Fall Radiator Cleaning

[packetstorm88]

Spent a good amount of time today cleaning out my radiators. About 53k on the 996 and it has never been cleaned. I noticed the temp gauge has been steadily rising.

:renntech:

[JonesnSince78]

Nice job! It's amazing what comes out of there isn't it?

[blitzkrieg]

Nice job! It's amazing what comes out of there isn't it?

Just a thought and don't crucify me, but has anybody tried sticking a lawn vac/blower nozzle up in there a bit to try to suck all that crap out?

With the small nozzle on my Toro it will pretty much suck the chrome off of a trailer hitch if you position it right, or be as delicate as a toothbrush if thats what you need.

[Loren]

Nice job! It's amazing what comes out of there isn't it?

Just a thought and don't crucify me, but has anybody tried sticking a lawn vac/blower nozzle up in there a bit to try to suck all that crap out?

With the small nozzle on my Toro it will pretty much suck the chrome off of a trailer hitch if you position it right, or be as delicate as a toothbrush if thats what you need.

Yes, and problem is it does not get much of it.

[ScottArizona]

nice job, and nice car. Is it zenith blue? That's my color, and I love it. I second what Loren says about trying to vacum out the leaves. The problem is the debri works its way between the radiator and the ac condensor...only way to get at it is to remove (partially) the outboard radiator.

[blitzkrieg]

nice job, and nice car. Is it zenith blue? That's my color, and I love it. I second what Loren says about trying to vacum out the leaves. The problem is the debri works its way between the radiator and the ac condensor...only way to get at it is to remove (partially) the outboard radiator.

I figured as much but thought I'd ask! B)

Thanks guys...

[Chuck Jones]

I did the lawn vac and also used a custom made skinny flat vacuum extension and got way up in there and cleaned it all out.....THEN I took it over to Loren's and he took off the front bumper and Oh MY!! You should have seen all the crud that was sandwiched between the radiator and the AC condenser.....from the front it looked clean, but in between is was ugly. So looking at it thru the grill it looks nice and clean, but it's not.

Chuck

[CosmosC4S]

The plastic mesh-screen mod that I did to the air-inlets when I last cleaned my radiators has made a huge difference.

I took a peak in there and there is NOTHING accumulated so far! :clapping:

Only issue is the hot-glue gave way at certain spots, probably due to the heat and high-speed wind-force,

I ended up using fine zipties to secure the mesh-screens.

[MagnusB]

The plastic mesh-screen mod that I did to the air-inlets when I last cleaned my radiators has made a huge difference.

I took a peak in there and there is NOTHING accumulated so far! :clapping:

Only issue is the hot-glue gave way at certain spots, probably due to the heat and high-speed wind-force,

I ended up using fine zipties to secure the mesh-screens.

Please tell more about the mesh screen mod.

[CosmosC4S]

Please tell more about the mesh screen mod.

It's right here:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...amp;#entry75432

[demosan]

Spent a good amount of time today cleaning out my radiators. About 53k on the 996 and it has never been cleaned. I noticed the temp gauge has been steadily rising.

:renntech:

PS88,

Nice job and your pics have convinced me its time to perform same clean-up operation. Amazing how much debri collects in those airflow ducts and radiators.

OBTW, looks like you might have your front alignment checked as your left front tire appears to be wearing on inside tread ( camber set too high for track purposes??). ;)

demosan

[packetstorm88]

nice job, and nice car. Is it zenith blue? That's my color, and I love it. I second what Loren says about trying to vacum out the leaves. The problem is the debri works its way between the radiator and the ac condensor...only way to get at it is to remove (partially) the outboard radiator.

Yep, Zenith Blue. I've been keeping an eye on the temp gauge and it's significantly lowered my temp when sitting in traffic idle here in Chicago....

[packetstorm88]

Spent a good amount of time today cleaning out my radiators. About 53k on the 996 and it has never been cleaned. I noticed the temp gauge has been steadily rising.

:renntech:

PS88,

Nice job and your pics have convinced me its time to perform same clean-up operation. Amazing how much debri collects in those airflow ducts and radiators.

