Decreased my engine temp and question about cooling

[NoVaKevin]

My 01D2 is running an estimated 3-6degrees cooler. I have never had a cooling problem, but the radiators were full of mud from previous owners.
Im sure others have done this, but I went ahead and did it, and now that I am watching the world cup and logging in to the site I thought I would give a summary of what I did.

Removed the upper cowl
Used a garden hose with pressure nozzle and cleaned all the radiators.
Then, I used a gas powered pressure washer to wash the radiator.
There was a hell of a lot of mud caked in the radiators.

I used zip ties to make sure the hoses dont go near the cooling fan.

I left the upper cowl off and drove around. Temp gauge didnt go above 1/2 way.


Are there any issues that could arise when wheeling by removing the upper (and lower radiator cowl) radiator cowl??

I am thinking about removing basically all of the plastic off so that I can increase air flow, and make sure the heat isnt trapped in by the cowls.

 

[ptschram]

Then, I used a gas powered pressure washer to wash the radiator.

This is really, really, really dangerous. I ruined a radiator doing this.

Use a gentle stream to keep from destroying the core of the radiator.

 

[NoVaKevin]

Yea, as I was doing it I was wondering if it was a good idea or not. Probably not, but the radiators look fine.

The only thing I noticed prior to doing this was that there was a 1 inch by 1 inch area that had some of the wiring mangled. Not sure if that is going to be a problem in the future and I dont think there is a leak at all.

 

[crown14]

The cowl is there for a reason, to direct airflow to the rad, airflow is critical to a heat exchanger.

 

[ptschram]

Cool, but let's not make folks think that's a good way to clean a radiator.

 

[mbrummal]

do not rely on the temp gauge in the dash. It only has 3 positions: cold, operating, and "oh fuck that's bad." It stays on the middle from about 160 to 240 degrees.

and I second keeping the fan shroud. The fan becomes much less effective if the shroud is removed.

 

[dcarr1971]

...Then, I used a gas powered pressure washer to wash the radiator.
There was a hell of a lot of mud caked in the radiators...

Definitely not a good way to clean your radiator. My uncle sliced one up using a pressure washer when trying to clean it. I'd keep an eye on the temp gauge for the next few weeks and monitor the section you said got mangled to make sure it doesn't develop a leak...

 

[rover4x4]

that gauge is useless

 

[Cozy41EF]

There is one radiator, the other things are power steering or transmission coolers based on what option are on your truck. Yes you can get a bunch of crud build up between them and the shrouds. If you have crud in the rediator you need to take it to a shop to get it cleaned out. A pressure washer can wad up the fins, which will not allow air flow through it. Most LAPS sell a fin straightener in the air conditions tools section. If you bent a few fins you can straighten them.

x3, use both shrouds, they direct the airflow across the entire radiator.

x3, the gage is useless, it does not give an idication other than "normal" temp at midrange. If you eber see it go up above mid range, it's time to pull over and find out why.