Side radiator

[DaveBunker]

Before I start unscrewing things I thought it might be a good idea to ask someone that knows. On my 04 Camelot, I want to take a look at the radiator and maybe pressure wash it if needed. I see two hinges on each end of the radiator cover up under the decorative cowling. Does this body/radiator cover flip up?

[Biljol]

Some pictures of the bottom should help see if there a latch or a screw holding it on.

[Lt Dan]

Be very careful if you pressure wash. The high pressure jet from that can cut right through the thin wall of a radiator. Your best bet is to spray with Simple Green or similar cleaner and just use garden hose pressure.

[DaveBunker]

I will take special caution and use a garden hose instead.

[153stars]

Some heat in radiator and CAC won't hurt the degreaser soak time.

[super_rep]

Go to Lowes or HD and buy some coil cleaner. Follow instructions and GENTLY hose off. Do not use pressure washer on any cooling coils. It's too easy to damage them.

[RobRoy]

Dont know for sure on yours, mine is unlike yours and has 6 cobbler screws holding it .......Kind of a funky deal but works.

My guess is your deal will have screws or hatches on the bottom very bottom and on the top it will be either be hinged or have a lip that that the cover sets down into.

I with the low pressure crowd........ Low pressure with hot water..... hose it down with the hot water let it sit for a while maybe 1/2 hour of so to saturate ...and do so a few times or more if needed.


Happy Trails

[Piros1]

Regardless what you wash it with make sure you wash straight through the coils and not at an angle against the fins. I have had good luck with a hot power washer but I use a wide fan tip and hold my gun back from the radiator. As stated above if you are not cautious you can put enough pressure to push the fins flat. I think the coil cleaner sounds like a good idea as long as it is compatible with the material and paint used on your radiator, condenser coil, and intercooler.

What happens quite often in older rigs is duty and debris can build up between the cores. Cleaning them regularly can help for sure. On some of my company trucks we have had to remove the intercooler to clean between the three coils. Hopefully you never have to go there. I can see where on a side radiator it could be difficult to do.

[wolfe10]

Simple Green EXTREME is an excellent, aluminum-safe degreaser. Developed for degreasing aircraft.


Agree, garden nozzle pressure and Simple Green Extreme are all you need. Most of the debris will be cleanable from the outside-- the outer surface of the CAC.


The radiator can only effectively be cleaned from the inside, but shouldn't be necessary unless they have never been cleaned.

[Outbound]

They sell fin combs if you have any areas of radiator where they are flattened out.

[DaveBunker]

Originally Posted by Outbound

They sell fin combs if you have any areas of radiator where they are flattened out.

Simple answer to a simple question. Yes it does swing up for better access.

[wolfe10]

Dave,


From the picture, it looks like your cooling package consists of:


Dash A/C condenser most outboard so it gets the "coolest" air as air flows from outside, through the "layers" of the cooling package, pulled by the fan into the engine room.



Inboard of that the CAC


Inboard of that the radiator


Below the A/C condenser I believe is either the hydraulic or transmission cooler. Follow the hoses to/from it to determine which.

[DaveBunker]

Got it

[DaveBunker]

I unbolted the AC condenser to gain better access.