There are many essential parts in a vehicle, and there are many that you don’t think about enough until problems arise. The radiator, thermostat, and water pump make up your car’s cooling system. If there is a problem with them, extremely high temperatures from the running engine will cause the vehicle to overheat and fail. Before speculating about any situation, there must be clarity about what the radiator is and its function. 

What is a Radiator in a Car?

In simple words, the radiator is one of the pieces that allow you to keep your engine’s temperature under control. It does this by using air and coolant as coolers. It employs the physical principles of convection and radiation (hence its name). Naturally, when the engine is running, it heats up, then the coolant circulates through, absorbs heat, and returns to the radiator heat exchanger unit. Thanks to the circulation of air from the outside, the coolant is cooled to continue its cycle to the engine and help reduce the temperature.

What is the function of the radiator in the vehicle?

Since the engine produces heat naturally while the vehicle is running, it is necessary to keep the temperature controlled so that there is no damage to the car’s internal parts. But what is the function of the radiator in the vehicle? The radiator prevents overheating by cooling the fluid around the engine block, dissipating heat from the engine. For example, when you see smoke coming out of the front of your car, the chances are that the radiator hasn’t done its job, and the car is overheating as a result.

The importance of knowing the function of the parts of a car radiator is to have basic knowledge of finding a fault. So you can anticipate the most common problems, avoid them, and go to the technicians to consider possible solutions and keep your car in good condition. Knowing what a car’s radiator is, we can say that a failure in it can trigger misfires to a wholly burned engine, leaving it useless. There are some signs to know if there are faults in your car’s radiator, one of these is when the engine stops running unexpectedly, or you notice carbon residue and noise coming from the radiator. Drips can also be a sign of a problem.

Radiator Care and Problems

Car radiator faults are sometimes the most dramatic for the cooling system, although some common problems go beyond overheating and can be easier to resolve. A common radiator failure, for example, is a low coolant level, which can cause the water pump not to be adequately lubricated, leading to other failures. Therefore, it is essential to apply a routine of cleaning and checking fluids.  Usually, we do not pay the necessary attention to the cooling system of our car and the parts of a car radiator. It is advisable to start taking care of this aspect much more from today, so you can extend the useful life of the radiator, avoid deterioration and excessive heating of the engine, and save unnecessary expenses. For this reason, we recommend you attend the periodic maintenance of your car, guided by the manufacturer so that the specialists can check the vehicle’s state visually and with a scanner for an optimal diagnosis.