How to Clean the Cooling System of the Car?

If you need to know how to avoid breakdowns in a car, it is essential to carry out a basic inspection of the car. We must bear in mind that the engine must be in perfect condition to avoid major breakdowns. In this sense, you must avoid overheating in it, since in this case we could have major operating problems.

To avoid this, it is essential to know how to clean the car’s cooling circuit, adopting some preventive measures and taking into account the car’s coolant replacement intervals. In this way we can keep the car in good condition and prevent the car’s cooling circuit from getting dirty often. However, in the event that we notice that it has problems, we will have to clean it.

The best option for cleaning the cooling circuit is to take the vehicle to a mechanical workshop, where specialists can carry out the appropriate maintenance. However, it is also something that you can do for yourself, and we are going to teach you about it in this article.

How to know if a car cooling circuit cleaning is needed

Many drivers do not know or ignore what is necessary to clean the cooling circuit of a vehicle and when it should be carried out. As a general rule, it is determined that the replacement interval is set at 40,000 kilometers or two years. However, it should be borne in mind that information on this will appear in the vehicle’s technical documentation.

If we decide to respect the established replacement interval, it is very likely that you will not need cleaning. To find out if it is time to clean the vehicle’s cooling circuit, the first thing you will have to do is pay attention to its coolant, being able to check its color and smell.

If the color of the coolant is correct, it is a good sign, but it does not mean that it is 100% in perfect condition. If a long time has passed since the last time it was changed, it is possible that it has aluminum remains from the different components that make up the engine.

Therefore, the status of the cooling circuit must be checked, carrying out an examination of the expansion vessel and the inner walls of the hoses. In this way we can check if there are solid deposits. If they are present, they indicate that a cleaning of the engine cooling circuit is necessary.

The color that the water pump has taken can also help us to know its status. If we find a yellowish, reddish color, with white dots, reddish or white inlays or rust, they show its deterioration.

Instructions to clean the cooling circuit of the car

Once you are clear about the importance of cleaning the car’s cooling circuit, we must know how to carry it out. To guarantee the proper functioning and long life of the engine without breakdowns, you will have to clean it. To do this you will have to follow the following steps:

1. First of all, you will have to prepare the vehicle for cleaning. To do this, the engine must be completely cold. This is a must to drain the coolant and clean the expansion tank. If it is very dirty and cleaning is not possible, it can be changed.
2. The second step is to carry out the flushing of the radiator. To clean the radiator, it is necessary to disconnect the hoses that it has in the lower and upper part of it, using a suitable tool for it. The cleaning of the lower hose must be carried out from the bottom to the top for a couple of minutes, while the radiator cap is closed. The upper hose, for its part, is cleaned from top to bottom, until the sediments are cleaned and the water can be seen to be clear.
3. Once the above is done, it will be time to proceed to wash the engine block. To do this you will have to remove the hoses, and then clean them with the appropriate tool until the water comes out clean and without any sediment. In order to clean the engine block, you may have to temporarily remove the thermostat.
4. If possible, you will have to wash the heat exchanger, following the same procedure that we have already mentioned before. You should try to remove all traces of sediment, silicone, lime…, until you see that the water is clean.
5. As a last step you will have to replace all the hoses, putting the thermostat in its place and refilling the system with a coolant that has been approved by the vehicle manufacturer. In any case, it is best to have a mechanic use a refractor to check the fluid.
6. The process will come to an end after purging the air that has entered the system, as well as with a general review of the system to ensure that it is tight, that is, that it does not present any type of loss or leak.