What to Do If Your Car Overheats

While taking your kids for a long drive on their• If you know about the antifreeze
vacations in your favorite car, you might havecompartment, then just pour half-a-cup water
come across the nuisances of engine overheatinginto it. This will dilute the antifreeze, and help in its
at times, followed by desperate search somesmooth circulation into the assembly.
coolant - preferably water. Further, if you are on• Sometimes overheating also occurs because
a deserted highway, the situation gets dicier, asof poorly fitted hoses into it. This can be fixed by
you would unlikely to find any suitable coolantreplacing those ill-fitted hoses by new ones. This
immediately. Being an auto amateur, the situationcan be temporarily corrected by proper torquing
often seems to be messier to you, and all youof those hoses. Sometimes the hose may get
can do is to wait for a tow truck with the openedblocked or dislocated, in this situation, just take
hood, and steam blowing out of it. However, inout the hose and clear up the debris deposited
spite of your low familiarity with automobileinto it, which can be done with the help of flowing
intricacies, you can do a lot to ward off the cursewater through it.
of overheating. Here are some handy tips that• In case of heavy traffic, just keep fair
would help you in countering the overheatingdistance from the other vehicles, as congested
issues effectively.traffic blocks the airflow into your car's assembly,
• Always keep observing the temperatureand thus causes overheating.
gauge, and see if it is crossing the optimal mark.• Check out the radiator's overflow tank to
Don't drive continuously for hours, and fewfind if it's empty, in this case, your car is
minutes rest is recommended after some specificdemanding extra coolant. Moreover, if you
time period.observe boiling coolant into the tank then it is an
• One of the major causes of overheating isalarming situation for the thermostat of your car.
improper circulation of antifreeze within the engine• If your radiator's overflow tank is fitted with
assembly. The coolant pays a vital role in keepingthe non-pressurized cap over it, you can anytime
the engine of your vehicle cooler during warmadd water into it. Don't put-off the cap when the
season. So, it is advisable that you keep checkingengine is hot, and wait for the engine to cool
for any impurities into the antifreeze periodically.down by turning the keys off.
Also make sure that it should be at an optimumIn addition to these useful tips, it is suggested
level.that you always keep few essential things, such
• If the engine gets heat up while on theas - water, flashlight, breaking liquid, antifreeze,
move, just turn up the heat in the car to itsetc - in your car. Additionally, keep your tool box
maximum temperature, this would drop thefull of necessary instruments to deal with various
temperature by far, and hence checksissues.
overheating.