News

Your cooling system circulates water and antifreeze through passages in the engine block and heads, helping to disperse heat and keep your engine’s operating temperature down. The chemicals in antifreeze also help prevent freezeups during winter, as well as summer boilovers. But did you know how important your cooling system is to your heater and defroster?

The heater and defroster run on the heater core, which is situated behind the dashboard or under the floorboard on the passenger side. It actually looks like a mini-radiator, with a supply hose, return hose and rows of tubing and fins to dissipate heat. When you work the heater controls, a valve varies the amount of coolant which is directed through the heater core, and the blower then forces the heated air through the heater ducts or defroster vents. Other systems use a door or damper, which directs varying amounts of incoming air around the heater core to control temperatures.

Coolant is a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water. Antifreeze contains anticorrosion agents and other additives which help prevent the buildup of scale and corrosion in the system, which can clog passages in the radiator, water pump, and heater core and reduce cooling efficiency.

If left too long without a coolant flush, the heater core or radiator may end up being too clogged to work well, resulting in a compromise in cooling ability. The heater core, located where it is, is pretty hard to service or change…and replacing the heater core can be an expensive auto repair job.

The good news is that you don’t have to have things come to that. At Family Tire Distributors, our coolant system maintenance service includes:

--Complete flush of the radiator and system to remove all contaminants and scale, until water circulated through system is clean

--Pressure test of radiator cap, hoses, hose clamps and connections to find any weak spots or leaks

--Refill of system with clean, fresh coolant

It’s important not just to your heater and defroster functions, but for the overall health of your engine. Make cooling system service part of your vehicle’s preventive maintenance schedule – and make an appointment with us!