cleaning radiators - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

tonycarreon · 06-25-2009, 08:20 AM

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.

i never would have thought "hey you should clean the radiators because of all the gunk that gets in there" but yeah. he even has a nice little collection of rocks...

is that a cigarette butt up there!?

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

tnoice · 06-25-2009, 08:26 AM

Wow has he hit some curbs. ouch

timothy · 06-25-2009, 08:46 AM

Good find. He had a difficult time reaching behind the liner for a screw but maybe that is still easier than what I did -- jack up the car and remove the entire liner. I have also seen a variation where the the liner is detached and pulled back at the front but left in place behind the shock.

MarkOfZero · 06-25-2009, 08:57 AM

Tony,

Thanks for posting this link. It is something that I have been meaning to do. Now that I see how easy it is, I will definitely do it soon.

Mark

tonycarreon · 06-27-2009, 04:22 PM

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.

06-27-2009, 04:49 PM

I clean my radiators, 2 times, with every car wash. With my leaf blower.

1) Leaf blower when everything is dry
2) Leaf blower after everything is wet.

Lots of stuff comes flying out each time.

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

Lil bastard · 06-29-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmussatti

I clean my radiators, 2 times, with every car wash. With my leaf blower.

1) Leaf blower when everything is dry
2) Leaf blower after everything is wet.

Lots of stuff comes flying out each time.

Course you know better, esp. for the 987, but here's a pic of the crud between the condenser and the rad on a car w/ only 27k mi.

Maybe the 987 system is different, or the road debris in IL is different than the rest of the country.

If not, suggest cleaning between them.

Bladecutter · 07-01-2009, 09:26 AM

Quote:

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 · 07-01-2009, 08:01 PM

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 · 07-01-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

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...

Fintro11 · 11-12-2016, 07:30 AM

After almost four years of ownership decided to clean the radiator

BirdDog · 11-12-2016, 08:56 PM

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 · 11-13-2016, 04:19 AM

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

Great stuff!

Thanks/Anker

Froggo · 11-13-2016, 11:20 AM

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 · 11-13-2016, 02:20 PM

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!

Quote:

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 · 11-14-2016, 08:52 AM

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 · 12-22-2016, 05:21 AM

....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 · 12-22-2016, 11:30 AM

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!