Mud on radiator XJ 98

I have a 98 XJ and during my last trip I had a serious overheating problem, the temperature went several timer over the limit. I am assuming it is the mud on the radiator. I used pressurized water to remove all the mud and I am still having the same problem. Is there a way to remove the mud while 'in the field'.
Is there any way to avoid having this amount of mud on the radiator?

You can see what the raditor looked like in:

http://www.gfoto.com/UserPicPopup.asp?pid=2742523&alid=136990&uid=DC47964E04164D70A5B7B1CA74EBB89F#PicShow


Thanks

Bichi said:

Is there any way to avoid having this amount of mud on the radiator?

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Avoid mud altogether? And if in mud don't drive so fast?

Hit big puddles afterwards. Not to hard, blew a few holes in my old YJ doing that.

Ive also carried a bucket, just stop by the nearest stream and start throwing the water on before it dries, shouldn't be enough on it after doing that to cause overheating.

Kejtar said:

Avoid mud altogether? And if in mud don't drive so fast?

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If you have to drive fast, then do it backwards. Otherwise, quit complaining.

Bichi said:

Is there any way to avoid having this amount of mud on the radiator?

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You knew it was coming, right?

Dont use too much presure on it or you could blow right through and damage the fins.

how do you get mud IN the radiator?

XgeekstarX said:

how do you get mud IN the radiator?

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- Drive really fast into mudhole.

- Repeat.

Bichi: I gotta give you credit - judging from the photographic evidence, you were *really* trying

There're a couple of things you can do to remove mud impacted behind the fins. Using a pressure sprayer on it is NOT one of the ones you want to do, at least in my experience. All that usually leads to is more mud impacted behind them.

Take a bucket of water and soak the mud covering the outside of the radiator to soften it up; repeat until it starts sloughing off by itself and remove as much as you can by hand. Once you can see the mud behind the fins, soften that up in the same way (garden hoses at regular pressure are good for this) and spray in some Simple Green. Repeat until you've got as much of it out as possible. If it's really bad, you may need to pull the radiator and soak it overnight. Be prepared to have to rinse it out repeatedly if this is the case.

I now stay away from mud for the most part. After the first pull-the-radiator-and-clean-it experience, I decided that I'm too damned lazy to make it a regular part of my XJ's diet.

I guess that's one reason why some killer rigs have the radiator relocated to the hatch.

To reduce the amount of mud that gets on the radiator you can get a piece of screen, like for a screen door, and put it infront of the grill, or behind it. When it's not muddy, the air will go through fine. When you get it really muddy, just take it off, and if you're gonna hit the mud again, throw another one on there.

Guys who race enduro quads and dirt bikes use this method to keep their radiators from clogging. Just a few layers of screen infront of the radiator and just peel them off as they go.

Thanks a lot for all the replies, mjma I have seen a TJ with a similar screen that I liked. They sell a 'bug protector' for the tj in Quadratec, but I think that your solution will be way cheaper.

I have taken out the radiator, taken it to have it roded and have cleaned the inside, I hope that next time I´ll be luckier.