You notice that there is water (or some other liquid) dripping from under the front of your car. What is causing it? Is it bad? The answers to these questions can be very easy to fix or very, very expensive. The first thing that you should do is find out where the water is coming from. If it is summer, and you have been driving with the AC on, dripping water is normal. If it is coming from anywhere on the engine, especially around the water pump, unless you are a mechanic you may want to take your car to one. It may just be a faulty water pump or it may be a cracked engine block. That means your engine is pretty much moved on to the «engine paradise in the sky». A mechanic can tell you pretty easily which it is. Now for the sake of this article, the water is actually coming from the radiator. What does the radiator do? Why is there water in it at all? The radiator is what keeps an engine from overheating. Depending on the size of the engine, you have between 12,000 and 24,000 controlled explosions happening every minute that the engine is running. This number varies on based on the actual RPMs and number of cylinders. All that gasoline exploding is very hot. That heat will make the metal of the engine very hot, very fast. Enter the radiator. With the water in the cooling system being pumped all around the engine by the water pump, the engine stays cool. What about the water? Water usually boils at 212 F. If you put it under pressure, like in a sealed cooling system, it will not boil into steam until it reaches a higher temperature. The radiator is usually made of aluminum. The super heated water travels over a network of tubing that goes back and forth over the radiator. It will dissipate the heat into the aluminum as well be cooled by the air that travels over the radiator when you drive. If the radiator is leaking water, the sealed part of the system is compromised. Not only will you lose water, but the water in the system will boil off at a lower temperature (think of the movies, car in the desert, steam shooting out of the hood). You need to find out where the water is actually coming form on the radiator. You may find that it isn’t actually the radiator but one of the hoses attached to it. If that is the case, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. Now you know with out any doubt that the water is leaking from the radiator. It may sound like a silly question, but have put water in it recently? It is very common to overfill Category:Home › Autos • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 2 • You should never use after-market auto parts when maintaining or fixing your car • Should a new car be rust-proofed? • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 1 • Five safest cars in North America • How to ensure your teen drives safely after getting a license • Pros and cons of using an hydrogen generator for your car • DIY automotive maintenance: How to change the oil
