TSMacNeil

Your 996 radiators.

Holy crap! I pulled the funk today.











All I can say is wowsa...that's gross.

Dream911

I did mine last year.

TSMacNeil

I had a couple of large objects (a photograph and a large piece of newspaper) that blocked a large footprint of the coils. I'm sure mine had never been cleaned, as the turds were "glued" to the radiator.
Next year I'm going to fab up some type of screen to block the big stuff from making it all the way in.

Gotta wonder how many guys have a low-temp t-stat and blockage on the radiators at the same time?
hmmm

Spokayman

Looks just about like mine did when I cleaned them last December.
For those who have not done it before, Pelican Parts website has a pretty good tutorial on how to take the bumper cover off, and there is at least one video on YouTube as well.
I was surprised at how easy it was to get the cover off and back on.
Because I had the bumper cover repainted and then also had a failed radiator fan resistor to deal with, I ended up removing and reinstalling it three times over a period of four weeks. The last time it probably only took six or seven minutes to take off and ten or twelve to put back on.

deptotpr

Thanks brother...and thought I was going to be project free for awhile.....

KoB

Yup, that's about what mine looked like when I cleaned them out last summer.

That's on my list also. Last fall I bought some black powder coated grille mesh from customcargrills.com ... my plan was to make a template, cut out the mesh, put the neoprene trim on it, and zip tie it in place. Alas, it started snowing before I got anything in place.

I need to pull the bumper cover to mount (*ahem*) a couple antenna-type items, so maybe I'll get to it this spring.

Cuda911

I've seen so many of these threads showing all that crap in there. I really gotta get off my butt one of these days and do that cleaning too. I'm hoping to maybe find something good, like maybe some wind-blown $100 bills.

Gretch

/\ /\ This.

Now that I am informed removal of the bumper cover is a snap..... I will schedule this operation for the ole girl this spring.

gnat

So what's the best surprise you guys have found when cleaning out the bumper?

One year I found a screw driver (not a bad one either, I still use it).

jdogden

I removed a buckets worth of crud last spring by reaching in with the bumper attached and grabbing the junk. I was prepping for a concourse event. Last week, I pulled the bumper to clean between the condenser and the radiator and sure enough, there was the dirt. My car has 43,000 miles and this tells me that the bumper should be removed about every 20,000 as routine maintenance. Especially needed if you find yourself enjoying those wonderful fall drives with the golden leaves flying! No empty beer cans found!

John
'03 Targa

KoB

Dead bird ... Not the "best surprise," exactly, but certainly unexpected. Other than that it was just paper, cigarette butts, leaves, and dirt.

Gonzo911

You guys in Colorado and Washington should closely inspect those "butts". Might actually be something worth keeping!

Spokayman

......(puff puff).....sure thing dude.....

bal

True story: posted a car radio for sale on Craig's List and this was one of the responses: "Trade for a quarter oz of killer weed."

Tbred911

this is where installing some race style mesh in the bumper cover openings will keep you clean for years! (and protect your rads from big rocks coming in at high speed)