Nobody wants to see steam coming from the hood of their car as they drive around on a hot day. This article has some great tips to help prevent and manage an overheated engine.

There is nothing quite like driving to the beach on a nice hot day, or taking the family out to eht park or just for a drive to see relatives. Of course, there’s also nothing like being stuck halfway to your destination with an overheated engine and steam pouring out of the bonnet of your car. And while it may seem like you have nothing but chance on your side when it comes to driving in hot weather, Oils RGV has prepared an article with some great tips to help you prevent and manage an overheated engine.

Don’t Ignore the Temperature Gauge

Too many motorists look at their temperature gauge and see it as nothing more than an indication of what is to come. However, the truth is that monitoring your temperature gauge is the easiest way to prevent your engine from overheating. If you can see the gauge rising, don’t just sit there and hope that it’s going to lower, even as you watch it climb. Instead, start to look for places to safely pull over until the temperature drops or traffic starts to move again. Simply pulling over for a short period to give your engine some reprieve is your first and best defense against overheating.

Look for a Better Route to Take

If there are two things which don’t mix, it’s hot weather and congested traffic. Combined, this leaves many motorists both stranded on the side of the road, and stranded on the road where they are also blocking other motorists.

• If you know that it’s going to be a hot day, look at your route online and find ways to avoid congested areas. Even if this means an extra 10 minutes of driving time, it is better than spending 40 minutes on the side of the road waiting for help to arrive and your engine to cool down.
• If possible, consider completing your errands at different times of the day, such as in the evening after the sun has gone down and traffic is less congested.

If you are stuck in congested traffic, shift your car into neutral and rev your engine slightly. This will cause the radiator fan to move, giving you a short period of reprieve before you begin moving once again.

Monitor Your Coolant and Fluids

Your fluids are the lifeblood of your engine. In addition to your coolant, each of your fluids works together to ensure your engine runs smoothly and with a low operating temperature. However, they can only do their job if you keep them topped up and fresh. Take some time now before the weather gets too hot and check each of your fluids. If you can see that any of them are running low or are looking a little worse-for-wear, flush it out and replace it with fresh fluid. Click here to buy Signature Series 0W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil and help keep your engine running temperature down. To find out more about how this and a synthetic oil change can improve your engine performance on hot days, speak with a friendly professional at Oils RGV today by calling (956) 458-9399, or check out the online store for more information.

Say Goodbye to the A/C

This isn’t going to be the most popular tip, however, it is likely to be the most helpful. Each time that you reach for your air conditioner on a hot day, an additional motor is called into action. This motor is powered by your engine, which means that switching it on puts additional strain on your engine, increases its operating temperature and causing it to overheat much faster than it would, or otherwise wouldn’t. Instead, when driving in hot weather, consider lowering the windows, both the front and back, which can create a cool feeling air-flow into your car while stale and hot air is pushed out of the rear windows. To give your engine even more help, manoeuvre your air vents towards your open windows and switch on your heating. This will take hot air from your engine and push it outside.

Is It Too Late?

If you have done everything you can to prevent your engine from overheating, but find yourself stuck on the side of the road with an engine full of steam, keep these points in mind:

• Resist the temptation to take off the radiator cap straight away. If you can see steam then your radiator and its cap is too hot to touch. Let it cool down first.
• Once it is cool enough to touch and you can see that your radiator is empty, wait a little longer before filling it with water and coolant. Cold water poured into a hot radiator can cause it to crack, which means you won’t be driving until you can get a new radiator installed.

Improve Your Engine Performance on Hot Days with a Synthetic Oil Change in Mission

Keeping your engine in good health is a great way to prevent your engine from overheating, and can be as simple as basic maintenance like flushing out and replacing your fluids, and performing a regular synthetic oil change. To place an order or to find out more, speak with an expert at Oils RGV today by calling (956) 458-9399.