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      06-08-2021, 07:17 AM   #1
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Cleaning debris from front ducts

My X2 has collected a number of dry leaves and other debris in the forward ducts, and behind the grille. They can collect enough to impede airflow to the side radiators, and they look bad behind the central grille.

I can reach in and pull them out from the two side ports, or even get a shop-vac in there. But it's not possible to get ones out if they fall to the bottom of the center.

Any tips for access to these spots, for occasional cleaning?
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      06-09-2021, 03:44 PM   #2
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Ok, crickets mean I took a closer look and the only obvious access to the lower front grille area is to remove the plastic air dam at the top, and reach waaay down. This piece is attached by three rather large Torx screws, they seem like extreme overkill for the job.

The lower ducts have no other visible access, except through the very front.

Possibly, dropping the fiber splash pan might give a slight access, but that seems a bigger undertaking and I'm not going to bother. I'll go from the top, and with a shop-vac.
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      06-10-2021, 11:33 AM   #3
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Sorry TMT.. I would have answered but I'm actually not sure where you are referring to. I know I'm lucky to have a garage.. but obviously unavoidable when driving around.. I looked down into my front the other day and didn't see anything but yellow pollen everywhere
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      06-10-2021, 03:02 PM   #4
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So you guys made me look. Good reminder.

I have a garage.

I had one tiny leaf in the left, and one strand of grass in the right.

I used an arm grab tool to gently pull them both out.

But you are right, there is no other way to do it other than shop vac, and depending how bad it is, maybe water pressure (like you do to clean off home HVAC units).

Gah. One more thing not easily accessible.
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      06-14-2021, 08:54 AM   #5
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Snapped a pic just for clarity.

The two ducts had quite a few dry oak leaves, the kind that go all crispy and don't disintegrate. There are auxiliary radiators in there, and a shop-vac nozzle cleared them.

The less important, but much uglier one, is the central area, where the same debris just sits and shows. Some of it is visible in the pic, more is scattered across the bottom. I guess they came in via the upper grille. Unfortunately they aren't leaving that way, easily. Maybe I'll just point a stick in there and scramble them to shreds.

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      06-14-2021, 11:33 AM   #6
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Maybe you could blow them out with a leaf blower from underneath?
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      06-14-2021, 04:35 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarekith View Post
Maybe you could blow them out with a leaf blower from underneath?
It is sealed.
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      06-15-2021, 01:46 PM   #8
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Yeah I understand now.. I was going to get into there to bolt on my license plate through there, but there are a lot of bolts holding down the panel. Thankfully I don't have anything stuck in there.

I'll have another closer look when I install my front lip, who knows if it'll come in this summer, but I'll be on the floor poking around getting it lined up!
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      06-17-2021, 09:36 PM   #9
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Same issue, different grill on my X1. I use a set of long needle nose pliers to grab the leaf stem, which works for ~95% of the debris. For other 5%, I use a long dowel to push the leaves into a better position for pliers. Can be time consuming depending on the amount of junk trapped.
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      07-30-2021, 10:27 AM   #10
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Just finished putting on my maxton designs front lip last week and I can confirm that it is possible, but not really reasonable to get into the bottom duct. There are maybe 6 screws holding the front of bumper cover "tray" what's also neat is that there's an additional rubber "dam" that seals up the rest of the pieces in that hole where the radiator is. If you have small enough hands and don't care about getting scraped up you could reach in ... but as others mentioned with longer pliers or a screwdriver you would probably have better luck getting pieces close enough to the front to get it out of the mesh.
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