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Engine Cooling System

Curtis Bender

One of the most important mechanical systems on a car is also, very often, one of the most overlooked and neglected, the engine cooling system. The cooling system, on water cooled engines, consists of the radiator, water pump and hoses, thermostat, cooling fan and of course the coolant itself.

On today's engines, cooling system maintenance is critical to the life of the engine. With the variety of metals used in engines, there has to be something besides the water in the cooling system to protect those metals from corrosion. There are a variety of different coolant formulas in a variety of colors in use by automakers, all with specific metal protection factors. It's not like the old days when you just grab the good old green stuff off the parts store shelf. Run the wrong coolant in your motor and you take the chance of damaging corrosion taking place.

Radiators, or more technically correct, heat exchangers, take the excess heat away from the engine and release this heat to the air. For the most part, radiators in today's cars are made with an aluminum core with composite tanks. These radiator are lighter, stronger and more efficient than the copper brass radiators once used. They are also a good deal less expensive to produce. A few cars use all aluminum radiators and most aftermarket performance radiators are also made entirely of aluminum. The other advantage to aluminum radiators is that since the aluminum dissipates heat so well, the radiator cores can be smaller yet still offer the cooling capacity of larger copper brass units. Another advantage to aluminum is that it is very easily recycled, an ever growing concern in the world today. One disadvantage is that aluminum corrodes very easily so proper coolant mixtures are critical.

The best coolants to buy to maximize the cooling system efficiency and protection are the ones that are premixed with deionized water. You should never use tap water in your engines cooling system, only deionized water. Deionized water is water that has been purified of contaminants and the mineral elements have been filtered out, minimizing deposits that may collect in the cooling system that can block critical water passages in the motor or the cooling tubes of the radiator.

The coolant flows out of the radiator outlet near the bottom of the radiator and is pushed into the motor by the water pump. The coolant then travels through the block and up through the heads on it's way toward the water outlet. Just behind the water outlet on most motors, resides the thermostat. The thermostat regulates the flow of water, restricting the flow to the radiator until the water temperature reaches the point where it is fully open. Once fully open the hot coolant flows out of the motor to the inlet near the top of the radiator. The coolant then passes through the tubes of the radiator where it gives up heat to the passing airflow.

Aftermarket all aluminum radiators are a great upgrade for many cars cooling systems. They are built stronger and provide enhanced cooling over the OEM radiator. And an extra benefit is the good looks that a shiny all aluminum radiator adds to the under hood appearance of your car.

So, don't neglect your cars cooling system, proper maintenance of which will go a long ways toward extending the life of the motor, keeping it operating at its full potential.