Cleaning out a radiator

[hth]

So, with a mirror and a flashlight I've figured out why my temperature gauge is fluctuating so much. There's a tumbleweed stuck in my radiator. No kidding. And it's broken apart. Is there a way to clean something like out without having to pull the radiator? I'm thinking about buying some bilge pickers to pull out what I can without tearing the front end of the car up. On a different note, does anyone use K&N oil filters? That's what I put in my other cars but I haven't seen anybody mention it for ZR1s.

[PhillipsLT5]

open lid & k&n also

[Paul Workman]

So, with a mirror and a flashlight I've figured out why my temperature gauge is fluctuating so much. There's a tumbleweed stuck in my radiator. No kidding. And it's broken apart. Is there a way to clean something like out without having to pull the radiator? I'm thinking about buying some bilge pickers to pull out what I can without tearing the front end of the car up. On a different note, does anyone use K&N oil filters? That's what I put in my other cars but I haven't seen anybody mention it for ZR1s.

I wasn't aware that K&N made and OIL filter. (I have the K&N air filter, so I'm aware of the oiling needed to make the air filters work. Is that what you meant?)

Anyway, in case you ARE referring to a K&N oil filter (I'm not aware of) The "DEAL" with the OIL filters is they are mounted "inverted" on the LT5, so w/o the rubber diaphragm present in the LT5 designates, the oil would spill out when changing it, AND the oil would drain out of the filter when the engine is not running, resulting in no oil pressure until the filter is re-filled on startup.

See if the K&N has a cross-reference for the LT5, or look for the diaphragm (seen when looking through the holes around the periphery of the threaded (big) hole in the middle).

Marc Haibeck recently posted about an issue with some filters, but I can't seem to get the search function to cough it up (no matter how I slice it...phooey!:censored:).

P.

[efnfast]

Paul, here's the link to Marc's site.
http://www.zr1specialist.com/HAT%20Web/articles/oil%20filters%202006.htm

[secondchance]

Paul,

K&N does make oil filters for LT5. I used it a few times. As to how good they are? - don't know. They do look pretty though...

As for cleaning out the radiator, after months of procrastination, I pulled the radiator top shroud on the first day of the new year and replaced cosmetically damaged AC condensor that has been bugging me since I bought the car in 2000. I think the last owner drove over something and bent up the bottom of the condensor. While at it I scraped off usual crap that builds up right in front of fans - especially in front of the primary fan.
Last time I replaced the radiator and the water pump I made a few cuts on the right hand side around oil and AC lines to make the removal easy. After the reinstall I built backing plates out of aluminum sheet and used black anodized philips head sheet metal screws to reattach cut portion of the shroud. This makes removing the shroud a breeze. Tough part is removing 6 - 7mm hex bolts (3 on each side) accessible from under the bumper holding upper shroud to lower shroud.The rest of bolts and nuts are visible from above and easy to get to.

It sure feels great having replaced the condensor - sorta like having her crooked teeth straightened out.

[hth]

I have been using K&N oil filters for about six years now. I used to own a Land Rover and the Rover forums raved about them. They're all I've bought since then for several different cars. They have always worked well but this is the first car I've owned with inverted filter mounting.

[Scrrem]

Paul,

Last time I replaced the radiator and the water pump I made a few cuts on the right hand side around oil and AC lines to make the removal easy. After the reinstall I built backing plates out of aluminum sheet and used black anodized philips head sheet metal screws to reattach cut portion of the shroud. This makes removing the shroud a breeze. Tough part is removing 6 - 7mm hex bolts (3 on each side) accessible from under the bumper holding upper shroud to lower shroud.The rest of bolts and nuts are visible from above and easy to get to.



Hey Yun, do you happen to have a pic of the cuts you made? When I do my top end this month, I am also installing a Ron Davis radiator, would like to make getting the shroud off as easy as possible in the furture.
Rich

[secondchance]

Hey Yun, do you happen to have a pic of the cuts you made? When I do my top end this month, I am also installing a Ron Davis radiator, would like to make getting the shroud off as easy as possible in the furture.
Rich

I will take a couple of pics and post.

[batchman]

While you're at it, any thoughts on re-assembly without the condenser? I need to finish removing my A/C and wonder about how that stack (which I've never seen apart) relies on things in place. I would guess I'd need some sort of standoff somewhere but have no clue and my google images search fu appears weak.

Thanks for any thoughts,
- Jeff

[secondchance]

While you're at it, any thoughts on re-assembly without the condenser? I need to finish removing my A/C and wonder about how that stack (which I've never seen apart) relies on things in place. I would guess I'd need some sort of standoff somewhere but have no clue and my google images search fu appears weak.

Thanks for any thoughts,
- Jeff

You might have some difficulty keeping oil cooler in place w/o AC condensor. This is because oil cooler is hung onto AC condensor and the condensor is held in place by the bottom and top shroud.

[VetteMed]

You might have some difficulty keeping oil cooler in place w/o AC condensor. This is because oil cooler is hung onto AC condensor and the condensor is held in place by the bottom and top shroud.

Correct, but it is doable, I think. The condenser I'm running right now, is an ACDelco unit, but didn't have the proper holes drilled to allow for hanging the oil cooler, so I installed them as 2 separate units. Granted, I still have the condenser in place, but having them mounted together isn't 100% required. The rubber spacers in the top and bottom of the stack, have circular cutouts for the placement of the tips of the end tanks of the oil cooler.

[secondchance]

Hey Yun, do you happen to have a pic of the cuts you made? When I do my top end this month, I am also installing a Ron Davis radiator, would like to make getting the shroud off as easy as possible in the furture.
Rich

http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu303/byongyun/photo-1.jpg
Let me know when you start the project. Now thatI look at it, it may not be necessary to do what I did.

[Scrrem]

Let me know when you start the project. Now thatI look at it, it may not be necessary to do what I did.

Wow Yun, that a lot of cutting. Yeah, I'm pretty anal about how things look, I may have to do it the hard way. I'll let you know when I start, hopefully it will be later this month.
Rich

[Scrrem]

Well, got my radiator pulled today and found why I was overheating in traffic......Wow!!

Rich

[VetteMed]

Is that your radiator, or the lint screen from your dryer? :)