Radiator cleaning questions (2.3L)

[Fillups]

My 2022 2.3L was running too warm on a recent road trip, especially on the uphill climbs. Most of my daily driving is local, 40 mph stuff, and it seems fine at those speeds, short drives.

We did some muddy trails this Spring, and I rinsed it well, but probably not well enough. Wondering if anyone has had success with the Radiator Genie wands? And should I be pre-treating with a cleaner like for AC condenser coils? The attached pic is something available at Lowe's.

Thx!

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[Desert_Brush]

What temps were you seeing and how was the weather?

 

[Fillups]

On the flats we were running 210 to 215, but on longer climbs we crossed 230 several times and got the "reduced power" message on the dash once. This was on Northeast TN, afternoon temps were in the mid-80's.

Manual transmission, and I always to keep the tach at 2k or above on hills, so usually 5th gear uphill on the highway, 6th gear on flats runs.

 

[CalvinT]

My 2022 2.3L was running too warm on a recent road trip, especially on the uphill climbs. Most of my daily driving is local, 40 mph stuff, and it seems fine at those speeds, short drives.

We did some muddy trails this Spring, and I rinsed it well, but probably not well enough. Wondering if anyone has had success with the Radiator Genie wands? And should I be pre-treating with a cleaner like for AC condenser coils? The attached pic is something available at Lowe's.

Thx!

To me it looks like a solution in search of a problem. I've never needed such a product on any car I've owned. All were Arizona cars.

 

[Desert_Brush]

To me it looks like a solution in search of a problem. I've never needed such a product on any car I've owned. All were Arizona cars.

But he has a problem. Overheating possibly due to mud in the radiator fins.

 

[Fillups]

To me it looks like a solution in search of a problem. I've never needed such a product on any car I've owned. All were Arizona cars.
[/QUOTE

To me it looks like a solution in search of a problem. I've never needed such a product on any car I've owned. All were Arizona cars.

Here in Southern OH and central KY, mud and deep-ish water is unavailable on our trails. This type of mud is probably not ab AZ issue.

I've never lost an alternator like many with 2.7's have on the same rides, but it's fairly deep. And the fans run and slings it up even higher unfortunately. So I know I need a more thorough cleaning.

 

[CalvinT]

But he has a problem. Overheating possibly due to mud in the radiator fins.

I've just used a garden hose with a spray nozzle with nylon brush to clean a radiator or condenser. Maybe with an attachment that lets you apply Simple Green or something similar.

I don't think an aerosol can will work on mud build up. Those products are intended for an A/C tech to carry in his tool kit when working on a building's A/C.

 

[HBTFD 2.0]

A hose sprayer and several minutes will take care of any mud.

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