OBTW, looks like you might have your front alignment checked as your left front tire appears to be wearing on inside tread ( camber set too high for track purposes??). ;)

demosan

I purchased my 996 c2 about a yr ago with 48k on it. Right before I purchased it, the dealer replaced a tie-rod. I don't feel any significant alignment issues, but I do notice some minor steering shake between 60-75mph. I'm planning on ordering a new set of tires soon, guess I better get the alignment checked at that time as well......

[hantsbad]

I decided to clean the radiators on my 2001 C4 today. It took awhile but really worth the effort. I was amazed at the amount of stuff that was in the radiators. I found a dead bird in one side. I have included pictures of the junk from the radiators. I would recommend cleaning your radiators it is not too difficult and has to be good for the car.

[JonesnSince78]

LOL! I love seeing these "here's what was in my radiator" pics. There certainly is a lot of strange stuff that falls out. I think your dead bird takes the cake! :lol:

[efahl]

LOL! I love seeing these "here's what was in my radiator" pics. There certainly is a lot of strange stuff that falls out. I think your dead bird takes the cake! :lol:

Mine's not radiator roughage, but I ran over a small dead deer and it left strips of meat on the various protrusions on the belly of the car, with a particularly large one on the rear bar. I had some very nice organic venison jerky when I finally got under there to hose things off. (The deer also ate the front engine cover, my thanks to Sunset for the new one that just arrived 10 minutes ago!)

[packetstorm88]

I decided to clean the radiators on my 2001 C4 today. It took awhile but really worth the effort. I was amazed at the amount of stuff that was in the radiators. I found a dead bird in one side. I have included pictures of the junk from the radiators. I would recommend cleaning your radiators it is not too difficult and has to be good for the car.

haha....Did you remove the wheels and raise the car? I was too lazy and removed the bumper without jacking and wheel removal.....

[hantsbad]

I decided to clean the radiators on my 2001 C4 today. It took awhile but really worth the effort. I was amazed at the amount of stuff that was in the radiators. I found a dead bird in one side. I have included pictures of the junk from the radiators. I would recommend cleaning your radiators it is not too difficult and has to be good for the car.

haha....Did you remove the wheels and raise the car? I was too lazy and removed the bumper without jacking and wheel removal.....

No I was lazy and left the wheels on. I think it would have been easier to remove the bumper with the wheels off and I will do it that way next time. How many of the plastic rivets did you break. I broke two and was glad I order replacements before I started which was suggested here on the boards.

:renntech:

[Orient Express]

To add another data point, My 2002 996 Cab has not one piece of crap stuck in its radiator after 5 years and 63,000 miles. Why? because the car wears a bra which has a nylon mesh that covers the radiator intakes. With the bra, all I ever have to do is to squirt the hose in there every once and a while to clean out the dust.

Having the car wear a bra keeps the radiators clean as a whistle!

[TedK]

Man, I had no idea what I was getting into when I started the cleanout/recondition project two weeks ago. My radiators were full of junk like everyone elses, but the radiator fins were seriously messed up, plus they were full of thousands of mini-pebbles(really, I mean thousands). I probably spent 8 total hours just straightening the fins and cleaning the radiators using screwdrivers, welding tip cleaners, air pressure, water pressure, and plenty of cursing. Finished them off with a coat of special radiator paint from Eastwood. After that was done, I decided to add some grills to help filter out some road junk, and after searching this and other boards I came up with my own variation. Bought some powdercoated hex mesh from customcargrills.com and attached the pieces to the grill inserts with black bailing wire(several places). I am quite happy with the results and since today its 80 outside, I can tell you there is no effect on operating temp. Thanks to CosmosC4S for the original inspirational posts. Hard to get the right exposure to show the way the car looks.

[gman3280]

It looks like my rads have never been cleaned. I was able to remove the loose dirt, leaves and stuff but I have caked on mud clogging the bottom of both rads. What's the safest way to clean this mud out? I'm thinking the water hose on low pressure. Better ideas?