Owning A Car: 101 Essential Steps On How To Manage An Overheating Engine

The Reality of Blue-Collar Bias

Can I be honest? Owning a car can get pretty embarrassing. Hold on, let me explain:

A few months back, my father and I were driving a distance of about 6 km. We were on our way to meet a client—pause, let me be the one to tell you that some people will treat you like dirt under their feet if you are not a part of the white-collar industry.

On numerous occasions, I have been shown sh-t for dressing and acting like my job. Oftentimes, people forget that those in the blue-collar industry are the ones who keep their houses afloat.

As someone that has been in the industry for a while, I will for sure advise those who want to go into the blue-collar industry to keep their heads lifted up high. People’s words and actions over your life should be used as fuel for your betterment, always.

Why You Shouldn’t Open Your Radiator Cap After Your Engine Heats Up

Anyway, back to the topic at hand; we were traveling to see the client and our car began to heat up. We were in traffic, driving down the railway line. Stressful situation, I know.

Yoh, I was flabbergasted. I was in total shock when my father informed me of what was going on.

Thankfully, my father took charge by pulling over to the side. People were staring as we pulled the hood open. My father unscrewed the coolant cap but didn’t completely remove it.

Wait, I just want to get one thing clear—DO NOT FOR THE LIFE OF YOU OPEN THE COOLANT CAP WHEN YOUR ENGINE IS HOT.

As water begins to heat up in your radiator, it turns into vapor. Immediately you try to open your radiator cap, the vapor within will erupt, and in turn, evaporation will play game. Be careful and stay safe as a car owner.

Essential Safety Rules When Your Car Overheats

The advice I’d give to you when your car begins to overheat is simple and straightforward. For easier understanding, I’ll make bullet points:

• Do not panic: Letting your emotions take over will cause harm to not only yourself, but other road users as well.
• Make sure you’re in the right lane: You cannot be in the inner lane and then suddenly merge to the side.
• Turn your hazards on if you’re in the inner lane and make sure your blind spot is clear before merging to the outer lane.
• When you manage to park to the side, see if it’s safe to open the hood. If it is, go ahead.
• If you observe a fire, you have two options:
  • Get a fire extinguisher and do the needful.
  • Leave it alone and call the right people—the fire department and whoever else needs to be there.
• If there isn’t a fire, wait for 30 minutes to 1 hour for the water within the radiator to cool down completely.
• Be cautious if you unscrew the cap: Have your hands covered and your face moved away. The radiator cap is hot after a drive—be very careful.
• Identify the leak: Find the particular part of your car that’s leaking. If you can’t, it’s time to call your mechanic.
• Call your mechanic: In fact, calling your mechanic is one of the first things that you should do. What are you waiting for?

The Block Company Rescue Mission

So, back to the story. We were lucky enough to have parked in front of a block manufacturing company. Because we use water for our radiator, I went inside the premises to ask if I could fetch some. Thankfully, the manager was open to me doing this.

I had to carry a whole 5 liters, which is lighter than what I usually carry at the workshop, but still, I wasn’t prepared.

We were reluctant to continue our drive, but because we were already halfway there, we had to go on with our journey. Traffic had thankfully slowed down, and we did manage to meet with the client.

I want to get one thing clear though: the car had a problem months prior, and one of the pipes had ripped open. Anyway, the problem was with the water pump, and not the radiator.

Oops.

Has your car ever shown you flames while in traffic?