overheating

[Brett Dikeman]

This is especially true of the intercooler, which catches far more 
crap because it's so close up to the front of the car; the radiator 
benefits from being so far from the grille etc that most debris falls 
down and ends up in the bottom of the compartment in front of the 
radiator.  2-3 years back, I posted a note encouraging listers to 
remove+clean the inside and outside of the intercooler(the inside can 
be cleaned by using hot water and a little dish soap to get the oil 
out; use rubber bands/tape and plastic bags to cover the 
inlet+outlet.  Fill it half-full, swish back and forth.  Repeat with 
fresh water/soap until it comes out clear.

I picked out stones/pebbles with a toothpick, and then I used a combo 
of hot water from a garden hose, dish soap, foaming engine degreaser, 
simple green...I rinsed into a bucket, and I was rewarded with a 
large amount of sand, bugs, etc...

Brett



At 5:58 PM -0700 4/7/01, William Magliocco wrote:
>Had a GTI 10 years ago with 100,000 miles on it that
>like to overheat.  Changed out the thermostat, flushed
>the coolant system, etc.  Even ran it without a
>thermostat for testing.  No luck.  really overheated
>in a hurry when I kicked the a/c on.
>
>Then I got the idea to use engine cleaner on the fins
>of the radiator AND the a/c condensor.  Problem went
>away and stayed away.  Spray the Engine Brite on the
>fins, do it on a warm engine, then drive for five
>minutes.  Use a garden hose to flush it off.  Don't
>use the high pressure wand at the local DIY car wash,
>that's too potent and can damage things.  Also,
>disconnect the battery if you can...
>
>You would be surprised to see what you remove in the
>way of dirt, dead bugs, etc.  Especially true if you
>are on OEM rad and condenser coil.