Cleaning Radiator Fins

[DonMountain]

My wife uses her International Cub Lo-Boy mostly to cut grass on several acres on our farm. With all of the dust and grass blowing around, she always seems to get the radiator all plugged up with grass and debris, and then it starts to boil over on hot days. So then I have to take off the screen and try to blow out all of the junk with an air hose and nozzle. What techniques have you-all developed to clean the radiator fins on a Cub? I generally blow from the inside out to attempt to drive the grass forward out of the radiator, and sometimes use an old tooth brush to brush out the fins. Are there better tools or techniques to do this job? Should I be using water from the hose? Soap? Anything?

[pickerandsinger]

If you type in radiator cleaning ,in the "search this topic" box next to post reply on the top left, you'll get alot of info on that....I just did mine awhile back with a shop vac....Dave

[TJG]

mowing on a less windy day, or with the wind blowing away from the tractor decreases the amount of debris in the radiator in the first place. that means more "dead"time on the mower, but less junk in your face and the radiator.

I take off the front grill and blow from both inside and outside. Of course be careful not to bend the fins. I've found air to be good by itself.

Todd

[Mike in Louisiana]

I blow from the rear with air then follow-up with water then air. When tractor is cold.fill with water to just over the fins. It might still spit a little water when it gets to operating temp.

No power washer and if you have a lot of pressure from your hose be careful.

[Bob McCarty]

You might want to put a finer mesh screen on the outside of the grill where it would be easier to remove and clean.

Bob