Cooling System Service Tullamarine

Pull over safely as soon as you can, switch the engine off, and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before you open the bonnet. Never remove the radiator cap on a hot engine — pressurised coolant will scald. Once cool, check the expansion tank level. If it's low, top up with water in an emergency, drive gently to us, and we'll pressure-test to find the leak.

Coolant that vanishes without a puddle is usually one of three things: a small external leak that's evaporating on the hot engine before it drips, an internal leak through a failing head gasket into the combustion chamber, or a cracked radiator end-tank that only leaks under full pressure. A proper pressure test and a combustion-gas test on the coolant will tell us which.

Most manufacturers specify every 4–5 years or 60,000–100,000 km, but check your handbook because long-life OAT and HOAT coolants vary. Old coolant turns acidic and corrodes the water pump, radiator, and heater core from the inside — flushing on time is cheap insurance against expensive parts later.

We cap the system, pump it up to its rated operating pressure, and watch the gauge. If it holds, the system is sealed. If it drops, we know there's a leak and we can see exactly where it's weeping from — a hose join, the water pump shaft seal, the radiator core, the heater core, or the head gasket. It's the difference between guessing and knowing.

Depends what's failed. Plastic end-tank cracks on modern radiators usually mean replacement — they can't be reliably resealed. Older copper-brass radiators can often be re-cored or repaired by a radiator shop. A small pinhole leak in an alloy core can sometimes be sealed; a corroded core that's leaking in multiple spots is past it. We'll tell you which side of the line yours is on.

Usually, yes. A cold cabin heater with the engine at normal operating temp points to a blocked heater core, an airlock in the heater circuit, a stuck thermostat that's never closing, or a failed blend door actuator. We flush the heater core, bleed the system, and test the thermostat in hot water to confirm what's actually failed.

Classic signs: white sweet-smelling steam from the exhaust, milky-coloured oil on the dipstick or under the oil cap, coolant loss with no external leak, bubbling in the expansion tank with the engine running, or overheating that worsens under load. We run a combustion-gas leak test on the coolant — if exhaust gas is in the coolant, the gasket is breached. Honest quote either way before you commit to the repair.

Yes — a 12-month warranty on parts and labour on all standard mechanical work, on top of any manufacturer warranty that applies to the parts themselves.

Yes. We accept Afterpay, Zip Pay, and Humm so you can spread the cost with no upfront payment. Just let us know at booking or drop-off.