While you can often still drive your car when your radiator is failing, there are signs that indicate that it's time to bring your car to the mechanic before you cause further damage by driving your car around. If your temperature gauge is registering hot frequently, if you notice leaking coolant in your driveway, or there is steam coming out of the hood of your car, get your car fixed before you have an emergency on your hands.

What Your Radiator Does for Your Car

Your car radiator is responsible for keeping your engine cool. Car engines run at extremely high temperatures, and if your radiator isn't working properly, your car engine will overheat. The radiator provides coolant to your engine, keeping the temperature down so that your engine can run efficiently. Left alone, high temperatures can cause your engine to seize, and you will be left with a much more expensive repair than a simple radiator fix.

When Steam Is Coming Out of Your Hood

If you see steam coming out of your hood, you will probably pull over immediately because it can look like smoke. While you can let your engine cool down and then proceed to drive home, low coolant levels can cause your car to heat up right away once again. If you don't have immediate access to radiator fluid when your car overheats, call a tow truck to save yourself some money in the long run.

If You Have New Stains in Your Driveway

New stains in your driveway can indicate a number of problems, such as leak in your brake lines, oil problems, transmission fluid or radiator fluid. While coolant used to be bright green and easy to identify, coolant can be green, pink, red, yellow, orange, or blue. In addition, even if you try to add coolant to your car that is the same color of the coolant currently in your radiator, this does not guarantee that it's the same coolant. Check your car's manual to determine the right type of coolant to add to your car.

Checking Your Coolant Levels

You can see if your radiator needs coolant by removing the radiator cap and looking in. You can't do this when the engine is hot, and have to wait for your car to cool down first. If your radiator fluid is low, you can add fluid. If you check the coolant in a few days and it's low again, it is clearly leaking and you need to have this repaired.

For more information, contact Branford Radiator Repair Service or a similar company.