How to clean, restore, whiten your coolant overflow tank
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- Here's a tutorial video showing you how to clean and whiten (remove the yellow color) from your coolant expansion (overflow tank).
My coolant overflow tank was sitting in my car for far too long and it was simply horrible. With a ton of 30 year old sludge, dirt, discoloration and anything else you can imagine. Good quality replacement coolant tanks for my car (1987 MR2 mk1 AW11) don't exist, and used ones are usually in similar condition.
So I did some research to see how best to clean it and get it looking like new again. Cleaning the inside was fairly easy with some common household items. Some rice, some bleach and a dish washing tab and a lot of shaking gave results that are were even better then I hoped. The outside was scrubbed with a dish washing pad and a bleach and water mixture. Again the results were very decent and 30 years worth of dirt was gone in mere minutes.
What was annoying me most of all and where it was the hardest to get the results was the yellowness of the coolant tank. Scrubbing is dead useless here, since the yellowness you can see on coolant tanks is the result of a chemical reaction. The only solution is to whiten/ bleach out the ugly yellow color out of the coolant expansion tank. However this is a lot easier said than done.
My initial research led me to a solution called Retrobright which was developed to get the yellowness out of old pcs like ataris and commodores. I made it and tried it, but the results were extremely poor. However I learned from Retrobright about the key ingredient to get my coolant expansion tank white again, and the magic ingredient is called hydrogen peroxide. The product with the highest concentration of hydrogen peroxide I could find was in hair-care products for bleaching your hair. On the same isle I found another product which promised to add an extra kick of aggressiveness into my bleaching formula, it was called bleaching powder and when mixed with the hydrogen cream it promised extra bleaching power. I stocked up and got to work. Results finally started to appear. After several bleaching sessions with the inside and outside of the coolant tank covered in the bleaching solution I managed to get most of the yellow color out. Mind you I couldn't get every last shade out of it, but I did manage to get it looking A LOT better than it was when I started.
Check out my blog for more car DIY and MR2 and 4AGE stuff: www.driving4ans...
#d4a #restoration #yellowedplastic #whiten #coolant #4age #4age16v #aw11 #ae86 #4agebigport #mr2mk1 #mr2 #toyota #jdm #celica #corolla #starlet #ke70 #fx16
Here's a product with a high hydrogen peroxide content that is pretty much the same thing I used to whiten my coolant tank: amzn.to/2JI0vwz
Make sure to keep it in direct sunlight to achieve actual results.
Can you use the bottles of liquid hydrogen peroxide?
@@jamesjones9207 talking drug store peroxide? No. Not high enough content.
DO NOT USE bleach to get white plastic items. I used bleach on a toilet chair to bet it cleaned and it turned into yellow. Use hydrogen peroxide and for fast results use uv led lamps overnight.
Or u can use a small handheld UV torch / flashlight, I bought one for pc and gadget repairs on eBay for £2
@@jamesjones9207 yes
This is a great video but I found an even easier way to clean the inside, close off the holes and put in some rice, then spray brake cleaner in there for 6 seconds, close and shake for 30 seconds, then rinse out with water. Mine turned out great with this trick!
I know is old comment but is this really working?
@@marcinpromil2862 I’d say yes IF your reservoir is dirty from gunk and not from actual yellowing
Genius! I used carb cleaner and rice, almost immediately with a couple shakes it was clean 🙌
I did nearly the same procedure for my '89 Buick- but I used a clothes detergent with "bleach alternative", a wash cloth, and hot water. Shake and turn about 30 minutes. Quality toothpaste works very well for the outside. I also used a red Sharpie for the letters and lines. My tank turned out bright white- without any harsh dangerous chemicals. Those tanks are blow molded polyethylene, and easily stained.
Has gone yellow since you cleaned it?
@@petermathews9298 Watch my latest video. Clear view of the Recovery Tank. I cleaned it last in 2011, when I purchased the car. Haven't cleaned it since. There is some minor discoloration now. More work coming soon, entire cooling system overhaul- so it will be cleaned again, using the same method.
Wow, watching this old video shows how far you've come over the years, to become one of the best automotive channels.
What a cool guy, best RUclipsr of all time, even a class act before you got professional with your setup.
great tip mate. I'd always thought these tanks weren't salvageable
Wooowww.... tomorrow I try to do the same with my coolant tank of a '96 Clio Williams !!!!
The shaking dance is a fantastic!
Thumbs up just for those dances.
Thank you, I can't believe someone actually saw that nonsense :)
using sand and soap?
False Teeth whitening tablets work well. Submerge the whole item in warm water and add some tablets and watch it fizz the muck away.
Great job. For certain vehicles it might be more cost effective to purchase a new reservoir.
