Family Owned & Operated
FREE Towing with Major Repairs
We Service All Makes & Models
FREE Shuttle Service See Store for Details
Complete Auto Repair
January 14, 2024
There's nothing that radiates cool like a vehicle radiator that's helping to keep your engine running at the proper temperature. You don't have to baby it, but you can't simply ignore it, either.
Let's take a quick dive under the hood to let you know what the radiator is doing. It takes the heat your engine produces and moves that heat outside. It's not an easy job and heat is an engine's number one enemy. Now that you're thinking how nice you want to be to your radiator, we have a couple of ideas how you can take care of it.
The easiest thing is to pay attention to your vehicle's temperature gauge. If it gets in the "too hot" or "not hot enough" range, have it checked out soon. Make sure your coolant is kept at the correct level and if you see a trend that you have to add coolant more than a couple of times a year, you might have a leak.
Even if there are no obvious problems, every couple of years or so, consider taking your vehicle in for radiator maintenance. A technician can run a pressure check for leaks and ensure that the thermostat and radiator cap are working correctly. The technician will check that fans are running like they should so they can move air over the radiator and heat away from the coolant inside.
Ask your service advisor when you should have your radiator flushed and coolant replaced according to the manufacturer's recommended intervals. In addition to cooling, coolant has corrosion inhibitors which stop working after a while. Without those corrosion inhibitors, the inside of your radiator can literally start rotting away. Keep in mind that the coolant level must be kept at manufacturer's specifications since if those corrosion-preventing chemicals aren't touching the metal, they're not preventing corrosion.
Different vehicles use different coolants, so your service facility will make sure yours is getting the correct one. Keep your coolant system happy and one day, maybe you can order up a custom license plate, "RAY-D-8."
Tuffy Fort Wayne - Dupont Rd.
1910 W. Dupont Rd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46818
260.489.4800
April 20, 2025
Every time you drive your vehicle, you wear down your brakes just a little bit. And after a while, that adds up. Gradually, your stopping power isn't like it used to be. Since brakes are one of your vehicle's most important safety features, it just makes sense to keep them performing well. Mos... More
April 13, 2025
You're heading down the road and you notice your vehicle is sputtering, like it's running out of gas. But the gauge show's it's still got a quarter of a tank. So what gives? It could be that your fuel pump is failing, meaning your engine is not getting enough gas to run properly. While fuel pu... More
April 6, 2025
When it comes to oil changes, things are really changing. Most newer vehicles require synthetic oil, and while it costs more than conventional oil, it doesn't need to be changed as often. When conventional oil was the only game in town, you changed your oil every 3,000 miles/5,000 km. But as tec... More
