I Hate When That Happens

Have you ever noticed that things come in sperts? I have wondered about this for years. When I was in the gasoline business over 20 years ago, we would go for an hour and have no customers and then all at once we would have 5 people show up at the same time. It seems that if the phone rings once, it will ring 3 or 4 times in a row. I have noted that car repairs happen that way. All of a sudden everyone needs a brake job or so it seems.

Lately, we have had a run into vehicles with head gasket problems. I suppose this could be explained by a number of factors. For instance, more and more people are keeping their cars longer; manufactures are extending cooling system maintenance out longer and longer. One unique factor to us is our climate. We have hot humid summers and we also have long bitter cold winters. This combination is really hard on a lot of things on our vehicles. Engines have aluminum heads and aluminum or cast iron blocks (for the most part). With the extreme temperature swings we have, this can cause the heads to warp and leak. Most vehicles have long life coolant in them these days and people forget to have it checked and serviced. Sometimes it is needed before the manufactures schedule recommends.

There are a number of different tests that can be done to evaluate the coolant (antifreeze). One is the freeze point. This will tell at what temperature the coolant will began to freeze. There are combination test stripes that can measure the PH of the coolant and other chemicals that can be harmful to the system. Our cooling systems are made up of numerous dissimilar metals. As time and miles occur, the coolant in the system can break down. This can change the PH in the system. It will generally get acidic, and before long our cooling systems can act as a battery. A recent trade journal article I read recommends using a DC Voltmeter to test and see if the system is producing voltage like a battery does. The test has you take the positive probe and put it into the coolant and touch the negative probe to battery ground. If voltage is present, then they recommend flushing out the coolant.

The job of the coolant is not only to protect against freeze ups or boil over, but to protect the internal components from deterioration. If the coolant becomes compromised, it will begin to damage many internal components from the inside out. Some of which are the head gaskets, water pump seals, intake manifolds and gaskets, radiators and heater cores to name a few. The best response of course is to have your system tested and flushed as needed.

Vehicle maintenance schedules are made for the average driver in the average climate driving the average number of miles in average driving conditions. In Minnesota, we face a lot of things that the rest of the county does not experience. (That’s what makes us special!) All these conditions, don’t forget road salt and potholes, really take its toll. Again, prevention is the key. Change the needed fluids on a regular basis, have your vehicle inspected periodically, and notice when something just does not feel, smell or sound right. Usually there is a problem waiting to strand you. And of course, our vehicles are mechanical devices and they do periodically break down. Even new vehicles can fail and some even get recalled. I Hate When That Happens!