Hot C4 Radiator/Condenser Shroud Clean Out
07-01-2006, 12:49 PM
#1
CF JASOC Member
Thread Starter
Hot C4 Radiator/Condenser Shroud Clean Out
As hot as these C4s run, I thought I'd share this.
First off, shine a flashlight into the small opening around the radiator cap and look into the opening just below that where the a/c lines come out of the condenser. If yours looks clear between the radiator and condenser, no problem. If however you can see leaves and other debris like I did, read on...
DO NOT REMOVE YOUR RADIATOR!!!!
You do not need to undo any coolant or a/c lines at all.
I just did this on my '88 3 weeks ago. It was almost half full between the back side of the condenser and front side of the radiator. Candy wrappers, cig butts, leaves, feathers you name it. I was done in about 2 and 1/2 hours start to finish.
After you remove the air cleaner/hose and the obvious larger bolts, there are the small ones along the front near where the air cleaner sits, and there are also a couple of the smaller bolts lower on the back side too. Then you'll have to remove the mounting bolts on the accumulator on the right side (silver canister) and the power steering bottle on the left. I think for the accumulator I also undid the bolt on the big clamp that goes around it, and on the power steering bottle I only removed the front bolt and let it pivot on the back one. Just leave them hanging there and don't forget to reattach them after.
The top half of the shroud should then lift up far enough to rotate it around the upper hose and inlet without removing the hose. The shroud has a slotted opening around the inlet that lets you lift it up enough to raise it and rotate it up and to the left. The hose and inlet will be the only thing keeping you from removing it all the way, but that's okay. It's actually a good thing since you won't have to worry about a coolant mess or bleeding afterwards.
The radiator will want to stay still because the hoses will not let it move, but as I recall, the condenser tilted forward enough to make more room. This is the time to flush the junk out with a hose, so I did the whole thing outside anticipating that would be the case.
I had to use 2 vacuum attachments to get down far enough to suck all the garbage out. Be careful not to bugger-up the cooling fins by jamming the attachments down in there without looking at what you're doing.
Next, it's time to flush the small debris out of the cooling fins. Ideally you want to flush them both towards the front of the car, since that's the reverse of how it got in there, but there's not enough room to get a hose in between the condenser and radiator. I flushed the radiator from the fan side and the condenser from the front. It seemed to work great and the junk drained out the bottom nicely with all the larger debris gone. Careful not to get water in your MAS since the air cleaner and inlet hose are not there to protect it. Cover it with a bag and a rubber band. DO NOT STUFF ANYTHING INSIDE IT for obvious reasons.
Make sure the radiator and condenser are both seated correctly on their rubber stops underneath when you start to put things back together or the shroud top will not go back on. You won't believe the crap that you'll find in there.
See the pic below of what came out of mine. No, not the Coke can, but I put that there for scale. Remember that all you see went through the vacuum cleaner and was reduced in volume tremendously.
The temperature difference this clean-out made for me was about 10 degrees less on average than before doing it. Every little bit helps with these C4s.
When I start the engine the temp goes up to around 193, and then the thermostat opens (190). Next the temp drops to around 183-4 as the coolant is free to flow through the radiator. It then slowly climbs up to 194-5 again and stays there unless I'm stuck in traffic.
Traffic gets me a slow climb to 228 at which point the main cooling fan turns on and quickly brings the temp back to around 213, then it cycles off until 228 again and so on...
I have never seen my aux cooling fan (in front of condenser) turn on at all. I have tested it and the associated relay (on fan shroud) and the temperature switch (left side head), and they all work fine. Haven't figured out yet at what temp it should turn on.
If I'm in traffic with the a/c on, this runs the main cooling fan and it hovers around 216-7 as the fan will not cycle off with the a/c on.
Have Fun!
First off, shine a flashlight into the small opening around the radiator cap and look into the opening just below that where the a/c lines come out of the condenser. If yours looks clear between the radiator and condenser, no problem. If however you can see leaves and other debris like I did, read on...
DO NOT REMOVE YOUR RADIATOR!!!!
