Car Radiators: What NOT To Do
by Sandra Bissex
Do you remember having days of breaking everything mechanical you touched? For me, May 11, 2006 was one of those days. First thing in the morning my cell phone flashed a message that it needed service. As it is my only phone, I immediately planned a trip to Burlington to my cell phone's doctor. On the way I stopped at a rest area for coffee. Turning off the car engine, I suddenly saw lots of steam seeping out from under the hood of the car; a real "gee whiz" scene nobody wants to see. I decided to open the hood to see exactly where the steam was coming from. The steam seemed to increase and was rising in billows. Along the top of the radiator was a seam oozing extremely hot greenish yellow radiator fluid.
Stupefied, I stood there looking at my car's sick radiator sizzling and steaming. It was clear I was going nowhere fast. Suddenly two men materialized and began talking about the need to pour cold water into the radiator to cool it down. They bustled inside and talked the attendant into giving them a bucket filled with cold water. They hustled back outside, gingerly removed the cap of the radiator and heroically began pouring the water into the radiator. Mission accomplished, the two men continued on their journey. I called AAA for the car to be towed to a nearby garage for repair. By the end of the day, the car had a new radiator and seemed to run smoothly, and the cell phone received its repairs too.
Two days later our family took the car on a trip to
Maine. Upon driving into the hotel parking lot and turning off the
engine, there was a repeat of Thursday's steaming radiator scene. To
shorten this long story, this time the car's diagnosis was that its
engine was in Big Trouble. I called Auto Craftsmen for their input on
the situation. They asked for the whole story from the beginning. When
I told them about the two men pouring the cold water into the radiator
in Williston, They said, "When a car radiator is overheating, give it
an hour or two to cool down. NEVER pour cold water into an overheated
car radiator because the sudden change in temperature will crack
gaskets in the engine."
And now, dear readers, we know what NOT
to do with overheated, sizzling and steaming car radiators. The bottom
line is that replacing a car engine, or part of a car engine can be
well over $1000. This is on top of the $300 plus for the new radiator.
Now...where are those two men when I really need them...with their
checkbooks?
About Sandra Bissex:
Sandra
Bissex is a bi-coastal grandmother, living in Montpelier, Vermont for 6
months and southern California for 6 months a year. Her two Heller
sons and their families live in San Diego; hery Bissex step-family
lives in the Northeast. She is having an art exhibition in the Vermont
Governor's Office in August or September of 2007. After the 1994
vehicle died in Maine, she donated it and decided not own another car
while living in Montpelier, Vermont.
About a month after her car
died, a second-hand two-seat electric GemCar was for sale in
Montpelier. Top speed is 25 MPH in a GemCar. It seemed to be a
relatively inexpensive solution for getting around Montpelier where
the speed limit is 25 MPH. A few times a month if and when she want to
do things outside Montpelier, Sandra rents a car or rides with friends
and contributes to the cost of their gas. For lots more info on Gem
Cars go to www.gemcar.com.
