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There's a lot of metal under your vehicle's s hood, most
of it surrounding your engine's internal components. And
that metal generates a great deal of heat during driving.
So a properly functioning cooling system, which circulates
antifreeze/coolant, is absolutely necessary to keep heat
from building up to destructive levels. Your car or truck
has 5 principal components to its cooling system.
Radiator.
An auto radiator has a set of tubes called the
"core" that the coolant flows through. By passing through
the core, the coolant is reduced to an acceptable
temperature before going into the engine once again.
Radiator cap. There has to be a place to pour
in coolant and the radiator cap covers that filling hole,
while also increasing the boiling point of the coolant to
make it more efficient.
Radiator hoses. The coolant goes from the
radiator to the engine through a series of hoses that must
be sturdy and flexible enough to handle engine vibration
and high heat.
Thermostat. Like the device on your home
heating/cooling system, the engine thermostat keeps the
engine at the right operating temperature.
Water pump. This mechanism drives coolant
through the whole cooling system, in addition to the
engine block. |