One of the many benefits to owning your own vehicle is the ability to take you and your friends or family to the beach or out on a long drive when the weather gets hot. This can be a great way to cool down or take the opportunity to visit far-away relatives. However, this adventure can be quickly stopped short by an overheated engine. If you love the idea of driving on a hot day, but are worried about an overheating engine, below is a great post from Bill Rigdon AMSOIL Dealer with tips to help you prevent an overheated engine along with some tips for how to deal with one.

Use the Temperature Gauge as a Warming

It can be easy to simply watch your temperature gauge climb and climb and you and your fellow passengers all cross your fingers and toes while you hope that it will lower. ;Unfortunately, despite what you may think, this technique isn’t effective. Instead, if you can see that your temperature gauge is rising, begin to look for safe spaces to pull over where you can catch it before it gets too high. For example, if you can see the gauge rising, and you know that you are about to be stuck on a stretch of road with nowhere to pull over, find somewhere beforehand and wait for the temperature to drop and for traffic to become less congested.

Find Better Routes

Hot weather mixed with congested traffic leads to overheated engines. Everybody knows that. So with this in mind:

• Before you head out for a day driving in the scorching sun, look online for alternate routes you can take which involve less traffic. Even if it means that you will drive for an extra 15 minutes, it is better than spending an hour waiting on the side of the road for help to arrive.
• Consider moving your errands to the evening once the sun has gone down and there is less traffic on the road.

When you are stuck in traffic, consider putting your car into neutral and revving the engine a small amount. This will cause the radiator fan to spin, giving you a short period of reprieve until you get moving again. Click here to buy Signature Series 0W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil and keep your engine in good health and its operating temperatures low with a synthetic oil change in Portland, OR. To place an order or to find out more about how a synthetic oil change can improve your engine performance, speak with an expert on the subject by calling Bill Rigdon AMSOIL Dealer at (503) 329-9004 or check out the online store.

Sorry, but No More A/C

This won’t be your favorite tip, but it could be the one which helps you the most. Each time that you reach to switch on your ever-so-convenient air conditioning, you are engaging an additional motor which draws power from your engine. This puts more strain on an engine already struggling to deal with the heat, causing it to overheat much quicker. Instead, when you are cruising along the freeway, lower your windows and allow the natural air flow to give you and your passengers a cool feeling, while the hot and stale air is pushed out. To give your engine an extra helping hand, switch on your heater and direct the vents towards your open windows, and take some of the hot air away from your engine.

If You Find Yourself Stuck

If you are unlucky enough to find yourself stranded on the side of the road with steam pouring from the hood of your car, keep these important safety points in mind:

• The radiator and its cap are hot. Too hot for you to touch, so don’t even try it! Instead, wait until the steam has gone and you can feel from a distance that the radiator has cooled down enough, before safely reaching for the cap.
• Even if your radiator is cool enough for you to touch, it still may be too hot to pour cold water and coolant into. If you do, it can cause the radiator to crack, which means you will need a replacement before you can drive again.

Keep Your Engine Running Smoother in Hot Weather with a Synthetic Oil Change in Portland, OR

Basic maintenance such as feeding your coolant and other fluids fresh and topped up along with a regular synthetic oil change can go a long way to help your engine during hot weather. For help placing an order or to speak with an expert about the right products for your vehicle, call Bill Rigdon AMSOIL Dealer today at (503) 329-9004. ;