Prius Cooling System Parts
Automotive engines get hot because of the explosions that take place in the combustion chambers and friction between the moving parts. The cooling systems job is to keep the engine at ideal operating temperature. If the engine runs too cool it will operate inefficiently, waste fuel, and wear prematurely. If the engine runs too hot, parts may melt or distort, ruining the engine.
The engine has a water jacket that surrounds the combustion chambers and cylinders that is filled with a 50/50 mixture of ethylene glycol and water known as coolant. The coolant absorbs the heat created by the engine, then the water pump pumps it to the radiator to be cooled down.
The thermostat controls the flow of coolant from the engine to the radiator. When the engine is too cool, the thermostat blocks the flow to warm the engine up. If the engine is too warm the thermostat opens to allow flow to cool the engine down. The radiator is two tanks connected by many thin tubes.
The tubes have thin fins soldered to them that help to dissipate heat. Coolant flows from one tank to the other getting cooler as it travels down the tube. Cool air blowing across the radiator helps it to remove heat from the coolant. Normally the movement of the car as you are driving provides the air flow, but when the car slows down there is a cooling fan to provide air flow across the radiator. There are two common types of radiator fans: mechanical and electric. Mechanical fans are bolted directly to the waterpump pulley or more commonly to a thermostatic fan clutch that lets the fan freewheel when the coolant temperature is low. Electric radiator fans use an electric fan motor to spin the fan blades.
The motor is controlled by a thermostatic switch that gives the fan motor power once a preset coolant temperature is reached, then turns the fan off once the coolant temperature drops below a preset temperature. The cooling system is pressurized to increase the boiling point of the coolant. The pressure is regulated by the radiator cap. When the pressure rises above systems rating, usually about 15 PSI, the radiator cap releases some of the pressure into the overflow tank.
The overflow tank level increases as the engine warms up and the coolant expands. When the engine cools down and the coolant contracts, coolant is sucked from the overflow tank back into the radiator.
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