Could this be true ? Mechanic cautioned me about fescue seed from hay ?

[pacerron]

Anyway, Brin
You know how hot catalytic converters get.
Don't stop to pee in tall dry grass or you may not have enough to put it out

 

[brin]

I just looked at our Grand Cherokee to see if we had accumulated any seeds, as it goes everywhere.
Rather than trying to blow them through from the back side of the radiator you might try a vacuum nozzle. There are plenty of places to get a small vacuum wand in.
If you have seed packed between the condenser and the front of the radiator, which I doubt, you can lift the little rubber seperator seal on the top between the two to see how bad it is, and possibly insert a small air tube
in there to blow them out. Be careful not to puncture the compressor tubing or radiator. Try not to bend any fins.Just be careful and try to saver $400.
If you want to remove the grill so you can loosen the condenser to get more behind it. http://www.wk2jeeps.com/pdf/wk2_fascia_grille_removal.pdf

Thanks for that Pacerron.....I used my shop vac and rigged a nozzle to fit between the grill slats and got about 50% of them and only bent one or two fins...I hope it will be OK like that ...I can still see fescue seeds on it but they are scattered...not near solid by any means...I would say maybe with the existing fescue seeds I have 40% scattered blockage...as long as it allows enough cooling to not burn up a compressor...those fescue seeds will have to rot sometime...at least I would hope they are not immortal...Thanks again...that sure helped some.

Shame on Me ! the Catalytic converter...I knew that and had forgotten all about it...Thanks for reminding me...it is a wonder I did not set the hay field on fire....geeez !

 

[timster2]

I have had several Jeep Grand Cherokees. Taking the front end off is not a hard job just lots of screws and bolts. I have had to replace the plastic header panel on two of them it takes an hour or two to take it apart not a bad job just a pain in the butt. The whole front of the Jeep is plastic the slightest hit and it all breaks. The wife was backing up while turning and did not see the tongue of the trailer sticking out next to her and she managed to get the tongue between the wheel and bumper and ripped the whole front end off. Thank goodness the plastic is inexpensive to replace.

 

[pacerron]

Thanks for that Pacerron.....I used my shop vac and rigged a nozzle to fit between the grill slats and got about 50% of them and only bent one or two fins...I hope it will be OK like that ...I can still see fescue seeds on it but they are scattered...not near solid by any means...I would say maybe with the existing fescue seeds I have 40% scattered blockage...as long as it allows enough cooling to not burn up a compressor...those fescue seeds will have to rot sometime...at least I would hope they are not immortal...Thanks again...that sure helped some.

Shame on Me ! the Catalytic converter...I knew that and had forgotten all about it...Thanks for reminding me...it is a wonder I did not set the hay field on fire....geeez !

Brin,
Glad it worked for you. If you wait a few days the rest may fall out, particularly if you take it over some rock strata like they show on the TV commercials. Gotta have music with that right beat though. LOL
If you want to get it really clean you might adapt the shop vac down to a 2' length of 1/2" plastic pipe with a little flashlight taped near the end.
The guy that mentioned the window screen in front reminded me of how old I really am. Before A/C was known to most folks with cars, we had a summer thermostat and a winter thermostat for our cars. A lot of folks just used the
"art of card boarding" instead of changing the stats. The trick was, to cover just the right amount of the grill/radiator with an old piece of cardboard on a cold winter day to keep the engine running hot enough but not boil over.
No such thing as an expansion tank in those days.
Ron

 

[brin]

I have had several Jeep Grand Cherokees. Taking the front end off is not a hard job just lots of screws and bolts. I have had to replace the plastic header panel on two of them it takes an hour or two to take it apart not a bad job just a pain in the butt. The whole front of the Jeep is plastic the slightest hit and it all breaks. The wife was backing up while turning and did not see the tongue of the trailer sticking out next to her and she managed to get the tongue between the wheel and bumper and ripped the whole front end off. Thank goodness the plastic is inexpensive to replace.

Thanks Timster2...I am going to first try to blow the fescue seeds out using my compressor and air gun with some plastic tube attached to reach back between the radiator and the condenser...I got a good bit of the seeds out with my shop vac....I hope I don't have to take the front off.

 

[dmccarty]

I could see there being a problem with dust and seeds with an auto.

My tractor, not so much. The air filter is well filtered and the radiator has a filter as well. Most of the seeds and debris get stuck on the panels of the tractor and never make it to the radiator. I just brush the stuff off as needed.

Later,
Dan

 

[ultrarunner]

On the ranch I saw where someone had taken a framed window screen to use a pre-screen... he said he would have to clean it daily during haying season...

 

[JoeBuyer]

Yes any small seed can be a problem, not only grass. We make it a regular maintenance item whenever the seed is loose and getting sucked into the tractors or trucks This is particularly noticeable while bush hogging late in the year. You are driving over what you are cutting and the seeds are sucked right in. If you have a side type mower, it is not so bad. The window screen mentioned above works well as a pre screen as long as you clean it and it doesn't restrict the air flow too bad.

 

[brin]

Brin,
Glad it worked for you. If you wait a few days the rest may fall out, particularly if you take it over some rock strata like they show on the TV commercials. Gotta have music with that right beat though. LOL
If you want to get it really clean you might adapt the shop vac down to a 2' length of 1/2" plastic pipe with a little flashlight taped near the end.
The guy that mentioned the window screen in front reminded me of how old I really am. Before A/C was known to most folks with cars, we had a summer thermostat and a winter thermostat for our cars. A lot of folks just used the
"art of card boarding" instead of changing the stats. The trick was, to cover just the right amount of the grill/radiator with an old piece of cardboard on a cold winter day to keep the engine running hot enough but not boil over.
No such thing as an expansion tank in those days.
Ron

Ron, I am that old too...I remember the 2 thermostats ...for summer and winter and I remember we used to block part of the radiator....I had forgotten that...J will try the shop vac with the two ft. plastic pipe as you mentioned and I will get some screen in front of the condenser..Thanks again

 

[savageactor7]

We have this problem on our tractor all the time with seeds from tall grasses. It causes the tractor to over heat.

We have to blow off the radiator regularly to keep it from getting too bad.

Yup that's our experience too...but what about the farm tractors that harvest and move those crops. They must be a work around.