Debris between radiator and condenser

Today, I chose to really spend some time under the hood cleaning. One thing led to another and I decided to remove the radiator brackets to clean the foam seal and around the brackets themselves. Once I pushed back the radiator, I was surprised to see debris covering the radiator. It was mostly grass and leaves of about 3x5 card sized obstruction. Not a large blockage, but a blockage, considering the size of the radiators, this wasn't helping. Add to that, I live in a climate zone where 95+ temps are seen on a regular basis and one needs to be sure they are getting all the available cooling.

 

Well - I cleaned this really good and then took the skid pan off and cleaned all in behind the fog lights, etc.

 

How the stuff got there is a bit of a concern as there is a blk foam seal all-around the radiator / ac condenser that should stop this for finding its way between the two coils. I'll point out that the debris was directly in the lower portion at the center. This point ( on the Outback ) is behind a rib that divides the lower opening of the grill front. Weird how air flow works.

 

Needless to say - I have this cleaning procedure as something I will check at each oil change to be sure nothing is there that should not be.

might want to check back when the leaves are done falling and see how much more as gotten back there