cleaning radiators

[tonycarreon]

ok. it's done. everything is zipped back up, everything is finished. i drove the car for a short trip and the bumper didn't fall off - i call it a success.

i even put it on the dyno and i got an extra 10hp!! ok, that's a lie. just had to add it in.

so what'd i learn putting things back together?

1. no that hole isn't for a screw, it's for a plastic expandy thingy ( sorry i don't know what they're called ). took me 20 minutes to figure that out. you should have made diagram or at least a list of what went where.

2. stop taking so many breaks. it's not brain surgery. you'll be sorry when the sun is gone and you're trying to put the car back together by the light of that flashlight on your keychain! ( or the shop light that every bug in the neighborhood is attracted to. )

3. yes, your car does want to hurt you. yes, the license plate is sharp and will cut you.

4. ouch, my back. screw it, just sit and lay down on the ground instead of squatting.

ok, so looking back - 25-30% "blockage" was probably more than truthful. my excitement of getting them off and seeing the stuff fall out colored my ability to estimate. still, i don't think it can be said they were anywhere near "clean" and this is something i'm certainly glad i did.

bmussatti: a leaf blower is only going to get the stuff on the outside of the radiator. they're actually two radiators sandwiched together, and most of the gunk was in-between them. i would highly recommend taking them out and cleaning them with a hose. if you do and they're clean after your leaf blower technique, feel free to make fun of me for doing more than was required and i will take it completely. keep in mind, this is an '01 and having purchased it used, i have no idea if this was ever done. so if not, for 8 years of driving it wasn't bad at all. might check it next year or so and see how far it's come.

forgot to add, total time.
1.5 hrs to get the bumper off, remove the air scoops, seperate the radiators. spray them out with the hose and use my hands to get the last bits of twigs, leaves and candy wrappers out ( yes, there really was a candy wrapper up there ).

30 minutes to let dry.

1 hr to get the car put back together.

anyway, as promised, here are the photos:
http://web.me.com/tonycarreon/boxster/Cleaning_Radiators.html

[cvhs18472]

When I cleaned mine, besides the usually candy wrappers, cig butts and leaves was a $2 bill. I was being rewarded by the Porsche gods for being good. Ed

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

bmussatti: a leaf blower is only going to get the stuff on the outside of the radiator. they're actually two radiators sandwiched together, and most of the gunk was in-between them. i would highly recommend taking them out and cleaning them with a hose. if you do and they're clean after your leaf blower technique, feel free to make fun of me for doing more than was required and i will take it completely. keep in mind, this is an '01 and having purchased it used, i have no idea if this was ever done. so if not, for 8 years of driving it wasn't bad at all. might check it next year or so and see how far it's come.

Tony, please, I am not making fun of you. You did a great job. I have been using the leaf blower method since my car was new. So, I think they are pretty clean. Plus, I steer around cigarette butts and dry leaves.

Like you said, your car is 8 years-young, so a good cleaning is necessary. I think if a new owner used the leaf blower method, they would be fine for a long-long time.

[RandallNeighbour]

Bill, I'm willing to bet you have a lot more crap between your radiator panels than you think. Of course, your car is only 3 years old and I don't think it's your DD, is it?

It would be a great Saturday project for a white collar professional like yourself. Your kids could watch and ask you a million questions and drive you nuts. Quality family time I say!

If there's little to nothing in there, you will be triumphant in your assumption. If not, you can enjoy the fact that you kept your motor from running hotter than it needed to run.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Tony, please, I am not making fun of you.

j/k

no i didn't think that was what you were saying. i meant if it isn't dirty, feel free to make fun of me.

--

my recollection of family time, when i helped my dad do some project on his 1967 ford galaxie:
"daddy, what's that?", "why?", "what's that do?" "what's that for?", "why do i have to sit inside the car now?" *HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNK* "why do i have to go inside now?"

Tony, is your car running any cooler?

Randall, the neddle on my temp gauge is always in the exact same spot (when up to temp) since brand new.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Tony, is your car running any cooler?

honestly i'm not sure. i only drove it a few miles last night to make sure the bumper wouldn't fall off. i would be surprised if it ran any cooler simply because it wasn't ever really running hot. even in 2 hours of 0-5 mph traffic in 90 degree heat, it only got up to slightly above the 180 mark, which is where it usually sits anyway.

as soon as i do any distance i'll let you know.

