An Overheating Engine Is a Damaged Engine
We don’t mean to sound an alarm, but if your vehicle’s engine is overheating constantly yet you keep driving it, you’re damaging your engine. Many things can cause your engine to overheat, including cooling system leaks, coolant problems, or malfunctioning cooling system parts. Advantage Auto Service explains further below what can happen to your car, truck, utility vehicle, or van’s engine if you keep driving it while it’s running too hot.
Quick Fixes Are Just That
You might think everything is okay because you crank up the heater to bring the temperature gauge down, but this is just a bandage solution to a gaping wound. Your engine is overheating, and the more you drive your automobile in this condition, the more damage you cause. Adding coolant frequently is also a bandage solution to a gaping wound. It’s best to bring your vehicle to us for a cooling system inspection so we can find the problem and fix it.
Otherwise…
Otherwise, you run the risk of causing engine damage that is much more expensive to repair. Your engine parts are made of metal, and the hotter they get the more danger they have of being damaged by the excess heat. Common engine damage from an overheating engine includes
- Damage caused by hot and unstable gasoline that detonates prematurely and too frequently. This will make your engine knock and create combustion-related engine performance problems.
- The premature and frequent detonation also scuffs the pistons. The piston metal will expand due to the hot engine and frequent detonation and scrape against the cylinder walls. This damages the pistons permanently.
- A blown head gasket causes the engine to overheat constantly and leaks or spews (depending on the severity of the crack) hot engine coolant all over the engine.
- A cracked engine block that will require total replacement of your vehicle’s engine.
This engine damage is serious; it’s something not to be messed with. What’s worse? All of it can be caused by an overheating engine if you keep driving your automobile. It isn’t worth causing this damage. It’s better to find out why your engine is overheating and fix the problem
In addition, you do run the risk of blowing off the radiator cap and having scalding hot coolant spewing all over your engine or, even worse, starting an engine fire. Your vehicle should never run hotter than 220 degrees Fahrenheit on average.
Advantage Auto Service in Marietta, GA, would be happy to inspect your engine to find out why it’s overheating all the time. Call us today for an appointment.