cleaning radiators

[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.

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

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.

Yes, I have done this. Easy to do. Not much came out though. Leaf blower still worked better.

[timothy]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

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

When I was but a newb, Park Place in Dallas said the radiators needed to be cleaned of debris at a price of $400 IIRC. It was suggested as annual maintenance.

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

wow...

just watched a video walkthrough of how to remove the bumper and get to the radiators to clean them. definitely something i'm going to do this weekend, but wanted to post the link to the video.

video walkthrough is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um-h2aUJHY4&feature=channel_page

Hey, thanks for the link to the video.
That made it very easy to do myself this morning.

My right side radiator had much more stuff collected between them than the left side, though I did have 1 lone butt on the left, and a q-tip on the right.

In a little while, I'm going to go for a spin, and see if the stop and go traffic temp is a bit lower.

Thanks again,
BC.

[Paul]

It always amazes me that guys that want to change their oil way too soon will resist well documented evidence that our radiators need to be cleaned at least every 30,000 miles.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by Paul

It always amazes me that guys that want to change their oil way too soon will resist well documented evidence that our radiators need to be cleaned at least every 30,000 miles.

Ditto...

[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

[vath2001]

Just got done cleaning the radiators. The UTube videos is really helpful. The shop vac did the job.
Here's a pic of the debris before.

[edevlin]

I am going to clean my radiators in the next week or two. Very interested to see what is in there. They have not been cleaned for 9 years and 90K. When I have the bumper off I want to remove the grills and paint them as they have faded. Any advice for preping the grills for painting them black, type of paint to use or such would be appreciated,

Ed

[Bobiam]

Originally Posted by edevlin

I am going to clean my radiators in the next week or two. Very interested to see what is in there. They have not been cleaned for 9 years and 90K. When I have the bumper off I want to remove the grills and paint them as they have faded. Any advice for preping the grills for painting them black, type of paint to use or such would be appreciated,

Ed

Be sure to get in between the AC and coolant radiators to do a complete cleaning.
Re painting, you can get real fancy, but no need to. Use a scotchbright type pad to roughen them and remove loose paint, and go to a home improvement store and look for spray that is designed for plastic without prime or further prep. I recommend a satin gloss. I forget the brand name that I used but it's a popular name. Easy to do and works well.

[Paul]

Before painting them, try Vinylex, you may change your mind.

http://www.vinylexprotectant.com/

[Fintro11]

After almost four years of ownership decided to clean the radiator

[BirdDog]

Tony

The system I've developed over the years when taking things apart...

Take pictures!

You have a smart phone, right? Just shoot some photos as you take things apart. It makes getting it back together (and the right bolts in the right places) a lot easier.

Bill

[Anker]

I am amazed at how dirty those radiators get. Definitely a project for the coming spring.

Great stuff!

Thanks/Anker

[Froggo]

Cleaning between the radiators for airflow is one thing .The other is if there is buildup of debris which is left it will eventually corrode the radiator core tubes which will leak, then a new radiator is required. Mesh grills on the air intakes are a good idea and easy to make and fit by tying to the existing intake bars.

[PaulE]

I have a friend who had an Audi A4 with the V8. That car uses the same setup, dual radiators on each front corner. He had to buy new radiators as they started leaking after the leaves and other garbage corroded the tubes.

Another thing to do while you're in there is check out that both of your horns - high note and low note are working and replace them if they're not working!

Originally Posted by Froggo

Cleaning between the radiators for airflow is one thing .The other is if there is buildup of debris which is left it will eventually corrode the radiator core tubes which will leak, then a new radiator is required. Mesh grills on the air intakes are a good idea and easy to make and fit by tying to the existing intake bars.

[mikesz]

After I cleaned mine I used some gutter guard from lowes and put it in the front openings to block some of the junk from getting in the radiators.

[10/10ths]

....so, time to pull the bumper cover and R&R the horns, relocate the Trunk cable release, and clean the radiators.

I bought the car 16 months ago.

Car lived in a garage in Colorado for 12 years.

I've put 15,000 miles on her with three cross-country trips.

Car has 38,000 miles on her. 2004 model.

Here's what was inside:







Wow!

Just do it.

And now the horn works.

[PaulE]

Good job! It is a reminder that it is getting to be time for me to do it again too! First time I replaced my horns I rotated them backwards hoping that water would be less likely to get in them. It didn't help. That is why I swore off of automatic car washes for this car, although I probably went to these car washes less than a dozen times since buying the car in 2003! Knock on wood my horns have been fine since!