Removed the front bumper in preparation to clean the radiators. What's the best approach to clean them? I thought about putting a hose of water behind them to try to force out any more junk.

 

How about compressed air? That might loosen up more junk.

 

There is a bolt that holds the AC Condenser in front of the radiator, Take that off and the condenser slips out of it's bracket and away from the radiator. You will find quite a bit of dirt and debris trapped in between. Usually a hose will wash away all of that.

Some people use a soft brush to remove any stubborn dirt but be careful not to damage the fins. Others, have gone as far as removing the fender liners and using water to push anything back through the front. I have not done the last as my radiators where pretty clean just after using water to wash the crud out.

Hope this helps,

 

Great suggestions! I have to replace the fender liner on the passenger side anyway (another reason for removing the bumper), so will use hose. Thx guys.

 

I just just did this today. I reach in and pulled out as much junk as I could, then used the leaf blower in reverse mode to suck out what I could, then used the leaf blower in regular mode to blow out what I could. It's pretty clean now. It was all leaves, sand/pebbles, and cigarette butts. The last ones particularly **** me off since they could have still been lit when they entered. If you smoke in your car use the damn ashtray!

 

Deckman... good idea. Will go the leaf blower suction route first. I remember reading on a forum that somebody found a dead rodent wedged in, so could be worse.

 

Be careful with the ac condensors' hosing. The aluminum hosing can easily be bent if you are not careful when moving them around.

 

yes, lots of stuff between the two rads....

 

Cut a 24" section of a garden hose, as flexible of one as you can find. One end should be the female fitting, the other cut at a 30 degree angle or steeper. The brass fitting will duct tape perfectly over one of your shop vac nozzles. You'll find it. The steep angle allows you to vacuum off all the dreck quite nicely. This is a great tool to clean the front of the rads without taking bumper off, too.

 

Redridge, thx for the tip. Here's what mine looked like. Please... no flaming me on using bailing wire! LOL

 

a little OT but, where does the air go after it flows through the radiator? is there any ducting and if so wher does it go?

 

Looks like you are doing more than rad cleaning....mods?

it goes down in front of the front tires then out of the sides of the car....

 

Update on this. I cleaned the radiators a couple weeks ago, and as an FYI my car runs the same temperature as before.