Spark Plugs

[armstrongracer]

Looking for some advice here.

Was planning a service this weekend as it will be warm, unfortunately my radiator bleed kit is still stuck in transit but I will go ahead anyway.

So, the question is this? Is it possible to change spark plugs without disconnecting the radiator?  I changed headers to Akro's with radiator just pulled  forward so some work is possible without radiator removal. Are plugs a step too far?

[TomL]

The radiator has to come out to get at the spark plugs.

[armstrongracer]

Cheers,

Thought I'd get away with pulling it forward like with the headers.

[Costas]

Am with Tom , needs to come off.

[armstrongracer]

Cheers, my job for the bank holiday then.  Next question. Has anyone come up with a solution/chemical mix  that will remove crud from radiator without damaging it.

[raesewell]

If you find a method to clean the radiator let us know. Regular cleaning will stave off the inevitable for a while, but in the end it'll be a new radiator, the crud in there sets like concrete 

[commando 848]

Whilst cleaning the bike the other week, I tried  "snow foam" which comprises a small bottle that you fill with "snow foam" and connect to a pressure washer. In a short time, the whole bike was covered and I also sprayed behind the radiator. I left it to soak for 10 mins and then rinsed off. The result was very impressive and lots of crud came out of the front of the radiator when rinsed from behind No risk of damage as the foam is  low pressure and not corrosive. Maybe worth a try as part of the rad cleaning regime!!

[Sutty]

You’re right commando, I’ve used it for a while now, plenty of pre soak then foam and let it do its job for 10 minutes and back flush if you can. I’m pretty anal when it comes to cleaning the rad.

Regards. Mick

[Karlachuckfin]

I have tried Easyfoam with reasonable results.

This is used for external air conditioning coils.

Not cheap but worth a go !

[Swindon Andy]

Last time I cleaned my radiator I took the fan assy off and wedged a big bucket of soapy water over it as far up as I could get it. Soaked overnight then used a right angled water jet I made out of some copper pipe and blew it out from behind. Seemed to make some improvement. Still on original rad at 30,000 but the fan does come on a lot in slow traffic. I think next time I'll try a plastic bag to extend the height of the soak mix. I'm not sure soapy water is the best soak mix?

[Phmode]

'Soapy' water, if it made with washing up liquid, can be lethal as it contains 300 times* its own weight in salt.

* That's a guess, no one can know for sure!

[black-k1]

'Soapy' water, if it made with washing up liquid, can be lethal as it contains 300 times* its own weight in salt.

* That's a guess, no one can know for sure!

Asking Google "does washing up liquid contain lots of salt?" returns the response:

Washing up liquid does contain a 'salt' but this is the active ingredient and should not be confused with road salt. There is nothing in a washing-up liquid that will exacerbate corrosion – there's no sodium chloride salt to worry about. The issue regarding corrosion is the 'chloride' bit of the salt.

[Matt]

Ack yes I was most upset to discover the truth!  I still disagree with using washing up liquid on principle