Radiator Flush - Radiator Maintenance

One of the most important and valuable services you can do for your vehicle is Cooling System service. In the Cooling System, antifreeze or coolant flows through many components of the vehicle. This includes the engine, radiator, thermostat, hoses, heater cores, and in some applications it will flow through intercoolers and transmissions.

The cooling System helps keep your engine and sometimes transmissions and other components cool and operating efficiently. When a major part of the vehicle, such as the engine overheats, this can be very costly to repair. A repair of this nature can cost $5000 to $7000 and upwards from there, depending on the type of vehicle. Preventative maintenance only costs a small fraction of these amounts.

The coolant has properties in it that help in cooling and lubricating the many components it may flow through. As it gets older, it loses those useful properties. It eventually becomes stale and destructive to those components it comes into contact with. The coolant’s Ph level changes and it becomes corrosive to the metals and allows rust to begin and continue to grow. If this condition is ignored, the risk of very expensive repairs becomes increasingly evident and will lead eventually to just that.

To avoid these very costly repairs, it is important to flush out the cooling system periodically and refill it with new coolant that is not stale and corrosive. There are different ways a flush is conducted.

Some companies simply drain and refill your cooling system. This is usually done by draining the system by way of the drain Petcock on the radiator. When it stops draining then the system is refilled with fresh fluid.

Though this is better than leaving all the old fluid in the system, it is not the best or most effective way to replace coolant because some of the old coolant will stay in the system and will contaminate the new fluid. The old remaining fluid is still coming into contact with the important components it is supposed to protect.

The best way is to perform a Power Flush using equipment and chemicals specifically designed for this purpose. This method forces all of the old fluid out of the system and cleans the cooling system out. Sometimes, a conditioner is added to strengthen the coolant’s ability to provide protection .

This process is an extremely important service that costs only a tiny fraction of the cost of repairs that result from neglect. Cooling System services protect your vehicle from the most costly repairs.