Best way to clean the exterior of Harley oil cooler

[riderdave]

It seems after trying everything on the market, I can't prevent oil spills when changing oil filter on my 103 MotorTrike .

The place it goes it right to the oil cooler. I am needing the best method to clean the exterior of the oil cooler without doing any damage to the cooling fins or painted finish. Anybody have any thoughts on this? I know if I don't clean it road dirt will cling to it and clog it up and defeat it's whole purpose. Help!!!!!

[trikermutha]

simple green and a pressure washer..be careful not to get to close to the fins..

[Shriner Jim]

Whatever you do won't work. I find that if I push/poke rags under the oil filter before I wrench it off, it will catch the oil run-off.

[captdanwh]

you are not alone with your problem. no matter how or what id do there is a little oil spill. i place as many oil rags under the filter as i can and over my oil cooler which helps and after i am done i use brake cleaner spray to clean it all off and that takes care of the spill without hurting anything. that's the best advice i can give you.

[GARYD]

I use the tried and true litre bottle to catch what little oil there is. Then I just spray it down with brake cleaner and hose it off and I'm done. No problem. Then I use a stiff bristle brush to clean the fins.

[lboos]

I just use simple green, let it sit for a few min's and hose it down.

[Smitty Werben Manjensen]

I don't have a Harley trike (DFT), but have a cooler that got oiled down a couple times. I fashioned a curved aluminum catch gutter that goes under the filter, then runs out past any obstructions, sloped into a pan. I then take a sharp pointed pick and smack a hole in the top and bottom end of the filter, and wait until forever to drain it all out of the filter. Then remove the catch gutter and stuff some paper towels under the filter, then spin it off. It seems to work well.

[onahog]

I go to the car wash and wash the whole trike...Everything gets cleaned..

[riderdave]

Thanks to everyone for some good advice. I will probably use an old pizza box for drain, and use brake cleaner and hose for clean up. I always get great input from trike talk crowd.

[mcdonaldroadcapt]

You can get rid of the whole problem by mounting your oil filter on the frame just in front of the engine. Lets more air hit it and it is a pleasure to change since it is in a verticle position and spills no oil. For pics go to www.jerrysprigssystems.com Best improvement I ever made.

[Ol' Man Jeb]

You can get rid of the whole problem by mounting your oil filter on the frame just in front of the engine. Lets more air hit it and it is a pleasure to change since it is in a verticle position and spills no oil. For pics go to www.jerrysprigssystems.com Best improvement I ever made.

Must be a typo. Didn't you mean http://jerrysrigssystems.com/