You do not need to undo any coolant or a/c lines at all.
I just did this on my '88 3 weeks ago. It was almost half full between the back side of the condenser and front side of the radiator. Candy wrappers, cig butts, leaves, feathers you name it. I was done in about 2 and 1/2 hours start to finish.
After you remove the air cleaner/hose and the obvious larger bolts, there are the small ones along the front near where the air cleaner sits, and there are also a couple of the smaller bolts lower on the back side too. Then you'll have to remove the mounting bolts on the accumulator on the right side (silver canister) and the power steering bottle on the left. I think for the accumulator I also undid the bolt on the big clamp that goes around it, and on the power steering bottle I only removed the front bolt and let it pivot on the back one. Just leave them hanging there and don't forget to reattach them after.
The top half of the shroud should then lift up far enough to rotate it around the upper hose and inlet without removing the hose. The shroud has a slotted opening around the inlet that lets you lift it up enough to raise it and rotate it up and to the left. The hose and inlet will be the only thing keeping you from removing it all the way, but that's okay. It's actually a good thing since you won't have to worry about a coolant mess or bleeding afterwards.
The radiator will want to stay still because the hoses will not let it move, but as I recall, the condenser tilted forward enough to make more room. This is the time to flush the junk out with a hose, so I did the whole thing outside anticipating that would be the case.
I had to use 2 vacuum attachments to get down far enough to suck all the garbage out. Be careful not to bugger-up the cooling fins by jamming the attachments down in there without looking at what you're doing.
Next, it's time to flush the small debris out of the cooling fins. Ideally you want to flush them both towards the front of the car, since that's the reverse of how it got in there, but there's not enough room to get a hose in between the condenser and radiator. I flushed the radiator from the fan side and the condenser from the front. It seemed to work great and the junk drained out the bottom nicely with all the larger debris gone. Careful not to get water in your MAS since the air cleaner and inlet hose are not there to protect it. Cover it with a bag and a rubber band. DO NOT STUFF ANYTHING INSIDE IT for obvious reasons.
Make sure the radiator and condenser are both seated correctly on their rubber stops underneath when you start to put things back together or the shroud top will not go back on. You won't believe the crap that you'll find in there.
See the pic below of what came out of mine. No, not the Coke can, but I put that there for scale. Remember that all you see went through the vacuum cleaner and was reduced in volume tremendously.
The temperature difference this clean-out made for me was about 10 degrees less on average than before doing it. Every little bit helps with these C4s.
When I start the engine the temp goes up to around 193, and then the thermostat opens (190). Next the temp drops to around 183-4 as the coolant is free to flow through the radiator. It then slowly climbs up to 194-5 again and stays there unless I'm stuck in traffic.
Traffic gets me a slow climb to 228 at which point the main cooling fan turns on and quickly brings the temp back to around 213, then it cycles off until 228 again and so on...
I have never seen my aux cooling fan (in front of condenser) turn on at all. I have tested it and the associated relay (on fan shroud) and the temperature switch (left side head), and they all work fine. Haven't figured out yet at what temp it should turn on.
If I'm in traffic with the a/c on, this runs the main cooling fan and it hovers around 216-7 as the fan will not cycle off with the a/c on.
Have Fun!
Last edited by xCCTer; 07-01-2006 at 01:44 PM.
07-01-2006, 01:05 PM
#2
Drifting
Member Since: Jun 2005
Location: Swanton VT 2000 Navy Blue Mettalic M6 / 1991 Auto - Steel Blue 68,500 R.I.P
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Thanks for the tip It will come in handy for allot of people i think . I have a 91 and can look through the hole with out a flash light fine . It all looks fairly clean but I'm worried I'm not looking in the right spot do to not needing a flashlight ( Most post say they need on to see down through there ).
PatsFan
PatsFan
07-01-2006, 01:49 PM
#3
CF JASOC Member
Thread Starter
I couldn't see anything on mine without a flashlight, and even then only about half the space. That was enough to see that there was debris half way up to the top. It just defies logic how all that crap got in there, as it seems pretty well sealed. Murphy's Law I guess. Makes me want to put one of those screens over the front opening under the license plate.
