to keep your engine within a very specific temperature range, but how does it manage this? Well, first, the coolant is circulated throughout the system by the water pump. The problem at this point is that if the coolant is constantly circulated then the radiator is not able to do its job and cool it down. This is where the thermostat comes in to play. It opens and only allows coolant to flow when the coolant reaches a certain temperature. This is vehicle specific, so check your owner’s manual.
Your car’s cooling system may seem complicated at first glance, but once you understand what you are looking at most are incredibly simple and easy to diagnose and repair.
MotoRad radiator pressure caps are designed and manufactured to offer precise pressure control for the automotive cooling system.