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tonycarreon · 06-27-2009, 07:29 PM

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

06-27-2009, 07:29 PM	#7
tonycarreon Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Frederick, MD Posts: 1,396	done! 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 Last edited by tonycarreon; 06-27-2009 at 07:42 PM.