The water pump is normally found at the front of the engine. It is usually found right next to the water pump. Sometimes the dome on top of it is yellow. The thermostat is flat circular and has a small screw sticking out of the top of it. Where Is The Thermostat and What Does It Look Like? This is fine as the engine needs to be warm enough to operate efficiently, but if it gets too hot and the valve remains closed, the hot coolant gets hotter, and the engine overheats. The valve opens when the coolant in the engine becomes too hot, allowing it to escape to the radiator to cool down.Īs long as the thermostat is closed, the coolant continues to run inside the engine block and keeps the engine at the proper temperature. The compound shrinks when the heat dissipates, reopening the valve. When the heat reaches a predetermined temperature, the compound increases in size, which activates the valve. The thermostat contains wax that expands and contracts. In simplest terms, the thermostat is a valve that sits between the engine and the radiator. Thermostat Stuck In Closed Position How the Thermostat Works Labor costs will be $75 to $130 for an hour. A car shop will charge around an hour’s labor for this if you’d prefer not to get your hands dirty.Ī brand new fitted replacement radiator costs in the region of $300 to $600 depending on the make and model of your car. All you’ll need is a flushing agent and new coolant. You can flush through the radiator yourself with minimal tools.
#COOLANT ENGINE FLOW THERMOSTAT HOW TO#
Here’s a guide with pictures on How To Unblock A Car Radiator ( Opens in a new tab) Radiator Repair or Replacement Cost There is a chance – although unlikely – that the radiator is too clogged to be saved. You’ll need to flush through all the sediment that has collected in the radiator. If the bottom hose is cold, that indicates a blockage within the radiator – but not always. It should be warm – maybe not as hot as the top hose as the coolant inside the radiator has been cooled before entering the bottom hose. Lean down and feel the temperature of the outlet hose at the bottom of the radiator. Be safe, though, and keep away from the radiator fan – as they can stay on even when the engine is turned off.įeel the top-inlet – hose. Diagnose Blocked Radiator.Ī really simple test. Sludge is a natural symptom of the heat and cooling and interaction with rubber and metal too. The coolant goes on quite a journey, through hoses, a water pump, the hot engine, and onto the radiator. Often, the cause will be a build up of sludge – again caused by a badly maintained cooling system. This may be because of corrosion – which is more possible if the coolant is too diluted or hasn’t been changed at regular intervals, or through a stone getting through the grill and hitting it. This motion at speed cools the coolant before it leaves the radiator from the bottom house and travels back to the pump. The radiator sits at the front of your car under the hood and has many fins on it where the water and coolant flow.Īs it is doing so, it is cooled by the air from outside entering the car grill and then passing over the radiator. The hot coolant is pumped to the radiator by the water pump and is cooled by the radiator. Let’s look at these in more detail, Radiator Blockage How A Radiator Works Here we will examine each in detail – along with the costs of repair.īriefly though, if your coolant isn’t circulating, it would be because either: In these devices, the wax melts at a lower temperature.There are five main reasons why your coolant has stopped circulating. This same technique is used in automatic openers for greenhouse vents and skylights. If you have read How Thermometers Work and done the experiment with the bottle and the straw, you have seen this process in action - the wax just expands a good bit more because it is changing from a solid to a liquid in addition to expanding from the heat. When the wax melts, it expands significantly, pushing the rod out of the cylinder and opening the valve. A rod connected to the valve presses into this wax. This cylinder is filled with a wax that begins to melt at around 180 F (different thermostats open at different temperatures, but 180 F is a common one). The secret of the thermostat lies in the small cylinder located on the engine-side of the device. As it heats up, its valve opens about an inch, apparently by magic! If you'd like to try this yourself, go to a car parts store and buy one for a couple of bucks. You can put one in a pot of boiling water on the stove. If you ever have the chance to test one, a thermostat is an amazing thing to watch because what it does seems impossible.
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