Car Cooling Systems Explained

According to the AAA, the third most common cause of roadside breakdowns in the USA is
engine trouble, with the bulk of engine related issues involving the cooling system. While
there are many possible causes of cooling system failures and malfunctions, many cooling
system problems can be avoided or prevented with nothing more than regular maintenance
and servicing.
More good news is that all liquid-based cooling systems are essentially the same- they work on
the same principles, and what applies to one, largely applies to all others- the only exception
being that some radiator cooling fans are belt-driven, while others are electrically operated. In
this article then, we will take a closer look at the major components of water-based cooling
systems, how they work, and what happens when they fail. There are however, no components
that are more important than others, so let us begin at the beginning...

Engine coolant explained

All water based cooling systems depend on the ability of water to absorb heat, but water has a
relatively low boiling point, which is why it is so important to raise the boiling point of engine
coolant mixtures to a point where they can
effectively cool engines down without boiling.
While modern anti-freeze compounds contain
varying concentrations of glycol to raise the
boiling point of water, the pressure that arises
from the expansion of the mixture as it heats up
plays an equally important role in preventing the
coolant from boiling. The pressure in a modern
cooling system is about 15 pounds per square
inch, which is sufficient to prevent boiling under
normal operating conditions- even in the
absence of any anti-freeze in the water.
During normal operating conditions, the coolant is circulated throughout the engine and
radiator, and assuming that the anti-freeze mixture is at the correct concentration, the engine
will be kept within the temperature range at which it works most efficiently, and the system
pressure will be constant. Moreover, since hot metal, and this case hot aluminum, corrodes far
more easily than when it is cold, the rust and corrosion inhibitors in the anti-freeze compound
will prevent rust and corrosion for as long as they are active.

As with any automotive additive, the rust inhibitors in anti-freeze degrade during contact with
heat and oxygen, and after about twelve months or so, they cease to work. For this reason, it is
vitally important to replace the coolant in any engine at least once year.
The engine may not overheat because the rust inhibitors have stopped working, but the engine
WILL overheat if the engine corrodes from the inside, and coolant is lost through a leak in any
number of possible locations, including seeping past the cylinder head gasket. However, an
abnormally hot engine causes excessive pressure that can rupture hoses and/or spilt the
radiator. When this happens, the sudden pressure loss causes the coolant to boil instantly, which
in turn, expels all the coolant from the system in an explosive manner.
One more function of anti-freeze is to lower the freezing point of water- hence the term, antifreeze. When engine coolant freezes, the expansion of the liquid mass can fracture an engine
block; however, the ability of glycol and other additives to prevent freezing also degrade after
about a year, and when they do, you run the very real risk of destroying your engine in sub-zero
temperatures.
The last thing to keep in mind regarding engine coolant is that excessive amounts of glycol can
paradoxically lower the boiling point of water, which is why car manufacturers specify a certain
concentration of anti-freeze to be used in their vehicles. Twice the amount does NOT work twice
as well, which means that you could suffer severe engine overheating even in the depths of
winter.

The water pump explained

While several new cars are now equipped with electrically operated water pumps, the vast
majority of cars are still fitted with centrifugal pumps that are driven either by a dedicated drive
belt, or more commonly, by a
serpentine belt that drives all
auxiliary equipment.
As the name suggests, the water
pump forces the coolant to
circulate throughout the engine.
However, the rate at which the
pump circulates the water is
more important than any other
aspect of its design, because if it
circulates the coolant too slowly,
the coolant picks up too much

heat to be dissipated by the radiator. On the other hand, if it circulates the coolant too quickly,
the coolant cannot absorb heat fast enough, and the engine will overheat, even though
everything else in the system is in perfect working order.
The drive pulley diameter on any water pump is what determines the rate of circulation of the
coolant, and this pulley must therefore never be replaced with a pulley of a different diameter.

The radiator explained

All radiators consist of a core that is composed of a series of small-diameter tubes. The core is
topped off with a tank on either end to allow for coolant to collect before it is either directed
through the small tubes, or back
into the engine.
Also known as a heat
exchanger, the radiator cools
the hot coolant down by means
of the air stream that passes
through the matrix of small
tubes that are inter-connected
by thin vanes to increase their
surface area. In general terms,
hot coolant enters the top of
the radiator, where the tank distributes the coolant before it flows down the small tubes, losing
heat to the air that flows through the radiator core on the way down.
The cooled liquid then collects in the bottom tank, from where it is directed back into the engine
via large diameter hose to begin a new cooling cycle.
From the above, it should be clear that if the airflow through the radiator core is obstructed in
any way, the coolant will not be able to transfer its heat to the atmosphere. Similarly, if the
tubes in the radiator core are blocked by rust, corrosion, and scale, the coolant cannot circulate
freely, and the result is inevitable engine overheating.
The only reliable way to keep the core tubes clean and unobstructed, is to keep the coolant clean
by replacing it least once a year.

