Your car's cooling system may not be something you're super knowledgeable in, but neither are most motorists. To get a bit more familiar with this system, check out this useful information.

Understand Your Car's Cooling System

Even if you don't think about it often, or ever, your car's cooling system is always hard at work ensuring things don't get dangerously hot under the hood of your car. Getting to know its components and how they work can help you take care of this system better while helping you detect issues early on before they turn into serious problems. To get to know your cooling system better, check out this useful information.

Get to Know the Basic Components of Your Cooling System

Your car's cooling system counts on a number of components to do their job and keep the whole system running smoothly. When one part is unable to perform its job, this is bad news for the system as a whole. To get to know what each part does, check out this useful information about the most important parts in your cooling system.

• Radiator: Your car's radiator is often considered the most important part of the whole cooling system. This part basically receives the coolant from your engine after it has picked up some of the heat being produced. Your radiator then uses some of the airflow going into your car to reduce the temperature of the coolant before sending it back on its way to the engine.
• Thermostat: You can find your car's thermostat in between the engine and the radiator. This part opens and closes to either let the coolant through to the radiator or sends it back to the engine to pick up more heat. When the coolant reaches a certain temperature, it will open up to allow it to reach the radiator and cool off.
• Water Pump: The water pump performs that basic job of ensuring your coolant is able to travel through your cooling system efficiently.
• Fans: You can find a couple of fans under your car's hood, right by the radiator. These fans are regulated by a temperature sensor and will turn on when temperatures have reached a certain high. These are there as extra support for the radiator and are meant to provide extra air to help the radiator reduce the temperature of the coolant faster.
• Coolant: The fluid that is pumped through your car's cooling system is called the coolant. This fluid removes heat from the engine, passes through the thermostat and into the radiator where it is cooled down. Once it's cooled down, it makes its way back to the engine to do it all over again.

To help your engine run cooler this summer, get a synthetic oil change in Fayetteville. An oil like AMSOIL's Signature Series 0W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil can help your engine run more efficiently, which can result in cooler temperatures. To find even more great products for your next oil change, contact Huff Oil Group at (978) 259-5463. Check out their online shop for even more great AMSOIL Oil products.

Common Cooling System Issues

While your cooling system can be affected by a number of issues, there are some that are more common. Knowing how to identify these issues early on can help prevent larger issues from affecting your car. Below are three of the most common cooling system issues to look out for:

• Leaking hoses. Your coolant travels to a number of parts in your cooling system, and this is largely thanks to a system of hoses. Just like the rest of the parts in your car, your hoses will age and may develop some issues. As they get older, they can dry up and start to crack. When this happens, you may start to notice coolant drops under your car. This is a clear indicator of a coolant leak. If you notice drops or coolant pooling under your car, get this fixed as soon as possible. Although it may seem like no big deal, this can quickly lead to a drop in your coolant level, leaving your car at risk of overheating.
• Fans that don't work. By now you know that your radiator relies on a couple of fans to help it bring down the temperature of the coolant. If you're driving through some tough conditions and things start to heat up quickly, you will need your fans to do their job. If they aren't working for whatever reason, your coolant won't be cooled down quickly enough, leading temperatures to soar under the hood.
• Thermostat failure. The opening and closing mechanism of your thermostat can seem pretty cool, but what happens when it gets stuck? Unfortunately, no matter how hot your coolant gets, it won't be able to escape your engine to cool down. This means the heat will be trapped, leaving your engine at serious risk of overheating quite quickly.

Get a Synthetic Oil Change in Fayetteville This Summer

Help your engine run cooler this summer by giving it a synthetic oil change in Fayetteville. The friendly oil pros at Huff Oil Group can help you find a great synthetic oil for your next oil change. Give them a call at (978) 259-5463 for the personalized service you need!