Cleaning Outside of Radiator?

[bigdomino]

Have a 08 Knight with the radiator facing to the rear. I am wondering how often you clean the outside of your rear facing radiator?

Do you hose it off from the rear and from the inside of the engine compartment? Do you spray anything, like Simple Green, on the radiator first?

Thanks.

Steve__

[R&J]

I can speak for other.
I wash my when it looks dirty, using only the soap that I wash the couch with.
Rich

[Sixpack98]

I flush our rear radiator from the rear to the front with water a few times a year which cleans off the dust and water soluble dirt and grime. Once a year I use a medium solution of Simple Green that I spray both the front and rear, let it soak for a few minutes and flush from the rear. Use a water hose to flush, not a pressure washer which can damage the fins on the radiator. Simple Green, and most other degreasers can be pretty harsh on aluminum radiators so multiple flushings are required to get rid of the residue. After each flush I start the engine and let the airflow force the water out. I also inspect the radiator from the engine side to make sure there is no grease, etc. A strong flashlight can be used to inspect the radiator. Have someone stand at the rear of the coach to observe the light. Most, if not all, of the Cummins engines have some sort of crankcase ventilation systems which capture the vast majority of oil mist or drops and don't have the problem of oil dripping from the vent tube and picked up by the fan and thrown into the radiator which can really clog up a radiator.

Monaco coaches have a stacked radiator which makes radiator cleaning much easier. It is much more difficult to clean the sandwich radiators since debris, etc collects between the radiator and turbo CAC.

[Robin_M]

Originally Posted by Sixpack98

I flush our rear radiator from the rear to the front with water a few times a year which cleans off the dust and water soluble dirt and grime. Once a year I use a medium solution of Simple Green that I spray both the front and rear, let it soak for a few minutes and flush from the rear. Use a water hose to flush, not a pressure washer which can damage the fins on the radiator.

Mark,

I like your approach, but I'm trying to get a mental image of just how you accomplish this. What do you do... lay on your back, on the ground, under the coach, and shoot up with a hose? Isn't that kind of like having a front row seat at a Gallagher performance?

[Sixpack98]

Originally Posted by Robin_M

Mark,

I like your approach, but I'm trying to get a mental image of just how you accomplish this. What do you do... lay on your back, on the ground, under the coach, and shoot up with a hose? Isn't that kind of like having a front row seat at a Gallagher performance?

Good one. You forgot the watermelons though.

I guess I should have been clearer. I flush from the rear of the coach to push debris, etc toward the front of the radiator (fan side). Flushing from the fan side would make a mess huh? Would be a great Gallagher spot though.

I do spray the Simple Green on the front and rear of the radiator. I use a bug sprayer with an extension on the fan side of the radiator and spray from the hatch in the bedroom and from under the coach. It's not easy to get even coverage even with the extension and does make a little of a mess though