cleaning radiators

[tonycarreon]

well i just took my bumper off and cleaned the radiators. still have to put it all back together. ( taking a short break for now ).

all told, took an hour and a half to get it apart and 15-20 minutes to actually clean the radiators. letting them ( and the ground ) dry before putting it back together.

i'll post pictures soon, but here's what i've learned:

1. never put your fingers anywhere near the inside of the pliers *OUCH*
2. go slowly. if you think you've got all the bolts / screws off, check again. did you check again? do it again. if it doesn't just slide / pop off, you've missed one. i told you so. ( this actually took up a good 15 minutes of my time looking for that one hidden screw i missed.)
3. for god's sake remember where the screws went. i hope i can put it all back together from memory. there are an assload of them, and no i guess german's don't like even numbers. ( 9, 7, 5, 6.... )
4. go slowly, you'll thank yourself later.
5. if you're working alone, put something under the bumper so it doesn't just *PLOP* to the driveway concrete. i used styrofoam sheets i had laying around. i'm REALLY glad i did because when i found that last screw and gently tugged on the bumper, it did just slide right off.
6. go slowly, take a break. go have a beer ( or soda since i don't drink beer ), you earned it.
7. the guy in the video mentioned there's a hidden hex bolt at the top of the air boot that's hard to get to. if you take the headlight off, it's very easy to get to because then you don't have to come from down under, you can get right to it.
8. the driver's side radiator was easy to get separated. however the passenger side required a little more gumption.


pics soon. and MAN it was dirty. i'd say 25-30% of each radiator was blocked with gunk.