This might be dumb to ask but...

[leather&wood]

the thing in front of my radiator (condenser) "i think its called" and radiator are pretty darn dirty.
so I was wondering if I can take off my radiator, hose it off and spray some degreaser on it.
or should I just hose off and pick out what I can from the top with the hood open.

is it cool if I get water on the radiator or whattt?

sorry for my lack of knowledge im only 19 and this is my first NICE carand I dont want to screw it up ya know. :shifty:

 

[luttersj]

Depends on how dirty your radiator is. Looking dirty and being clogged are two different things. If you've got a bunch of bugs and debris jammed into the cooling fins that will force the car's cooling system to work harder since there's less effective cooling surface area on the radiator. In that case, it would be beneficial to clean it up. However, removing the radiator isn't a small job. Not huge, either, but you'll have to drain the cooling system. On the other hand, if it's just dirty looking, there's really no problem with that.

So which category do you fall into? dirty looking or dirty and clogged?

 

[joegr]

Clean it in-place with a water hose and spray nozzle. You won't hurt anything. Just don't spray water directly into the air cleaner, and do it with the engine off.

 

[leather&wood]

Depends on how dirty your radiator is. Looking dirty and being clogged are two different things. If you've got a bunch of bugs and debris jammed into the cooling fins that will force the car's cooling system to work harder since there's less effective cooling surface area on the radiator. In that case, it would be beneficial to clean it up. However, removing the radiator isn't a small job. Not huge, either, but you'll have to drain the cooling system. On the other hand, if it's just dirty looking, there's really no problem with that.

So which category do you fall into? dirty looking or dirty and clogged?

i believe i fall into the "dirty looking with random debris " so I think im just gonna see what I can get out of there with some crude tools i have made.

thank you for your input guys!

 

[97stscaddy]

is it cool if I get water on the radiator or whattt?

Do you drive your car in the rain?

Yes, it can get wet. DO NOT use any kind of high strength degreaser or wheel cleaner on the radiator unless it says "NON CORROSIVE" on the bottle. And simple green is a big no as well. Dish soap is probably the best thing to use.

Mix some soap and water up in a spray bottle, spray it all over the front of the radiator, then just spray it off with a water hose. Make sure you spray off the engine too because the soap will make the belt slip if it doesn't get washed off. And don't do that when the radiator is hot.