Radiator Cleaning Day

 I dreaded the thought of cleaning the radiator when I awoke this morning.  It was 9 o’clock and somewhere in the night the winds died and it was warm and nice out when I let Yuma out for his morning stroll.  Sure can’t do this job in the wind.  Glad I'm not doing this at home right now.

Of course, as you know, I didn’t jump right on it.  I laid in the sun and drank two cups of coffee and then had cereal and a banana for breakfast.

It was 12:30 and off I went to hook up the hose to the outside water line and tested it.  It put out plenty of pressure using the spray nozzle I bought the other day.  Then I squirted some Dawn dish water soap into the small 1 1/2 gallon sprayer and I was ready.

Spraying the radiator for the first time.

I had read online that I needed to clean from outside the radiator towards the blades on the other side in the engine bay.  I opened up my bed so I could see if any water was getting through the radiator to the other side.

On the first two cleanings, no water was making it through all the dirt and grime on the other side.  On the third cleaning, I could see some water was making it through.

Water broke through where it is dark.

Looking better every time I clean it.

About as clean as I can get it.

I cleaned about seven times and then I crawled into the engine bay and sprayed soap on the backside best I could and then used the hose to clean from that side.  Then went around to the outside and sprayed once more.

Had to climb over the engine to that black area where the blades and radiator are.

Laying on top of the engine, reaching in with the sprayer.

Dirty job, but someone has to do it!

Finally, at 3:30, I was done with the job.  At this moment, I think it is as clean as it will get.  I see no dirt, but I do see some white chalky stuff in places and looking online that is the result of anti-freeze leaks in the past that have hardened on the fins.  Can’t seem to remove that.  If anyone has a suggestion, leave a message.

Yuma was very tired of me ignoring him, so I sat and had a coke and gave him some really good pets till he was semi-happy.  We then walked around the area a little because it is such a beautiful  afternoon.  This is the way Yuma weather should be this time of year.

My buddy is back.

Tomorrow, I will add some hose to run the smoke coming from the valve cover to the outside of the bottom of the White Lion.  That will help to keep the radiator cleaner, I hope.  My son-in-law, Evan thinks I have a broken ring and that is causing the smoke coming from the overflow at the top of the engine.

It’s getting time for Gold Rush, so time to wrap up and relax for a couple of hours.   Then, it is time for dinner and bedtime.  I hope these fixes solve my overheating problem, so I can get home.

Thanks for stopping by.