Had a chance this week to get some maintenance done on the car. I had been meaning to clean the radiator grills for a while now and finally got around to it this weekend.

I used the DIY found here to remove the bumper. (Thanks to the_rock/DC)
I was amazed at how much trash was behind there.. I should have taken a picture before I cleaned it all up, but I did take a pic of all the stuff I vacuumed out..

I used a combo of using a vacuum with a brush & compressed air from the back to assist..

From the looks of things, I’m not sure this had ever been done before..

I also took the opportunity to detach the condensers and clean behind them.. I was amazed at how much trash there was still there even after a thorough cleaning – however it’s hard to get it all when the radiator & condenser are still together.

I also unhooked the center radiator so I could blow compressed air from the backside to dislodge all the tiny rocks.. The center radiator looks to be the most beat up from the 38K miles.

I’ve ordered a new wheel apron as one of mine is torn.

I enjoyed this project as I spent several hours cleaning things up – I know a tech would not spend as much time cleaning so I figured I might as well do it.

I also used this time to remove the headlight washers and paint the chrome tips black, as well as apply a liberal coat of Black Magic to all the black parts in the bumper that aren’t the easiest to access without it taken apart.

This has inspired me to tackle another project this fall..R&R of the spark plugs & coils and possibly a GT2RS intercooler upgrade. The plugs will be a bit more of a challenge on this car but my scissor lift will certainly help.








A brush attachment on my shop-vac helped tremendously.






What I got out of there..

 

Sweet! Yeah, the radiators do collect crap.... and I still wonder how many cigarette butts my vacuum collects every time.




What brand is your lift? And how much may I ask?

 

Outstanding work sir
Mind me asking what scissor lift and if you would recommend it?

 

Thanks - it's a BendPak MD-6XP lift. It was around $1800 delivered as I recall.. and yes I would recommend. Makes me look for reasons to use it..

For this job it was a "nice to have" but for my upcoming projects it will be a must.

I made my ramps based on instructions I found online as well..

 

That's what I figured. Been trying local Craigslist for a while now but Bendpaks get snapped up super quick.

 

Perfect

 

Nice work. Do the bumpers always line up right when putting them back?
I did a spark plug change and did not remove the rear bumper for fear of not getting it back on right, LOL.

 

They fit perfectly with no issues. Those Germans spent some time engineering these things so they could get the same fit and finish from the factory, each and every time.. It's not like the bumpers on my old 80s cars where you had to do a lot of adjusting to make it fit right..

 

Thanks, maybe I ll get brave a do this over the winter.

 

So I think I found an older model Snap-On mid-rise scissor model. The seller and I shook hands and let's hope that he's a gentleman (keeping his word that it is sold to me).

 

Good luck. I'm using mine tomorrow for a rear brake job on my DD Saab 900.

 

Well I can say lot in my case..

 

Did you also use a fin comb to straighten all the bent radiator fins while you had it all apart?

 

I didn't use a comb to do it ( I honestly didn't know such a tool existed until I just looked it up..) but I did use a small screwdriver to straighten them out. It took a while this way and that tool would have saved a lot of time..

Thanks for the tip! Something to add to my Christmas list.

 

Hey! Now there is something I didn't know about either... thanks for bringing it up and thanks to OP for the original thread! Time for some rep points.