Shop vac is my weapon of choice

 

I just picked up one of these, uses the M18 battery. No more cords to mess with and super light weight.

 

Based on the amount of trash I've taken from my Boxster's radiator ducts, and the amount of trash I've seen come of my Turbo's radiator ducts, at some point cooling or A/C operation could be compromised.


However, before the trash builds to a point it affects coolant or A/C operation I believe the radiators or condensers would be leaking from the corrosion.


That said I'm perfectly willing to keep the radiator ducts clean and get maximum life out of the radiators/condensers.


The passenger side condenser and radiator are original on my 02 Boxster and have 282K miles over 12 years. The driver side condenser and radiator are original on my 03 Turbo and have 11 years and 124K miles with no leaks.


(Early on the Boxster lost its driver side condenser and radiator to a Detroit Alligator (tire carcass) one dark night on 50 highway outside of Strong City KS; The Turbo at around 10K miles (in July 2009) lost its passenger side radiator and condenser to a hard headed mule deer on 50 highway one dark (and stormy) night outside of Ely NV. Hey I just noticed this: 50 highway both times. Note to self: Stay the heck off of 50 highway!)


When I first started using a local dealer to service my cars I had both cars in and the bumper cover removed and the area cleaned out quite thoroughly. Then every time I have the car in for something else the tech blows out the trash/dirt unless in his opinion the bumper cover needs to come off for a more thorough cleaning. He can have the bumper cover off in just a few minutes even with me standing next to him asking him lots of questions. I authorize an hour's labor for this bumper R&R and cleaning but I do not think I was even billed an hour the only time the bumper cover was removed for either car.


Anyhow, I would not skip keeping the radiator ducts and hardware therein clear of trash and the finer stuff that collects just because cooling or A/C operation isn't suffering.

 

Well, I did this DIY project myself today. I have very close to zero mechanical skills, but I did follow several threads and YouTube videos, and I have to say I'm pretty darn pleased with myself. It took me right at 1.5 hours, mostly because I was taking my time and I also didn't have the optimal tools. My observations:

It would be a heck of a lot easier with the front wheels off, but I managed to do it with both still on. Turning them all the way one way or the other gave me just enough room.

Try to keep the screws/rivets relatively organized and it will go back together a lot faster.

A stubby set of Torx screwdrivers would have saved me 45 minutes. As it was, I used a Tork foldout set and it worked fine, but slow.

Some wheel well liners will be brittle so be careful when you are pulling them back to get to the screw behind/underneath the side marker. That screw was the hardest to deal with, but not impossible.

Everything wiggles apart pretty easily once all the screws are out. I was surprised at how light the bumper is and also how easily I got it back in place.

My radiators weren't as bad as I thought they'd be - lots of leaves, paper, gravel, but way less cigarette butts than I was expecting. After moving the condensers out of the way I used a soft brush and lightly went over the rads to remove the crap stuck in the fins, then shop-vaced it all out.

Putting everything back together took 15 minutes. I was happy that I didn't break anything or have any leftover parts. One question though - I had everything done and then realized my outside air temp sensor was just hanging there. I got it back into the bracket in my grill, but it seems kinked and not right. Anyone have a picture of theirs so I can compare? Does that come apart easily, get installed into the bracket and then clipped back together? It's working fine but looks wrong.

Anyway, I'm usually the last guy to do work on my cars because I'm sure I'll screw something up, but based on everyone else's comments I was convinced I could do this. I promise you, if I can, so can anyone else on this board. I bet I could do it in 30 minutes the next time if I had better tools.

Good luck!

 

Good job leftlane! +++

 

Good job= should give you the confidence to do more of your own maintenance!

 

Thanks for sharing and I will now begin this process with my car after a nice 160 mile journey