Ebay
Hahaha foreal
200$ for a new one for my car I'm good
El Plateado 001 Not here in Mexico my friend, definitely not here.
It’s about keeping the originality of the vehicle
My mind is boggled! I've never seen powder bleach before 😐😐😐
I was thinking the same thing. Only powder bleach I now is the powder bleach to bleach your hair
Yeap I read what he did and it was hair powdered bleach and developer. So the highest developer you can use is volume 50. Not supposed to 6 be used with out a beauticians license but can be found at small Independence hair product places
That's how my wife makes rice too!
I went a different direction on an '89 Olds I'm restoring. I got the tank clean, then used 3M Rubberized Undercoating & Krylon Black Engine Paint.
I've been using the 3M for 30 years as a texture to cover weld spatter, grinding marks, etc on custom fabricated hot rod parts, and other fabricated items. I seldom put a full cover coat, just a texture, like sheet rock texturing.
I then paint over it with whatever the part calls for.
I like the Krylon Engine color for misc car touch up because it is in-between flat & gloss, and it is tough paint.
I wasn't sure how a black overflow tank would work. I figured, they made them clear for a reason, even after the shift to the 'all black' engine compartments by all the manufacturers, after all. What I discovered is it works just fine.
Unless you have a coolant system problem, you rarely need to add more, and it's just as easy to pop the lid.
I wouldn't do it on a daily driver, I'd get a junk yard one, first. But on something I'm building, or restoring, it looks so much better than a white, or yellowed white tank, I'll do it, again.
=====
BTW, driving4, the discoloration is from the rust in the coolant. When you mix coolant 50/50, the rust inhibitors are not strong enough to keep raw cast iron from rusting. Most all cars have, at least, a cast iron block.
For years, I have run straight coolant in my custom cars, etc. No water means no rust. It is also easier to recycle coolant after a repair necessitating coolant system draining. 100% coolant will work as a coolant no better than 50/50, but it will not work any worse, either. I have checked with manufacturers, long ago.
If you look at my wheel well restoration video you will see that I use a rubberized undercoating product there. I was really impressed by what it can do and how ti covers everything and somehow magically makes it pretty again. i never thought about using it on a coolant tank but it's definitely not a stupid idea! Also great tip on the straight coolant thing, didn't know that. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I was thinking about cleaning my tank that's why i looked up this video. Painting was an idea but now that i read your comment i think i will paint it instead.
Except straight antifreeze , freezes at 0 degrees , 50/50 antifreeze lowers the freezing point to - 35 degrees ..and it raises the boiling point to 223 degrees or higher, when it's 50/50 mix , that's a old well known mechanic thing .
@@MikeSmith-nu9wt Where I live in Oregon, it's got below zero 2-3 times in my 70 yrs, so I was never worried about it; the cars I put straight antifreeze in were always garaged, as well. Don't do it on dailys...
One of the things that Retrobright and other peroxide bleaches use is direct sunlight. The other is heat. Watch some of the 8-bitguy restoration videos.
You got pretty decent results even without the above but hot water and sunlight over several hours would likely help a great deal.
Love the bloopers at the end, so funny! And THANK YOU for the video!
Anthony Chew Thanks for watching, I'm really happy you found those funny :)
I clean it with citric acid
And it works fine with me
Save me a lot of money too
also bicarb soda works for some deposits.
this concoction didn't clean my bottle as advertised but it cleaned my kurac super good! :-P
If he says "kurac", then he could be from one of the EX-YU countries.
Great job. Thanks for teaching us how to do it.
You welcome
instead of rice, you could also use sand. a mechanic used this method to clean my reservoir tank.
Yes,i use sand,the rice will softing and grow with water
Tip for shaking and turning:attach it to a cement mixer (one of those mostly orange 220Volt ones....not the ten wheel 40ton ones....) also very effective for cleaning the inside of rusty old fuel tanks,fill reservoir with some gravel or old nuts and bolts.
Fuel reservoirs will probably have some pinholes after cleaning....there is special,fuel resistant,coating for the inside (sorry,don’t have a product name) that will seal the pinholes in the reservoir again.....to spread this coating evenly on the inside of the reservoir:attach it again to the cementmixer!!
If you put food white vinegar and wait four or five hours and wash it by water could get better results and vinegar is about four dollars.
I used about a box of cascade and hot water. I put a bunch in, filled tank with a few cups worth of hot sink water, and shook like crazy. Repeat about 10 times. I noticed the mixture worked best when gritty or first few minutes then empty tank and start over till clean. Everyone says something different but I can say anything with grit will help the most. 03 Duramax
Awesome video man,for those OCD people like myself out there that like things a certain way this is a great video, most people would never clean a overflow tank much less even know what it is, i have this tank in one of my cars that i bought recently that needs this done badly, Ive just never had a a idea of what to use, one of the issues i would have with using rice is that the way this tank is made it has certain areas that are not very accessible and i would hate to get rice in there and not being able to get it out later unless you think it wouldn't hurt anything? basically this overflow tank it feeds certain areas by a small area/community hole inside of it. isn't vinegar supposed to clean this stuff pretty good or is that a wife's tale?