07-02-2006, 05:16 PM
#4
CF JASOC Member
Thread Starter
It was 97 near DC today. My cooling system needed all the help it could get just to stay around 208 on the road with the a/c blasting. Glad I spent that time doing this.
07-01-2017, 03:59 PM
#5
2nd Gear
Member Since: Jul 2017
Location: Virginia
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Thanks for the how to. I just bought an 88 C4 last week and cleaned out the area between the condenser and radiator this morning. Lots of crap in there! Plastic grocery bag, a handful of fiberglass insulation, lots of leaves, a few cigarette butts and lots of dirt. Glad I ran into your post. Thanks!
07-01-2017, 05:02 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
As hot as these C4s run, I thought I'd share this.
First off, shine a flashlight into the small opening around the radiator cap and look into the opening just below that where the a/c lines come out of the condenser. If yours looks clear between the radiator and condenser, no problem. If however you can see leaves and other debris like I did, read on...
DO NOT REMOVE YOUR RADIATOR!!!!
You do not need to undo any coolant or a/c lines at all.
I just did this on my '88 3 weeks ago. It was almost half full between the back side of the condenser and front side of the radiator. Candy wrappers, cig butts, leaves, feathers you name it. I was done in about 2 and 1/2 hours start to finish.
After you remove the air cleaner/hose and the obvious larger bolts, there are the small ones along the front near where the air cleaner sits, and there are also a couple of the smaller bolts lower on the back side too. Then you'll have to remove the mounting bolts on the accumulator on the right side (silver canister) and the power steering bottle on the left. I think for the accumulator I also undid the bolt on the big clamp that goes around it, and on the power steering bottle I only removed the front bolt and let it pivot on the back one. Just leave them hanging there and don't forget to reattach them after.
The top half of the shroud should then lift up far enough to rotate it around the upper hose and inlet without removing the hose. The shroud has a slotted opening around the inlet that lets you lift it up enough to raise it and rotate it up and to the left. The hose and inlet will be the only thing keeping you from removing it all the way, but that's okay. It's actually a good thing since you won't have to worry about a coolant mess or bleeding afterwards.
The radiator will want to stay still because the hoses will not let it move, but as I recall, the condenser tilted forward enough to make more room. This is the time to flush the junk out with a hose, so I did the whole thing outside anticipating that would be the case.
I had to use 2 vacuum attachments to get down far enough to suck all the garbage out. Be careful not to bugger-up the cooling fins by jamming the attachments down in there without looking at what you're doing.
Next, it's time to flush the small debris out of the cooling fins. Ideally you want to flush them both towards the front of the car, since that's the reverse of how it got in there, but there's not enough room to get a hose in between the condenser and radiator. I flushed the radiator from the fan side and the condenser from the front. It seemed to work great and the junk drained out the bottom nicely with all the larger debris gone. Careful not to get water in your MAS since the air cleaner and inlet hose are not there to protect it. Cover it with a bag and a rubber band. DO NOT STUFF ANYTHING INSIDE IT for obvious reasons.
Make sure the radiator and condenser are both seated correctly on their rubber stops underneath when you start to put things back together or the shroud top will not go back on. You won't believe the crap that you'll find in there.
See the pic below of what came out of mine. No, not the Coke can, but I put that there for scale. Remember that all you see went through the vacuum cleaner and was reduced in volume tremendously.
The temperature difference this clean-out made for me was about 10 degrees less on average than before doing it. Every little bit helps with these C4s.
When I start the engine the temp goes up to around 193, and then the thermostat opens (190). Next the temp drops to around 183-4 as the coolant is free to flow through the radiator. It then slowly climbs up to 194-5 again and stays there unless I'm stuck in traffic.
Traffic gets me a slow climb to 228 at which point the main cooling fan turns on and quickly brings the temp back to around 213, then it cycles off until 228 again and so on...
