1994 Civic Condensor & Radiator

On my 1994 Civic DX, my A/C has been underperforming, so I took a look
at my condensor. WOW!!! Talk about tore up!! It is jam packed with
tiny little pebbles and bugs, and the fins are in horrible shape. The
same thing with the radiator, except that the engine hasn't had any
overheating issues that I know of, and I'm the daily driver. However,
I did burn myself on the oil dipstick today and that usually doesn't
happen in the spring or fall. (I'm in Oklahoma, it's 100F today). Is
it worth it to try and pick out any of the stuff, or should I high
pressure spray it, or would it be better to pay the $165 Autozone
wants for the condensor. The radiator is only about $99, and I could
fairly easily change that, but the condensor is a little more
difficult, and I don't have A/C tools. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!!!

Nate

 

Spraying it with water works. You might want to cover water sensitive
components if this job is going to take a while - brake fluid reservoir,
clutch fluid reservoir, transmission vent, and whatever else your car
has.

 

I think it would be worth trying to clean up what you have before dropping
$$ on replacement parts. I'd try a highish pressure spray and if the fins
are badly mishappen, try a fin comb on them.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

its a handle with a plastic 3 sided "comb" attached. ive seen it at harbor
freight... pep boys, autozone, kragen should carry it too. the 3 sides of
the "comb" have fingers with different widths... you find the best fit, then
run it across the surface. never used one, but it looks like it should work.

any way to pressure wash the back, and get the bad stuff knocked off the
front??

 

A search at Google on "radiator fin comb" turns up quite a few hits, the
2nd of which is <http://www.diynet.com/DIY/article/0,2058,3479,00.html>.
It may not make the fins look like factory original but if it separates and
unbends them....

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??