I tried vinegar once but the results weren't very impressive. When in comes to getting the rice out I would make sure to get it all out. It could clogg a hose or even get to the water pump fins which might be pretty bad.
I used a coat hanger with a scotch pad cable tied to it to get to the corners. worked well.
Good tip!
308wce 05 I used a can of white spray paint. 😁
Great job. Its always best to clean and keep original equipment on a car until it perishes.
Yea buy a new tank you say try finding an over flow tank for an old vintage car that’s one year only. Going to try it out and hoping it works dancer 🕺 boy
"dancer boy" lol :)
i cant believe u got that clean , good job
Jolly good solution, thanks. My Alfa tank was not replaceable due to cost and rarity, so cleaning to a good functional level was important, worked perfectly, cheers from Blenheim, New Zealand, Roger
+Roger Wadham Glad it was helpful for you. Wow, New Zealand, I really like NZ, would love to see NZ and live there for a while.
Come on down you can visit the car museum *s around Nz there's plenty of them scattered in the regional
There are many different types of your favorite brands ie Ford ,GM, Holden, Early American etc in the Cities ,European Autos ,Asian, Japanise vehicles ,Trucks ,& motorcycles, Vintage autos ,Rexstor
Restorations ,classic cars ,Hotrods are a popular choice in the petrol head's bucket list ,Things the are TO do on there WEEKEND S OFF " KRUSIN" the Hiways , I nearly missed the Never-ending petrol fumed excitement week of Gleaming coloured paints and Chrome work at # Whanga's Mata' s Famous annual REPCO sponsored " BEACH HOP " & art deco
Restoration not reactor ,SORRY
Ive owned a MK1 MR2 since 1990. The big problem with these tanks is that the tops get brittle from heat. Also the caps either brake or get brittle from heat. Good video though. The bleach may not be needed as dish washing detergent has bleach in it.
The tank being plastic gets stained not only from chemicals but also just from being heat cycled a million times over 30 years. You could also just fill the bowl with liquid bleach and soak the entire tank in it that way the inside and outside get bleached at the same time.
the rice was a really good idea!! I'm thinking after the rice & bleach process, bleach & boiling hot water soak may get rid of the yellowing?? mines hella dirty so I might try that... but thanks for the rice idea 🤗🤗🤗
Michelle mudd Rice idea.. Oooh I get it. Good one. Boiling water might be a good idea, let me know how it goes. Good luck with getting it clean again.
so satisfying ... good job done .. and thanks for the very helpful video .. looking forward to clean my car's reservoir soon .. thanks again
awesome idea thanks ,we call the blue reservoir a bowl
Great video! Awesome results. I had the same idea of using hair peroxide. I'm glad to see how well it worked for you.
good tips, I do this with ordinary sand and water and works very good too
Thank you, followed your steps and it worked.
If that's what the tank looks like inside then the water jackets in the engine can't lok much better and the radiator will also need a good acid clean. Obviously the coolant was not replaced regularly
thanks for the info....there should be more of you that shares info to the public....GOD bless you!!!
Brilliant is of using a permanent text marker for the tank's Min/Max levels.
Top tip for ya - use sand and water. Works better and faster
Whatever is called.. ah Kurac.. i love it..
Samo naprijed!
Have you ever tried Sulfamic acid? No scrubbing or any real cleaning just soak for 10 to 20 hours and done.
Mmm now I want some rice... Never cooked it in this manner :)
lol ps- great vid I havent had luck with cleaning mine before, but hadnt tried the rice or sand. Thanks for the tips!
Give it a try, it should work. Glad you liked the video.
dope vids bro keep up the good stuff i hope your channel gets bigger definitly gained a subscriber
If I remember properly you use boric acid to remove rust (the discolouration) on the tank
I wonder how well drain cleaner would work. Like draino
Best I've seen so far
theres another video on youtube that uses
Sulfamic acid with very good results
Excellent video! Very informative! Thanks very much!
UK bleach in a bottle and rice!! I'll try that tomorrow and give you the results in another message👍
How it went?
I've always just assumed that the yellow or brown staining was rust and used wire wheel cleaner, (acid) to clean those tanks. I wash off the outside with gas or engine degreaser and soak the tank inside with wire wheel cleaner.
Thank you, I have been looking for a way to clean those. Great job.
an abbreviated version... fill reservoir with lacquer thinner, let it sit overnight, fill with bleach and super hot water, shake, rinse, done.
