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Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned
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(07-06-2018, 09:00 PM)Guy Wrote:  We are on the road from Rancho Jurupa Ca. to Moab Utah. The infamous Baker Grade west of Las Vegas brought us down to 15 mph 1st gear to keep engine temps under control. The ambient temp that day was 100+The rest of the trip has seen the engine run 190-200 degrees, but any increase in elevation brings us to 2nd gear to manage heat. 

The radiator "looked" clean to me before we started the trip. In Cedar City Utah we had a truck shop steam the radiator, and saw some evidence of dirt in the fins. The cooling did not improve. Today, a fellow guru asked for photos of 8V92 radiator fans. I thought I would send a photo, as no two Newells are alike. Imagine my surprise when I opened the engine bay and saw a totally dirty radiator. Photo attached.  I watched the truck shop steam the radiator, but looking back on the cleaning yesterday, the shop made sure the radiator had flow through it from back to front  as they steam cleaned, but never checked their work in the engine side of the radiator when they were done. Neither did I. Also, I now believe they did not use steam, just hot water. Not ever using a steam cleaner, i did not know what to look for, but I saw no steam, just water. 

Tomorrow I will locate another shop. We are now in the Moab Utah area. I am certain we will be running a lot cooler, thanks to the gurus.

Hey Guy......the key is not so much steam (super hot water works well too) but to clean both sides of the radiator.  If they only sprayed from the outside they left a lot of gunk on the inside, which is obvious from your picture.  When I had mine cleaned in Albuquerque back in mid April I had both engine bay doors open so I could see what was happening on the inside of the radiator.  When I was certain they have removed all the gunk from the inside I had them quit.  The results were some of the lowest engine temps the rest of our one month trip to Maine.  When cleaning the inside they need to spray across the radiator fins with a little lower pressure to be sure they don't bend the fins.....you'll see the grease and gunk just fall off.


Clarke and Elaine Hockwald
1982 Newell Classic, 36', 6V92 TA
2001 VW Beetle Turbo
Cannondale Tandem
Cannondale Bad Boy
Haibike SDURO MTB
http://whatsnewell.blogspot.com
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Messages In This Thread
Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Guy - 07-06-2018, 09:00 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by whatsnewell - 07-07-2018, 03:33 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Guy - 07-07-2018, 03:52 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by whatsnewell - 07-07-2018, 02:51 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by HoosierDaddy - 07-07-2018, 07:46 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by whatsnewell - 07-08-2018, 02:50 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Guy - 07-08-2018, 05:50 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Guy - 10-02-2018, 06:11 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by HoosierDaddy - 10-02-2018, 07:04 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Richard - 10-03-2018, 05:47 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Guy - 10-04-2018, 05:22 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by ccjohnson - 10-04-2018, 07:33 AM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Richard - 10-04-2018, 04:32 PM
RE: Radiator Steam Cleaning- Lesson learned - by Georgeb - 10-05-2018, 09:11 AM

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