What's the best way of cleaning the radiators and transmission coolers? I'm assuming the two on my 555E have never been cleaned and during the summer I sometimes have an issue of them overheating when its very hot outside. I know they are plugged and have read some people prefer air, pressure washing, vinegar, degreaser, and the list goes on. What have you all used?
We have a really good shop about 45 minutes away that will completely disassemble them, rot them out, & put them back together with new seals/connections, & test them. That’s the spendy option. Steam cleaner has been used also but the 1st method is the only one that is 100% successful.
Appreciate your comments. Anyone else with ideas?
Are you talking cleaning the outside airflow or inside water flow Air is the safest and preferred first step for cleaning the fins get one of the radiator cleaning wands so you can get in there and blow strait though the fins If they greasy and need pressure washing its usually best to remove so you can shoot strait though pressure washer at an angle can bend fins over If the are stacked radiators you will have to get in between them as thats were lots of stuff hides If its inside flow you can try flushing with commercial flush, vinegar, muratic acid or best bet pull the rad and have it rodded out depending on condition it may need a new core by that time
For the exterior it's had to beat a hot pressure washer. For the inside I like a 1/2" Graco double diaphragm pump pumping hot caustic soda solution through the core myself. I build up fittings and pull from my aqueous parts washer sump discharging back into the same. A fresh hot water rinse afterward. Flushing is performed both ways to dislodge anything also.
When I first bought my International 1066, I noticed it got on the warm side. I parked it and got my water hose out. I didn't want to use pressure since I didn't know what was going on yet but, as it turned out, it had decades of dust/dirt/grime inside the fins and just spraying them.....letting it soak.... spraying them.....soak.... they finally began to ooze out. So in my case it was more just dust/dirt impaction (radiator has been fine since and I never had to pull it off) and patience with my hose got it done. Might add....I didn't have a pressure washer at the time but I still didn't like that idea.
A pressure washer can flatten cooling fins faster than you can blink an eye, if you aren't careful about getting the wand too close to it.
Mine is very easy to turn down in pressure. Hot water is superior to cold and flow is your friend.
I use Gunk foaming engine brite and spay it on, let it sit for a while. It drips all over the front engine mount and hydraulic pump. Then spray it from the inside with a hose. I usually remove the fan guard once a year to get it all.
I don't like running more than about 7 or 800 psi on the pressure washer, even that is probably a bit high. My machine is 4gpm/4000psi with a #4.0 nozzle, I usually run a #10 nozzle for cleaning machines and such. The benefit of changing the nozzle size rather than just turning the regulator do is that you maintain flow, which is what does most of the cleaning anyway. A professional pressure washer wants flow over pressure, everything marketed at the box stores and such are all set for pressure at the expense of flow, because that is what consumers think they want. 5 gpm at 1000 psi will out clean 5000 psi at 2 gpm in 90% of situations. High pressure is pretty much good for peeling paint off and getting back spray all over yourself.
More so was talking about the exterior. I have a tranny cooler on the bottom side and I know for sure it’s packed. I plan to remove that to throughly clean both. My plan for the interior is to drain all the fluid and fill it full of distilled water. Run it for a little bit then drain that out before adding new fluid.
First use engine degreaser to get off the major crud and rinse off with water. As mentioned be careful not to damage the fins. Compressed air can mess things up too. Then use foaming coil cleaner made for A/C evaporators/condensers to continue getting the rest of the crud off. Let it work for a while before rinsing it with clean water
Rinse with a garden hose, soak with purple power in a pump up sprayer, repeat many times. A hundred feet of water hose in the sun will warm up nice and make it more pleasant and effective. Rainwater works great inside, just a tiny bit of acid that might help with scale, otherwise basically distilled water. If you can see scale blocking the tops of tubes, or get sediment, then ask how to use air to reverse flush.