Baltimore Area Ford Service Centers Gives Tips on How to Check Your Car's Radiator

Sometimes keeping your vehicle in great shape requires just a little bit of work. Nothing back breaking, not rocket science, but a little time out of your day to make sure everything's running smoothly.

If your vehicle doesn’t have a pressurized coolant system, you will need to add liquid directly to the radiator. Luckily, our Baltimore area Ford service center is here to give you a few tips on how to check and add liquid to your vehicle’s radiator.

Before we start, it is important to know that if you have to add the radiator liquid while the engine is still warm, be sure to do it slowly while the engine is running. This helps the cold liquid join the stream of hot water that circulates as opposed to to it all falling into the system once the engine is started back up again.

Below are some helpful tips on how to correctly add liquid to your radiator:

Open Radiator Cap

Grab a cloth and put that cloth over the cap and turn it counterclockwise just so it reaches its first stop. This allows some of the pressure that was built up to escape. Once pressure is released, continue to turn the cap counterclockwise to remove it. If you happen to see any liquid or an immense amount of smoke come out, retighten the cap and wait until things cool down a bit more and then remove.

Check the Liquid Level

Now it’s time to take a peek and see if the radiator has enough liquid. Do this by looking into the radiator fill hole, and check to see if the liquid covers the radiator tubes or is just a few inches below the cap. If the liquid does cover the tubes and/or is only a few inches away, everything is good and it is time to move onto step three.

Add Water and Coolant Accordingly

Usually, a 50/50 mix of water and coolant is what most vehicles use. If it happens to be a very cold day, then it would be wise to use a higher proportion of coolant/antifreeze.

Replace the Cap

Once all is done, replace the cap by screwing it back on clockwise. If you happen to have a safety pressure cap, push the lever down.

While these steps can help you save time, our Baltimore area Ford service specials can help you save a bunch of money. Our team of technicians understand Ford vehicles like the back of their hand, so if you’d like to have them take a look at your car, they’d be more than happy to do so. If you’d like to fix these problems on your own, our parts department can help you get the supplies you’ll need to complete such tasks!

We are always here to help, and we work hard each day so that every customer can receive what they set out to get: quality service for a quality price. To learn more about how we can help or to schedule a service appointment, be sure to contact Apple Ford Lincoln by calling us at (866) 695-6642.