The radiator cooling fan explained

All radiator fans, regardless of how they are driven, are always placed directly behind the
radiator, and very often in a cowl, or shroud to increase the effectiveness of the fan. Removing,
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or damaging this critical component can cause the radiator to fan to become completely
ineffective, so NEVER make, or allow modifications to the shroud to be made.
Some radiator fans are still belt-driven, but to decrease noise and limit engine power losses,
these fans are connected to a viscous clutch that uses oil to transfer power from the hub to the
fan itself. Over time, this oil can leak out, or evaporate, which causes the fan to rotate too slowly
to generate the air flow required to effectively cool down the coolant passing through the
radiator. There is no way to fix a viscous fan, and replacement is the only reliable, long-term
solution.
Electric radiator fans on the other hand, depend on a thermal switch to start working. This
switch is sometimes located on the engine, but it is more commonly located in the bottom tank
of the radiator. When the coolant reaches a pre-determined temperature, the switch closes a
circuit, and the fan starts to rotate, thus cooling down the coolant passing through the radiator.
Similarly, when the coolant reaches a predetermined, lower temperature, the switch breaks the
circuit, and the fan stops.
In an ideal world, this thermal switch should last forever, but they are in fact the most common
components to fail in modern cooling systems. Moreover, cooling fan thermal switches almost
always fail without any advance warning, and since a failure does not trigger a dedicated
warning light, the first visible sign of trouble is when the CHECK ENGINE light comes on because
the engine has overheated since
the fan no longer works.
More bad news is that the fan
switch is not a service item that
gets replaced every so often,
which means that as long as it is
out of sight, it is out of mind as
well. Therefore, it is always a
good idea to replace the fan
switch every two years or so. This
may not guarantee that the
replacement will not fail, but
there is a smaller chance of the replacement failing than there is of your current, several-yearsold fan switch failing any time from now.

Thermostats explained
The function of the thermostat is to control, or more precisely, regulate the rate at which the
coolant is allowed to pass through the radiator to prevent the coolant either from cooling down
too much (or too rapidly), or not to absorb enough heat from the engine.
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All thermostats do this by means of a bi-metal switch, or valve, that reacts to the coolant
temperature. However, thermostats are designed to work within a narrow temperature range,
which means that if the moving parts of a thermostat are stuck, and cannot open or close fully,
the rate of circulation of the coolant is no longer regulated, and therefore, its temperature
cannot be controlled.
Nonetheless, a thermostat that is stuck in a partly open position is also stuck in a partly closed
position, and it can happen that an engine may not overheat as a result, because the coolant is
still allowed to circulate, albeit at a reduced rate. The real trouble however, is that thermostats
most commonly remain stuck in either the fully closed, or fully open position.
Either of these conditions can result in engine overheating, since if the thermostat is closed, the
coolant cannot circulate at all. If it is stuck in the open position, the coolant may circulate too
quickly, with not residual time in the radiator to cool down. In such a case, because the coolant
cannot shed its heat, an engine
could overheat even though the
coolant is circulating freely.
As
with
fan
switches,
thermostats are also not service
items,
and
although
a
thermostat can, and often does,
last for the life of a car, it can
also fail at any moment. In fact,
thermostat failures account for
about 50% of all cooling system
failures, and even if you replace
your thermostat every year,
there is no guarantee that the
replacement wont fail.
The only possible protection against thermostat failures is to maintain the quality of the coolant,
since it keeps the moving parts lubricated but beyond that, there is nothing you can do to
prevent a thermostat failure.

One more thing...

Since the cooling system is pressure-dependent, it makes good sense to replace the radiator cap
every two years or so. Even a marginally defective radiator cap can allow coolant to escape at a
rate that you may not notice until it is too late. So keep things cool, and have your cooling
system checked out today - before you lose your cool!
This article is provided by Auto Body Repair the #1 US Auto Body Repair Directory. Copyright
2015.
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