Any tips on cleaning out the rad when out on the trails?????Tried dropping the front end in the lake and bend over the front racks to rub rad with my hands but still did not help!! went in some big thick mud today (dried like clay)and one of my sportsman 450 (wife's)came up hot hot on the display. All the mud was stuck to the rear of the rad where the fan is....When the fan starts it draws air in from the front of the rad taken the warm air under the quad...So the back of the rad was plugged so the fan was running but not taken any air in threw the rad....Just wanted to know if anybody has any tips things to carry with them to clean out their RAD. My buddy with us had a 1996 500 sportsman and was plugged full of mud but no light came on his......Makes you wonder!!!!Thanks.....

 

For your problem now, LOTS of water from the back side forward to flush out your mess. In the future, Quadavator.com has a trail kit. I don't have one, yet! Some say, a Super Soaker squirt gun, but I am leary of that one! After you get it cleaned out. Try some WD40 on the fins before you ride. Helps to keep stuff from sticking.

 

Good day,What i did for my Scrambler was to get some screen from a hardware store.I cut a bunch of pieces that fit over the guard for the rad(the thing thats held on with little o rings)i am not sure how yours looks.I just cut little slots in the screen to fit over the tabs(they stay on just great)I bring a few of theses screens with me on a ride and change them when they get plugged(or pull it off and rinse in a creek or whatever is around).Since i have been doing this i can ride really muddy trails for a long weekend and not plug my rad.I used have to rinse it out a couple of times a weekend cause it got hot.It works for me and only takes a second to change on a trail.It really does block out alot of mud from getting into the rad.I hope this helps...Later....

 

You need to take the fan and fan shroud off to get at the back of the radiator. That sounds like more work than it really is. Four bolts and unplugging the fan gets the fan out, then another four bolts gets out the shroud. I can have the fan and shroud off in about the same amount of time it takes to jack up the machine and remove the right front wheel, which you’ll need to do to get behind the radiator. On our machines I do this as regular maintenance, once at the end of mud season and once half-way through. Staying on top of radiator maintenance keeps it from becoming a big boring job, like the one you’re facing now.

Once the fan and shroud are out of the way get in there with enough water pressure to blast the crud out of the radiator but DON’T BEND THE FINS. Working at it from the front and back should eventually get you cleaned out. A long curved wand like the one in the Quadovator kit works best but use what you have and do your best. It doesn’t hurt to spray some Castrol Super Clean on the fins to get the good and clean.