Cooling system and radiator repairs in Coburg North
Temperature gauge climbing, a puddle of coloured fluid under the car, or steam at the lights. We pressure test the system, find where the coolant is going and fix it before the engine pays for it.
Cooling faults are the ones that turn expensive fastest. An engine that gets hot enough for long enough warps heads and cooks gaskets, and that bill dwarfs the hose or thermostat that started it.
Book it in at 1/87 Newlands Road while it is still a leak rather than a head gasket.
If the gauge is in the red, stop
Pull over somewhere safe, switch the engine off and let it cool. Driving another few kilometres on a hot engine is what turns a cheap repair into a big one.
Never open a radiator cap or expansion tank on a hot engine. The system is under pressure and the coolant is well above boiling point.
Once it has cooled, top up with water if you have to and get it here, or call 0451 109 786 and tell us what happened before you drive it.
Signs the cooling system needs looking at
- The temperature gauge sits higher than it used to, or climbs in traffic
- Coloured fluid on the driveway, green, pink, orange or blue
- A sweet syrupy smell after a drive
- The expansion tank needs topping up between services
- The heater blows cold when the engine is warm
- Cooling fans running hard, or never running at all
- White smoke from the exhaust or bubbles in the expansion tank
What the repair covers
The cooling system is a loop, and a fault anywhere in it shows up the same way on your gauge. We test the whole loop rather than replacing the first part that looks wet.
- Radiators, caps and expansion tanks
- Upper and lower hoses, clamps and pipework
- Water pumps and drive belts
- Thermostats and housings
- Cooling fans, fan modules and temperature sensors
- Heater cores and heater hoses
- Coolant drain, flush and refill with the specification the manufacturer names
Coolant type matters more than people expect. Mixing the wrong chemistry into a modern engine attacks seals, gaskets and alloy, so the car goes back out with what its maker calls for rather than whatever is on the shelf.
How we find the leak
Pressure test
The cold system is pumped up to its working pressure and held there. A leak that only shows when the engine is hot shows itself here, on a cold car, in the workshop.
Trace it to the part
We follow the loss to the actual component rather than the lowest wet spot, because coolant runs downhill before it drips.
Check the thermostat and fans
The engine is brought up to temperature so we can watch the thermostat open and the fans cut in at the right point.
Repair, refill and bleed
The right coolant goes in, the air comes out, and the car is run up to temperature again to confirm the gauge sits where it should.
What it costs
It depends entirely on which part failed. A hose and a refill sit at one end of the range, a radiator or a water pump buried behind a timing cover at the other. On many European engines the pump is driven by the timing belt, which changes the job completely.
We pressure test first, then quote the repair before it starts. Call 03 7054 8232 with your make, model and year if you want to talk it through.
Why bring it to AutoworkX
A cooling repair is only as good as what goes back into the system. We test the whole loop before quoting rather than replacing the first wet part, and the car is refilled to the coolant specification its maker names.
You get the failed part shown to you, an invoice that names the coolant that went in, and a straight answer if the test suggests the damage has already gone past the cooling system.