I have never seen my aux cooling fan (in front of condenser) turn on at all. I have tested it and the associated relay (on fan shroud) and the temperature switch (left side head), and they all work fine. Haven't figured out yet at what temp it should turn on.
If I'm in traffic with the a/c on, this runs the main cooling fan and it hovers around 216-7 as the fan will not cycle off with the a/c on.
Have Fun!
First off, shine a flashlight into the small opening around the radiator cap and look into the opening just below that where the a/c lines come out of the condenser. If yours looks clear between the radiator and condenser, no problem. If however you can see leaves and other debris like I did, read on...
DO NOT REMOVE YOUR RADIATOR!!!!
You do not need to undo any coolant or a/c lines at all.
I just did this on my '88 3 weeks ago. It was almost half full between the back side of the condenser and front side of the radiator. Candy wrappers, cig butts, leaves, feathers you name it. I was done in about 2 and 1/2 hours start to finish.
After you remove the air cleaner/hose and the obvious larger bolts, there are the small ones along the front near where the air cleaner sits, and there are also a couple of the smaller bolts lower on the back side too. Then you'll have to remove the mounting bolts on the accumulator on the right side (silver canister) and the power steering bottle on the left. I think for the accumulator I also undid the bolt on the big clamp that goes around it, and on the power steering bottle I only removed the front bolt and let it pivot on the back one. Just leave them hanging there and don't forget to reattach them after.
The top half of the shroud should then lift up far enough to rotate it around the upper hose and inlet without removing the hose. The shroud has a slotted opening around the inlet that lets you lift it up enough to raise it and rotate it up and to the left. The hose and inlet will be the only thing keeping you from removing it all the way, but that's okay. It's actually a good thing since you won't have to worry about a coolant mess or bleeding afterwards.
The radiator will want to stay still because the hoses will not let it move, but as I recall, the condenser tilted forward enough to make more room. This is the time to flush the junk out with a hose, so I did the whole thing outside anticipating that would be the case.
I had to use 2 vacuum attachments to get down far enough to suck all the garbage out. Be careful not to bugger-up the cooling fins by jamming the attachments down in there without looking at what you're doing.
Next, it's time to flush the small debris out of the cooling fins. Ideally you want to flush them both towards the front of the car, since that's the reverse of how it got in there, but there's not enough room to get a hose in between the condenser and radiator. I flushed the radiator from the fan side and the condenser from the front. It seemed to work great and the junk drained out the bottom nicely with all the larger debris gone. Careful not to get water in your MAS since the air cleaner and inlet hose are not there to protect it. Cover it with a bag and a rubber band. DO NOT STUFF ANYTHING INSIDE IT for obvious reasons.
Make sure the radiator and condenser are both seated correctly on their rubber stops underneath when you start to put things back together or the shroud top will not go back on. You won't believe the crap that you'll find in there.
See the pic below of what came out of mine. No, not the Coke can, but I put that there for scale. Remember that all you see went through the vacuum cleaner and was reduced in volume tremendously.
The temperature difference this clean-out made for me was about 10 degrees less on average than before doing it. Every little bit helps with these C4s.
When I start the engine the temp goes up to around 193, and then the thermostat opens (190). Next the temp drops to around 183-4 as the coolant is free to flow through the radiator. It then slowly climbs up to 194-5 again and stays there unless I'm stuck in traffic.
Traffic gets me a slow climb to 228 at which point the main cooling fan turns on and quickly brings the temp back to around 213, then it cycles off until 228 again and so on...
I have never seen my aux cooling fan (in front of condenser) turn on at all. I have tested it and the associated relay (on fan shroud) and the temperature switch (left side head), and they all work fine. Haven't figured out yet at what temp it should turn on.
If I'm in traffic with the a/c on, this runs the main cooling fan and it hovers around 216-7 as the fan will not cycle off with the a/c on.
Have Fun!
07-02-2017, 02:31 AM
#8
Race Director
Once you get the top off the radiator shroud, you can lift the radiator and condenser out of the notches in the rubber mounts. That will give you more room to clean. Don't get too carried away with moving the condenser. I cracked one of the freon tubes when I cleaned mine.