[941MXVET]

Thanks for the video, thought I'd take advantage of this day off to try cleaning my rads.

This is what I found:











I'll be putting "cleaning rads." on my annual maintenance list!

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

honestly i'm not sure. i only drove it a few miles last night to make sure the bumper wouldn't fall off. i would be surprised if it ran any cooler simply because it wasn't ever really running hot. even in 2 hours of 0-5 mph traffic in 90 degree heat, it only got up to slightly above the 180 mark, which is where it usually sits anyway.

as soon as i do any distance i'll let you know.

You probably won't see any change on your gauge. It was running normal. Don't forget, more than 50% of our cooling comes from our large oil capacity. And Dr. Porsche knew how to do that pretty well.

[tonycarreon]

i totally agree with bmusatti, i really don't expect any change in temp. however, it's nice knowing that crud isn't there anymore, that's for sure.

941MXVET did you have any problems with any hidden nuts / screws? any missing pieces? what MY do you have? i assume you've never done it before? 1st owner?

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Randall, the neddle on my temp gauge is always in the exact same spot (when up to temp) since brand new.

That explains a lot. Bill, the 987's no longer have a real temp gauge. It will rise to the right spot before the motor is truly up to temp and only climb when the computer says it should so you will pull over and get the motor looked at. It's now like the crappy ones found in American cars. If the car's not overheating, that needle in your 987 will not show any fluctuation at all.

Mark and I have checked this out on his 987 at the track when he's been absolutely brutal to the motor on the track and that needle should have moved a little and it does not move past the operating temp reading it is programmed to display.

The 986's have a temp gauge that moves around when you drive the car, hence all the guys freaking out because they've never owned a car with a fully operational temp gauge before.

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

That explains a lot. Bill, the 987's no longer have a real temp gauge. It will rise to the right spot before the motor is truly up to temp and only climb when the computer says it should so you will pull over and get the motor looked at. It's now like the crappy ones found in American cars. If the car's not overheating, that needle in your 987 will not show any fluctuation at all.

Mark and I have checked this out on his 987 at the track when he's been absolutely brutal to the motor on the track and that needle should have moved a little and it does not move past the operating temp reading it is programmed to display.

The 986's have a temp gauge that moves around when you drive the car, hence all the guys freaking out because they've never owned a car with a fully operational temp gauge before.

Randall, how is Mark doing?

My needle moves for sure, just not much once the engine warms up. And the engine bay fan will cycle on or off as needed, as does the multi speed fans up front.

I am surprised dealerships don't recommend this service to pry an extra $1,000 out of our pockets at say a 60K service.

[RandallNeighbour]

Bill, Mark's doing fine. He's at the track every time the PCA opens it up for a HSDE. Some of the time he volunteers as a corner worker to get free entry on the next registration.

I gotta do that next to save $225.

Mark's needle moves up to "normal operating temp" rather quickly (actually TOO quickly if you ask Mark.) Then it sits right there no matter how the car is driven or operated... roll it down a hill in neutral with the AC off, turn the AC on full and sit in park, drive the piss out of it on a track, and that needle doesn't move unless the motor is overheating and then it shoots to the right and turns on the dummy light.

I too am quite surprised that dealerships don't offer this service. Lord knows they could make a pile of cash doing it.

My mechanic has told me more than once that I should take my house vac's crevice tool and tape it to the tube of my high powered shop vac and suck all the debris out of the front radiator through the grills from time to time. He's never recommended removing the bumper and separating the radiators though.

[Bobiam]

There is some really good info here plus pics and vid. I had to replace a radiator last year, so I learned all this stuff then.

My advice....
- Have assistance when putting the bumper back on. It's a lot of lining up to do alone, and those rubbery intakes on the air scoops can be difficult to line up with the grill inserts.
- Do this job if it's been too many yrs to remember or you bought a 5-10 yr old car.
- Don't bother with this project if it's only 2-4 yrs, unless you have been experiencing cooling system problems.
- While you're in there it's a good time to consider rerouting the cable release for your trunk to the tow bolt hole area so it can be scagged easily by removing the snap on hole plug.

Question..........how are you guys cleaning this area with a leaf blower??? Sounds like a good alternative to use on a regular basis.
Personally, I've made a vac nozzle out of a piece of 1/2" copper tubing wrapped with duct tape that can easily reach the recesses through the grills. Cheap and handy.

Bob