It turns out that cleaning a clogged or blocked radiator is not difficult at all. How to service your car radiator yourself?
Actually, the materials and process for servicing your car radiator yourself are quite easy. The tools used are simple, easy to obtain, and inexpensive, and the process is not too complicated.
Before starting the guide on how to service your car radiator yourself, you need to know the parts of the radiator. There are three important parts in the radiator: the upper tank, lower water tank, and core tank, which is the core part of the car radiator.
Servicing Your Car Radiator Yourself
Usually, the causes of a damaged or clogged car radiator are the age of the vehicle and the use of improper water, such as hard water, well water, or even rarely changed radiator water. Here is how to service your car radiator:
Prepare the necessary materials
Prepare the materials needed to clean your car radiator: gallon of water, radiator coolant or a special liquid for radiators, and a liquid for cleaning the radiator.
You can clean the radiator core using radiator coolant, super coolant, or antifreeze coolant protector. Radiator-specific water is considered the most suitable for cleaning deposits on the radiator compared to regular water.
Especially if the vehicle often overheats, radiator coolant, super coolant, and antifreeze and coolant protector have a higher boiling point than regular water, providing optimal cooling for your car. However, using regular water is also acceptable.
- Drain the radiator water
Before draining the car radiator, make sure the car is cool. Opening the radiator cap when the engine is hot is very dangerous. There's an easy way to drain or clean the radiator. Do it when the water volume has reached the lower tank or the bottom tank level.
The way to empty the radiator water is by opening the valve at the bottom of the radiator tank. The radiator water must be completely drained, with no residue. Draining radiator water can also be done through the radiator water hose at the bottom. The hose needs to be detached first. The use of this hose can facilitate the flow of water. - Clean the radiator water hose
Another important component of the car radiator that needs to be cleaned is the radiator water hose. It's pointless if the radiator is clean, but the hose is still dirty. This dirty hose can cause deposits on the car engine. So, one way to service the car radiator is to clean the radiator water hose.
The way to clean the radiator hose is to remove the hose and spray water into it. Do it until there is no dirt left inside the hose. - Clean the radiator core
After cleaning the radiator hose, the next step is to clean the radiator core. The core tank or radiator core part can be cleaned by filling the radiator with water until the output is clean water.
To clean this core part, you need to use a clean radiator hose. You can clean the radiator core using radiator coolant, super coolant, or antifreeze coolant protector. However, if you can't find radiator coolant, you can use regular gallon water.
Note: Avoid using well water or ground water with high lime content because it can quickly cause rust. - Start the car engine to drain the radiator water
Once the radiator cap is securely in place, start the car engine to clean the car radiator. Heat the engine for about 15 minutes. Wait until the thermostat rises to the middle position until the radiator water comes out smoothly and clear. When it's completely empty, turn off the engine again. - Repeat the radiator cleaning
If the engine is already cool, fill the radiator again until full. Then close the tank. Restart the engine until the radiator water comes out until it's empty. Repeat this step two to three times to ensure no deposits are stuck on the radiator. This is done so that the remaining cleaning fluid can be lifted through the radiator water outlet. - Close the valve, reattach the hose, and check the radiator condition
If the radiator is clean, you can close the valve and reattach the hose. Then, refill the radiator with radiator water. Add a little radiator coolant to improve the quality of the water flowing into the engine, making it last longer by preventing deposits.
After that, you can close the tank and restart the car engine. Heat it for a while. Then, turn off the engine and check the radiator condition again. If the water level has decreased, do not add water, but add radiator coolant.
Tips for Maintaining Your Car Radiator
Once you know how to service your car radiator yourself, you also need to know how to maintain your car radiator to prevent it from deteriorating quickly. This way, servicing your car radiator yourself becomes less difficult, and of course, prevents engine damage.
- Regularly change radiator water
The best way to maintain your car is to perform regular maintenance. The same goes for radiator water. You need to regularly change the radiator water so that it does not cause deposits and potentially clog the radiator. If the radiator is clogged, it will affect the temperature, and your vehicle will overheat more easily. - Do not fill the radiator with just any water
As mentioned earlier, use gallon water or water specifically for radiators. The use of ground or well water with high lime content can trigger the accumulation of deposits. - Check the radiator cap
The radiator has a cap made of rubber or seals. These rubber components can break and damage if exposed to hot water for too long. Therefore, you need to regularly check the radiator cap, whether the rubber is still elastic or not. If it's damaged, the radiator cap must be replaced. - Inspect the fan or extra fan on the car engine
The last tip for maintaining your car radiator is to check the fan or extra fan that works to cool the engine. The radiator fan is useful in helping prevent the car engine from overheating. This cooling fan works automatically. You can check whether the cooling fan is still working or not by looking at the fan rotation.
So, the article above explains how to service your car radiator and how to maintain your car radiator. If you don't have time to do it yourself, you can visit the nearest workshop to service your car radiator. Of course, choose a reliable workshop so that your car is handled by a reliable technician.
