It’s hot!! Sweat starts to run down the crack of your a$%^… The bank clock reads; 101 degrees F and the “F” stands for, well, you know. Even your car has had enough of this heat wave and begins to overheat while you’re stuck in traffic, what would you do in this situation? Panic and wish you were in Fairbanks, Alaska? Pull off the road, pop up the hood and pour your ice-cold Slurpee over the engine?
Well there are a few options that will help you in this most uncomfortable predicament;
1. Pull over, open the hood and flap the hood up and down to create smoke signals. But then you realize you don’t know Apache smoke communication and you’ve accidently sent out a message that says, “Big white man fatty needs love too.”
2. Pull over; use extreme caution when opening the hood. If the car is steaming like a cheated angry wife, let the engine cool down before you open the hood. Check the upper and lower radiator hoses, are they cracked? Check the coolant reservoir tank, it’s that plastic jug looking thing that has a hose running to the radiator, is it empty? Use a rag or bra when opening the radiator cap, (MAKE SURE THE ENGINE IS COOLED DOWN FIRST!!!!!) does it have coolant?
Option number 3, if you don’t have time to pull over, turn on your heater, yes, I said turn on your heater! I know what you’re thinking, “but it’s the middle of August!” Hear me out, this really works; first, roll down your windows, turn the heater to the floor and blast it all the way! When you turn on the heater, it drains all the heat away from your engine and in a minute or two you will see the temperature gauge go down. SPECIAL NOTE: THIS DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM but it should be enough to get you to a mechanic or the bar.
Most of the time just simple vehicle maintenance can keep you from having headaches on the road and save you lots of money too. Have your radiator flushed and filled every two years. Check your fluids every time you have your oil changed. All this will ensure you will be a happy driver.
Join me again next week and until then…
take care and be safe-
Danny Keaton