Pogoil
Oregon Coast
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Joined: 01/04/2010
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My son just washed the fins on our side mounted radiator. He laid under it for 30 minutes and washed it out very good. Brown water washed out for most of the 30 minutes he was doing it. It had been about 6000 miles since we last cleaned it about 7 months ago.
I could not believe it was that dirty. I will be doing it much more often. At least 4 times a year from now on.
How often do you wash yours?
Pogoil.
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wolfe10
Texas
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Particularly if you drive in rainy conditions, they can collect a LOT of dirt.
Consider how much dirt is deposited on the side of your coach when driving in rain.
Now, think of the thousands of cubic feet of that same muddy mess that is drawn into your cooling system by the large fan (side OR rear radiator configuration).
So either dusty conditions or rain can lead to reduced air flow through a cooling package. And unlike front radiators that get a lot of "clean" water driven through them (when not tail gating an 18 wheeler in a rain storm) vehicles with cooling systems in the back to not get that luxury.
Brett Wolfe
1993 Foretravel 36' U-240
Cat 3116, Allison 3060
FMCA Forum: www.community.fmca.com/index
Caterpillar RV Engine Owner's Club: www.catrvclub.org
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letssay
Traveling
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We were having overheating problems earlier in the summer and the group here advised us to clean the radiator. Finally did it and it made a world of difference. Something I'll pay more attention to as we do drive on dirt roads and when back in Florida we can always count on some rain. Just be careful not to apply too heavy pressure because you don't want to bend the fins. Yep, I learned that here too! These guys are great 
There's no place like home; that's why we take ours with us 
Enjoy your day!
2005 35' Discovery DP
1 happy husband
1 cool dog (Bradley Yeahbutt) and
Dr. Baxxter Peabody PHD waiting at the Rainbow Bridge
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wolfe10
Texas
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Just to clarify:
With a side radiator, you CAN clean it effectively from the outside/side as air flows from side INTO the engine room.
But, with a rear radiator, it must be cleaned from the FRONT (i.e. access from bedroom or closet) because air flows from the front to back. So the vast majority of the dirt is on the front of the CAC (Charge Air Cooler). The only exception is with stacked (vs sandwiched) cooling systems as they are only one "layer" thick and can be cleaned from the back.
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02tii
Steamboat Springs, CO
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Brett
With a Beaver Monterey C9-400 and side mount radiator, I've been told by local Cat folks that warming up the engine, spraying all rad cores from the outside with Dawn dishwashing soap mixture and then rinsing off with warm water at low pressure from the outside would be the best way to clean these cores short of disassembling the sandwiched arrangement. Make sense to you???
Thanks, Jim
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wolfe10
Texas
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02tii wrote:Brett
With a Beaver Monterey C9-400 and side mount radiator, I've been told by local Cat folks that warming up the engine, spraying all rad cores from the outside with Dawn dishwashing soap mixture and then rinsing off with warm water at low pressure from the outside would be the best way to clean these cores short of disassembling the sandwiched arrangement. Make sense to you???
Thanks, Jim
Good answer.
Do not let the detergent on long enough that it dries on the metal.
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wolfe10
Texas
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SpinRite wrote:wolfe10 wrote:Do not let the detergent on long enough that it dries on the metal. Brett, please don't leave me hanging... why? Won't it re-liquify when rinse water hits it?
The detergent (along with water) works to suspend dirt, "lifting" it from the surface. Allowing the mixture to dry back on the surface is counter-productive. Let it sit long enough to lift the dirt, then remove it.
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SpinRite
Research Triangle, NC
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wolfe10 wrote:Do not let the detergent on long enough that it dries on the metal. Brett, please don't leave me hanging... why? Won't it re-liquify when rinse water hits it?
'94 Holiday Rambler Navigator
38', Cummins 8.3 300hp, Allison 3060
pushed by a 2005 Honda Element
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