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Generally, this service is not much more involved than draining the antifreeze, adding new liquid, and purging air bubbles from the cooling system, sometimes called “burping”. If contaminants like oil are present in the drained coolant, it can be indicative of other problems. In addition to preventing issues, a coolant flush is an opportunity to inspect the entire cooling system for issues. This process is called chemical electrolysis and can be catastrophic if left unaddressed. Over time these additives lose their effectiveness, increasing the wear and tear on cooling system components through lack of lubrication and corrosive buildup.ģ.) Antifreeze can become acidic as it ages, causing plastics, rubber hoses, and metal components to rapidly corrode. If you go too long without flushing your coolant, these particles can clog passages, potentially damaging your heater core or overheating your engine.Ģ.) Coolant contains anti-corrosive and lubricating additives that help prevent rusting and keep the water pump functioning well. Neglecting coolant flushes can lead to some serious issues:ġ.) Scale and rust particles will build up in the cooling system over time. Keeping all components in the cooling system like the water pump, thermostat, heater core, and hoses in good condition will prevent overheating and reduce the chance of an expensive repair. The cooling system has many components, and the antifreeze helps protect them. Why Are Regular Coolant Flushes Important?Ĭoolant flushes are about more than just replacing a liquid. This process repeats itself the entire time your car is running.Īdditionally, hot coolant passes through the heater core, which provides hot air in the cabin of your vehicle on cold mornings and winter days. The hot coolant then passes through the radiator and cools down.
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The entire cooling system is responsible for keeping your engine within safe operating temperature by removing access heat. However, neglecting coolant flushes can lead to some pretty serious problems down the road, potentially leading to some expensive repairs.Ĭoolant, or antifreeze, is a liquid that cycles through your engine block, radiator, and heater core, driven by the water pump. If you don’t flush your cooling system, you probably won’t have any issues for many years, and if you do, you won’t notice any real difference when driving your car. Coolant flushes are one of the easy-to-put-off services. Unless you’ve blown a coolant line or replaced a leaking radiator, you might not give your coolant much thought. The absolute best way to ensure reliability is to perform ALL maintenance services at the correct intervals.Įnter the coolant flush. However, neglecting any service can lead to catastrophe down the road. If you don’t notice any change, why go out of your way and spend money? It’s easy to fall into that mindset. The services that don’t directly impact how your day-to-day drive feels are much more likely to be neglected, or even forgotten altogether. Brake problems can cause a lot of trouble, ranging from inconvenient to downright dangerous. Misaligned wheels or tires with excessive wear can drastically impact drivability.
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Other than oil changes, all of these other services impact components of your car you can easily feel while you drive. A good routine flush of your antifreeze coolant system helps us avoid this problem.When you think of regular vehicle maintenance, the first services that pop into your head are probably things like oil changes, tire rotations, brake services, and maybe alignments. Eventually, the un-flushed coolant/debris mixture, in your radiator, turns into a brown sludge that can clog vital parts in your radiator hose and other parts of your engine, leading to engine overheating. Deteriorated coolant becomes acidic and eats away at metal cooling system components in your radiator and other parts of the engine. If you’ve got antifreeze gunk build-up in your radiator or radiator hose, your car is long overdue for a coolant flush. That’s why you should have your coolant flushed per the recommended service schedule. But you don’t want to let it get to that point. In some cases, if the coolant goes long enough without service, it will start to darken and become brownish in color. Make sure to flush your antifreeze coolant at the time and mileage recommended by the automaker. Don’t wait until your coolant is discolored and funky looking.
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