| Re: Checked your radiator lately? |
Subject: Re: Checked your radiator lately? by hcbph on 2018/5/29 15:53:06 I'll pass along a couple of things I found doing this, may make it a little simpler for others. First off you'll need a 7mm, 10mm & 13mm wrench. You don't have to drain the radiator or pull the fan the way I did it. Don't know if everyone approves of this as I did one little mod, but it worked. Remove the air cleaner assembly off the top and unsnap it from the intake. I pulled the 2 studs off the cover just so I wouldn't lose them. Unbolt the top 2 bolts off the fan (13mm). Unbolt the cover from the radiator support (a mix of 7mm & 10mm) - 7 mm on the front and 10 on the back side. You also need to unbolt the power steering reservoir off the cover along with the a/c drier. There are retainer clips on the dryer so if you loosen it evenly the bolts will be held on the dryer DAMHIK. Here's the mod I did so I didn't have to drain the radiator etc to gain access. Pull the wire off the low coolant sensor under the radiator car. You might be able to work it up with just this, I couldn't. There's a hole for that sensor and tranny cooler lines, I took a set to sheetmetal snips and trimmed the tab areas below then so the cover would slide off the passenger side completely. Work the cover up and around the upper radiator hose, you now have complete access through the top. Mine had a lot of gunk and it was hardened over the years. I took a L shaped rod and went down in there to break it loose. A vacuum cleaner small hose will fit between the radiator and the a/c condenser. Just keep at it till it's all out. I also took an air hose from the back side and blew through the radiator core to insure it was as clean as I could get it. Reassemble in reverse order and you're ready to hit the road. I probably should have taken some pictures but I didn't. Ironically I was checking engine temp - before and after cleaning out the junk. Ironically it ran around 186-189 degrees before I cleaned it, and it's run 186-190 since but a slightly hotter day - both times were highway driving. Can't say it helped the engine temp, but it gives me a little better peace of mind now knowing it's cleaned out. |
