Der Sportwagen

July / August 2014 14 TECHNICAL EDITOR By Karl Wilen While building another SPEC Boxster, it dawned on me that this little project is something I do a lot, and really is well within the abilities of the home user with minimal tools (A phillips screwdriver, a flat blade screwdriver, and a T25 torx screwdriver... and a door panel removal tool does help, but not 100% necessary). With the hot summer weather fast approaching it is very important that the cooling system of your Boxster or 996 is operating at full efficiency. On both models, the radiators sit behind the front bumper cover, one on each side, and depending on the model, possibly a third radiator in the center of the bumper. When clean, they radiators are very efficient, but over time, road debris, leaves, cigarette butts, etc can get through the bumper grills and clog the radiators with this debris, thus reducing the amount of air that can pass through the radiators efficiently. No air flow through the radiator, and you will have cooling issues with the engine. While you can sort of get in there with a power washer to clean some of the junk out, it is nearly impossible to get a good quality cleaning without pulling the front bumper off and really blasting it clean. Don't worry, the bumper isn't overly hard to remove! While I'll show the procedure for the 986/996 models, all the newer water cooled cars suffer from this, so while the procedure is slightly different to pull the bumper on the 997/987, it is still a good idea for those cars as well. There are 20 or so screws/push clips that hold the bumper on. Opening the hood, you will find 4 slotted plastic screws at the front plastic surround. 90 degree turn and they pop out. Remove the surround and underneath you will find 2 phillips screws to remove (later cars will use torxscrews instead). Underneath the car there are 3 phillips in the center of the bumper, and a couple on the ends, in addition to 2 push clips holding the bottom of the fender liner in place. The next step is easiest if you jack up the side of the car you are working on to give yourself a little room to work. There are 3 push Photos by Karl Wilen I f you have any suggestions for articles you might want to see, shoot me your ideas to porschedoc@rennsportkc.com Keeping Cool This Summer RADIATOR CLEANING

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