If there is one thing which you know about your engine, it’s that it can overheat. It’s a lesson we all learned the hard way as we stood stranded on the side of the road. The challenge faced by the majority of motorists is that they believe if they don’t know anything about how their engine works then how can they possibly know what steps to take to keep it from overheating?

How You Can Prevent Your Engine from Overheating

Bill Rigdon knows a thing or two about engines overheating and, more importantly, how every motorist can take steps to prevent it. Below is some information to help you do just that!

The Temperature Gauge Is Rising!

Does this scenario sound familiar? You and your friends are all driving to the beach and you get stuck in traffic along the way. As you are creeping inch by inch or even just sitting still you can see that your temperature gauge keeps on rising. However, instead of pilling to the side of the road, you all cross your fingers and hope that it will magically begin to go down. Of course, given that your engine isn’t a work of magic and is purely mechanical, the gauge doesn’t change direction. Instead, your radiator cap blows off and steam pours out of the hood of your car. If you answered yes, then you aren’t alone. This behavior is natural for motorists who just want to get where they’re going. Unfortunately, this behavior results in nothing more than you and your friends being stuck in the middle of the road with your radiator screaming and drivers behind you honking their horn while you wait for help to arrive. But...what if there was a simple way to avoid this which can actually see you reach your destination? Guess, what? There is! The next time that you can see your temperature gauge rising with no signs of traffic alleviating, simply pull over and wait. That’s it! By simply pulling over safely to the side of the road and allowing your radiator time to cool down and for traffic to alleviate, you can actually make it either to your destination or back home. It’s as simple as that!

Is It Just Water Running Through Your Cooling System?

Have you ever seen coolant in a local car-shops catalog or even on the shelves and wondered why people are buying it? After all, water does the same job, right? Wrong. While it can be an easy thought to have, unfortunately, it isn’t at all correct. Engine coolant is a product which has been purpose designed to keep your radiator and, in turn, your engine cooler than water ever could. If you just have water in your radiator or the previous owner used coolant but it has come to the end of its useful life (you can tell by the color and texture of the liquid inside your radiator), now is the time to swap it out for a fresh lot of coolant. Click here to buy Passenger Car ; Light Truck Antifreeze ; Coolant which can keep your engine temperatures low and manageable during high temperatures. If you are new to using coolant, give the experts at Bill Rigdon a call at (503) 329-9004 to learn more and to make sure it’s the right kind for your vehicle. If you prefer, the online store has heaps of information available about the entire range of AMSOIL’s high-quality engine products.

Do You Really Need to Use Your Air Conditioner?

As soon as the temperature inside your car rises it can be tempting to turn on the air conditioner. However, problems often arise because, instead of turning it on to a low setting, you almost always crank it all the way up until it feels like you’re inside your own version of Disney’s Frozen! As effective as this is for the inside of your vehicle, it works towards the opposite for your engine temperature. The reason is that when you turn on your air conditioner, your engine activates a second belt (similar to your radiator belt) which needs to be turned to keep your A/C going. This additional stress means that your engine’s temperatures are going to rise. There are a few options to battle this rise in temperature: The first is to simply not use your air conditioner. If you are cruising along the freeway, simply roll down your windows enough to let the breeze come in and take out the hot air by also opening the back windows. The second is to actually turn on your heater. That’s right, your heater! By turning on your car’s heater (not a powered feature, just the regular heat) and opening the front windows, you can actually extract the hot air from your engine and facilitate its flow outside of your windows. The third, which actually involves using your air conditioner, it to use it smartly. This means that, instead of cranking it all the way up, simply choose a setting which just takes the unbearable edge off the heat inside your vehicle.

Keep Your Car in Good Shape

You would be surprised by just how much keeping your car in good shape can help to keep your engine temperature down. Why? Because the smoother your car is running, the less energy it needs to use to keep itself going. Less energy means lower temperatures. Simple tips like:

• Keeping your air filter clean
• Ensuring your oil filter isn’t clogged with debris and pollutants
• Make sure your fluid levels are at the correct level and haven’t passed their use-date (often discolored)
• Keep your tire pressure at the correct level (this can also help with your handling and fuel economy)
• Keep your trunk as light as possible. If you still have your children’s sports gear in the back from the past weekend, clear it out and keep your vehicle as light as possible.\

Keep Your Temperatures down with a Synthetic Oil Change in Portland, OR

In addition to the above, giving your car a quick synthetic oil change in your own garage can do wonders to keep temperatures down and energy performance up! Speak with a friendly expert at Bill Rigdon by calling (503) 329-9004 to learn more about the benefits of a synthetic oil change or for help finding the right engine lubricant and coolant for your vehicle.