Getting silicone off of bolts going through radiator!?

[MartyIn3D]

Hi,

The radiator fan died yesterday on my l300, it's been upgraded from viscous to electric. I thought it would be a fairly easy job for a newbie like myself until I realised the bolts, or screws (it's hard to tell), that hold the fan on have been covered in some sort of silicone sealant.

Any tips for getting this stuff off? Any method I use is going to need to be fairly precise as the bolts go right through the radiator!

Thanks a lot :D

[sub-arctic]

scraping sealant is always fun.... not really, my advice to you would be use a really sharp plastic scraper, and maybe a razor blade to cut away some larger sections of sealant. For some reason I am having trouble visualizing what you mean by the bolts going through the radiator, they didnt poke holes in the rad to attach the fan did they? If so I would personally be inclined to replace the rad completely because thats pretty hack, also if that is the case removing the bolts will disturb any sealant that was there before, making it extremely hard to seal again.

a picture would be most helpful in this case if possible!

[MartyIn3D]

Thanks a lot for the advice. They turned out to be little plastic fasteners that were going through the radiator (it was just really hard to see with all the sealant all over them) and I managed to get them off with some careful cutting with a Stanley knife.

Imagine my horror when I realised that the entire fan surround is actually siliconed straight to the rad! I have no idea how to get it out now!

[pajerry]

You may want to try softening it up with a heat gun, then it will simply scrape off, or wipe off. Hairblower might even get it softer.

[sub-arctic]

sharp plastic scrapers will also be your friend, take it slow and be aware of where you are scraping and you should have good results!