The radiator plays a vital role in the proper functioning of a car and needs to be regularly checked for problems to avoid vehicle damage. One of the major problems associated with car radiators is clogging of the radiator.
Radiator clogged with rust and radiators clogged with stop leaks are two of the most common reasons of a clogged or blocked radiator.
A clogged radiator compromises the entire cooling system, resulting in overheating of the car engine which can cause serious mechanical damage to your vehicle over time. Being aware of the symptoms of a blocked radiator will not only save you money on repair bills but will also extend the life of your vehicle.
When it comes to a clogged radiator, it can be clogged from the inside, outside, or simply fail altogether. Let’s have a look at some of the most common symptoms of a clogged radiator that you should have an eye for to avoid extensive damage to your vehicle.
Common symptoms of a clogged radiator
Coolant leak
Clogging of the radiator results in coolant not being able to circulate in the radiator, causing coolant to leak onto other areas of the vehicle.
Damaged water pump
A clogged radiator stops coolant from flowing into the water pump. With no coolant to lubricate its parts, metal will start grinding on metal, resulting in the building of pressure and the water pump getting damaged.
Extremely high gauge temperature readings
When the radiator gets clogged, the entire cooling system gets compromised, resulting in overheating of the engine. When the engine overheats, the gauge temperature readings in your vehicle will move towards the red zone, culminating in high gauge temperature readings.
Blocked, bent or damaged radiator fins
Radiator fins absorb heat from the coolant, and they function best when air is able to flow freely without any obstacle. When fins get blocked, bent, damaged, or clogged up by dirt, leaves, and other waste, airflow gets blocked, preventing the fins from performing their function.
Steps to diagnose a clogged radiator
Let’s check out the steps to diagnose a clogged radiator:
Step 1
Start your car and let it run. As the car starts to warm up, touch the outside radiator fins with your hands. If the radiator is in optimal condition, the entire radiator will heat up as a result of hot radiator fluid passing through inside, but if the radiator is clogged, you will feel both hot & cold spots on the radiator fins due to abnormal flow of the radiator fluid, indicating the cooler areas being clogged.
Step 2
Pull off the radiator cap on a cold car and start the car. Clutch the top radiator hose and squeeze it when it’s under zero pressure and get a feel of it. Now replace the radiator cap, rev the engine to around 3000 RPM, and once again squeeze the radiator hose. If it’s a clogged radiator, all of the radiator fluid will be directly sent into the hose, making it very hard to squeeze it.
Step 3
Install new hoses and a new thermostat. If overheating of the vehicle happens with everything else functioning perfectly fine, it implies that you are dealing with a clogged radiator.
Step 4
Remove the radiator cap on a cold vehicle. Turn your flashlight on and check out the inside of the radiator. If the radiator fluid seems like mud water or it smells like rubber, or if the radiator fins are corroded with white crusty deposits, then it is a clogged radiator.
Important Note:
Never ever remove the radiator cap when the engine is in a warm condition. This can cause serious injuries due to the release of built-up pressure inside.
How to clean a clogged radiator
Now that you have become aware of the common symptoms of a clogged radiator and how to diagnose a clogged radiator, let’s have a look at a clogged radiator fix, that is, how to clean a clogged radiator.
Let the engine cool down before you start cleaning
Never ever try to clean a car before turning off the engine and letting it cool down first. For starters, when a car’s engine is in operational condition, the coolant is circulating from the engine to the cooling system, flowing through the tubes before flowing back to the engine again.
This circulation of coolant will hamper the cleaning process, making it necessary for you to ensure that the engine is not in a hot condition when you begin cleaning. Besides that, if the engine is in a hot condition, the pressure inside the engine could force the coolant to spray out of the radiator cap when you try to clean it.
Place a bucket below the radiator to catch the debris
While you let the engine cool, put a bucket below the radiator. This will catch all the waste that will be flushed out
Pull off the radiator cap and fill all the tubes with radiator flush
Once the car is no longer in a hot condition, it’s time to fill all the tubes with radiator flush solution. Remove the radiator cap and pour radiator flush solution inside.
Let the flush solution to simmer in the radiator for 10 minutes
Wait for 10 minutes, let the flush solution to flow through the radiator piping system and thoroughly clean them.
Flush out the radiator flush solution with water to remove debris
The last step involves flushing out the solution with water. Use a hose or a bucket filled with water and rinse the interior pipes of the radiator. All the debris and contaminants that had clogged the radiator will pour inside the bucket placed underneath the radiator.
Replacing the radiator at a reasonable cost
Even after conducting the cleaning process, if the radiator doesn’t function properly and you notice signs of a bad or failing radiator, it’s time to replace the radiator with a brand new one. Let’s check out a good/ideal price for replacing a radiator.
Average radiator replacement cost in the U.S.
Foregoing labour cost, the price of replacing a radiator can vary greatly depending on whom you buy the radiator from. Having said that, the average cost for radiator replacement in the United States is $671, which is extremely expensive, to say the least!
In such an unreasonable situation, Cooline Radiators has broken the norm in the U.S. and set the benchmark for lowest prices on high-quality radiators.
RadiatorNow: Best-Value Radiators
With over 25 years of experience, RadiatorNow deals in top brand, quality radiators for cars, trucks, lift equipment, tractors and commercial vehicles at wholesale prices. Competitors simply cannot offer the quality we offer at a price even relatively close to ours. In addition to this, we include a warranty with all purchased radiators so your purchase is ensured to last!
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