Learn More with Mike | Coolant Flush
Every August/September, we get a bunch of questions about coolant flushes. Everybody's recommending coolant flushes, but nobody's telling you why. And nobody's telling you when, so our very own Mike Wherry put together a quick video here to let you know what to look for and why coolant flushes are so important.
Basically, coolant is the lifeblood of your coolant system, and it does break down over time and it becomes acidic. When it becomes acidic, it is going to break down your parts. When this happens, your vehicle is going to start eating up your radiator, your water pump, your belts, or your hoses, and that's gonna cost you money.
It also acts as a lubricant inside your car, so every time that's going through there, it's refreshing the water pump. It's keeping it lubricated, keeping all those bearings going. When the lubricant breaks down, your parts break down and they will start to rust which also can cause part failure, so you want to prevent that. That's why we always recommend coolant flushes.
When do we recommend them?
Every 30,000 miles is a good rule of thumb. Get that out of there, and break down the acid that is inside there. We all know acid buildup is bad for the vehicle’s health so get the lubricant back in there and start getting the life of your parts extended.
Every two oil changes, make sure somebody's using a test strip and testing to make sure your coolant is good. Make sure it falls within the specs that it's supposed to because in the winter you don't want it to freeze. In the summer, you don't want your car to overheat.
If you see coolant on the ground, you want to clean that up, your dogs, your cats, it smells good to them. So they tend to want to drink it. And that's bad, very bad. That is poisonous. Then once you clean that up, give us a call and we'll get you in here and we'll check out your car, truck, or SUV.
That's why we recommend coolant flushes. That's why lots of shops recommend coolant flushes, but nobody explains it to you. So I hope this explains a little bit about why it is so important to do proactive maintenance.
Every August/September, we get a bunch of questions about coolant flushes. Everybody's recommending coolant flushes, but nobody's telling you why. And nobody's telling you when, so our very own Mike Wherry put together a quick video here to let you know what to look for and why coolant flushes are so important.
Basically, coolant is the lifeblood of your coolant system, and it does break down over time and it becomes acidic. When it becomes acidic, it is going to break down your parts. When this happens, your vehicle is going to start eating up your radiator, your water pump, your belts, or your hoses, and that's gonna cost you money.
It also acts as a lubricant inside your car, so every time that's going through there, it's refreshing the water pump. It's keeping it lubricated, keeping all those bearings going. When the lubricant breaks down, your parts break down and they will start to rust which also can cause part failure, so you want to prevent that. That's why we always recommend coolant flushes.
When do we recommend them?
Every 30,000 miles is a good rule of thumb. Get that out of there, and break down the acid that is inside there. We all know acid buildup is bad for the vehicle’s health so get the lubricant back in there and start getting the life of your parts extended.
Every two oil changes, make sure somebody's using a test strip and testing to make sure your coolant is good. Make sure it falls within the specs that it's supposed to because in the winter you don't want it to freeze. In the summer, you don't want your car to overheat.
If you see coolant on the ground, you want to clean that up, your dogs, your cats, it smells good to them. So they tend to want to drink it. And that's bad, very bad. That is poisonous. Then once you clean that up, give us a call and we'll get you in here and we'll check out your car, truck, or SUV.
That's why we recommend coolant flushes. That's why lots of shops recommend coolant flushes, but nobody explains it to you. So I hope this explains a little bit about why it is so important to do proactive maintenance.
