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

brin · Jun 11, 2012

I had a hard time with the title...I just took my Jeep Grand Cherokee in for service on the Air Conditioner...it was not cooling enough. The Service Manager told me the condenser was getting clogged with fescue seed and the only way to clean it would be to take the front of the Jeep off...It cools but he said if I drive in the pastures anymore I will clog it completely and then it will blow a hose or the compressor....

So I asked him if this was true if I drove in the pastures with the air off and he said yes...all vehicles not just my Jeep...I asked him if this was true for Tractors with cabs and A/C and he said yes ...even on the tractors...

I need a reality check here...Does this sound right...? I told him based on that I would have to buy a mule or a horse to ride in the pastures with fescue hay...:confused2:

bucktaker · Jun 11, 2012

just drive in reverse....problem solved

Bird · Jun 11, 2012

It sure sounds right to me, though on most cars, trucks, and tractors you can wash or blow the seeds out from the back side of the radiator. I've had a lot more experience with that than I ever wanted, beginning with my first car when I was 16. It was a 1946 Chevrolet that had belonged to a farmer and the radiator was pretty thoroughly clogged with seed.

KTurner · Jun 11, 2012

brin said:
I had a hard time with the title...I just took my Jeep Grand Cherokee in for service on the Air Conditioner...it was not cooling enough. The Service Manager told me the condenser was getting clogged with fescue seed and the only way to clean it would be to take the front of the Jeep off...It cools but he said if I drive in the pastures anymore I will clog it completely and then it will blow a hose or the compressor....

So I asked him if this was true if I drove in the pastures with the air off and he said yes...all vehicles not just my Jeep...I asked him if this was true for Tractors with cabs and A/C and he said yes ...even on the tractors...

I need a reality check here...Does this sound right...? I told him based on that I would have to buy a mule or a horse to ride in the pastures with fescue hay...:confused2:

I've never been around haying, but this sounds reasonable to me. Not just your AC condenser, but also your air filters, your radiators, anything that needs air flow from outside the vehicle to operate. Any sort of crud in the air - seeds, bugs, etc would cause problems. This isn't as much a problem as it is having the right maintenance for the conditions the vehicle operates in.

Now, as far as "taking the front off" your jeep... that may be the official way to clean it, but I suspect there are much quicker ways to do it (if done regularly). Maybe some compressed air, or a strong stream of water (going from inside the engine out the front). If this hasn't been done in some long period of time, it may take some attention to get the caked on stuff off this time, but air/water can keep the stuff from building up in the future.

Keith

ustmd · Jun 11, 2012

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.

brin · Jun 11, 2012

Thanks guys for all the comments....I got to thinking about it and on my tractors I have the same problem but I just either brush the seeds off the radiators or use the air compressor and when I asked the mechanic about doing that to my Jeep he said...That is the problem ..the way it is built you would have to take the whole front end of the Jeep off to clean the A/C condenser....he said it is a bad design and if they try to blow it off it will blow the seeds further in...So, what to do....I am just having a hard time believing there is no way to clean the condenser without taking the jeep apart...I mean how do they replace a bad condenser..surely they don't have to take it half apart to do so....Anybody else own a Jeep Cherokee and have this dilemma...?

Thanks again...

oldballs · Jun 11, 2012

If I remember right, there used to be a screen that one could place in front of the radiator. The screen could be easily removed and cleaned off as needed.

Egon · Jun 11, 2012

oldballs said:
If I remember right, there used to be a screen that one could place in front of the radiator. The screen could be easily removed and cleaned off as needed.

Window screen works well for the pre screen.

Larry Caldwell · Jun 11, 2012

Radiator maintenance is a big project. If you just hose it off, the dust turns to mud and plugs the whole radiator solid. It's a PITA if that happens.

I made a blow-tip attachment for my air compressor with an 18" piece of brass tubing, an elbow and a small barbed tubing attachment that lets me reach into tight places and blow crud out of the radiator. It works well. My Kubota is always getting plugged up with chaff and seeds. They didn't waste any money putting in an over-sized radiator. The old AC 175 will work all day without overheating, but not the Kubota.

pacerron · Jun 11, 2012

brin said:
Thanks guys for all the comments....I got to thinking about it and on my tractors I have the same problem but I just either brush the seeds off the radiators or use the air compressor and when I asked the mechanic about doing that to my Jeep he said...That is the problem ..the way it is built you would have to take the whole front end of the Jeep off to clean the A/C condenser....he said it is a bad design and if they try to blow it off it will blow the seeds further in...So, what to do....I am just having a hard time believing there is no way to clean the condenser without taking the jeep apart...I mean how do they replace a bad condenser..surely they don't have to take it half apart to do so....Anybody else own a Jeep Cherokee and have this dilemma...?

Thanks again...

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