Thank You for this great video. Have You ever tried the WD40 on plastic moulding or plastic pieces? I do not know how it works, But it makes them look like new ones
cuz its a solvent
I saw another video where they used sulphamic acid, came out nice and bright white.
You can simply use Oxiclean, hot water, and a sturdy scrub brush.
Very nice result. Allot better than what you started with
Hypochlorite- swimming pool bleach, also good for cleaning your driveway 👍🇬🇧
Thanks for the tip
Good job and your out takes are funny Keep up the good work
Looks like a success, I have used just the liquid bleach & wasn't satisfied, will try your mix 4 sure !
Amazing video my friend
Today I learn something new.
English, = Basin or pail or bucket. Most commonly referred to as a plastic basin due to its shape.
Thanks so much for putting this online, I will do likewise for my cars. I like the idea of being able to see what's going on at a glance. I don't think bleach will damage this sort of plastic as the same sort of plastic is used to make huge chemical vats in metal treatment plants, ie. electroplating, and anodising works. I am willing to try as did you, A great result, and thanks.
Save yourself a LOT of time: buy pure sodium percarbonate granules, the same active ingredient that's in nappy bleach and some laundry products and wooden deck cleaners. Non-toxic, and converts to oxygen when mixed with warm water. Mix well in a bucket and immerse tank. When the liquid is clear and the solution is not fizzing any more, drain and repeat.
Sodium percarbonate does not affect rubber plastic or metal. You can safely flush it down a sink as it is MUCH less toxic than most laundry detergents (that can contain fillers and synthetic additives and fragrances).
And yes - you can use this same method on your deck...
Alas H202 makes the pastic brittle. It is a stong oxidant.
Use CLR it's much easier and let it set overnight.
If you have the luck I had and get a used car where some genius used stop leak in the reservoir, no matter what you try, that gunk will not come out. I'd recommend using a bendable bottle brush or refrigerator coil brush and bending it different ways to scrub the inside. Pain in the a$$, but only thing I found to work
Thanks so much my dear. It worked very well.
you seem like a really nice person
Thank you! Don't know if I am, I guess that's for others to decide and for me to try my best to be. Thanks for the comment tho.
I like this video a lot but I was cringing over bare hands in concentrated bleach 😬
The permanent inking of the fill lines relates to my habit of indexing and improving just such indicators everywhere, eg the matching sides of USB connectors. Hmmm...maybe my first ever RUclips video?
10:46 Kurac hahaha !
thanks man ! it really helped me up 😊
Thanks, this was really helpful my guy!
Instructions not clear, I accidentally made myself a margarita
Five gallon bucket, 2 cups of degreaser/purpke cleaner and about 8 cups of boiling water. Sit in bucket while serving cooling system. Bottle brush interior/exterior. About 2-3 hours elapsed, same results. Automotive ink pen in YELLOW to trace lettering on side of tank. Faster, less work and better results with the bleached Russian blonde😳😳😝😝😝😝
Fantastic video , thank you , question for you the first bleach powder you put in with the rice where did you get that from ? Is it the same as the Haircare bleach or will a liquid form bleach like white king also do the same job?
so does the bleach actually whiten the plastic? making it more translucent? or does it merely add a layer of whitening?
100 times faster way - fill tank above "max" level with caustic soda crystals, plug all openings as you did, prop up securely outside (for ventilation) and wear glasses! Simply pour in boiling water to top of tank and leave for an hour or so. You'll notice a LOT of very vigorous chemical reaction, pops, bangs, rumbles etc - so keep well back as you pour to avoid splashes. Works a treat on yellowing, rust, 'mayonaise' and oil (if you've blown a head gasket.
stevoid99 👍
May try this on my 2 stroke tank as it's the same plastic and is brown from 37 years use
+suzuki etc Sure why not it can't really hurt anything
so mine was not nearly as bad, but it was def bad and had bad yellowing, but so what i did was, for the inside, i also used rice, don't use sand like the dude below me had done, that'll just get lodged between the plastic an shit an you'll get crappy seals with any rubber fittings, plus its too abrasive, beauty of rice is after awhile it softens so you don't damage the inside, and with that i used a degreaser called Purple Power, its labeled as a super degreaser, designed for engine bays and engine block gunk, i then used a scrubber (i used a tooth brush, bristles are just the right abrasion level and it's good to get those hard to reach areas) and some more of that Purple stuff for the outside, then it took some vinegar(citric acid works too, its all the same stuff; highly acidic, grabs and breaks down any chemicals that have become embedded with the plastic, but be careful if using oxalic acid, then it might potentially start eating away at the plastic too, and DEF don't use phosphoric acid, i wouldn't try hydrochloric acid either) and filled it half way, get it some shaking dancing too, then as final touch i used a plastic trim restorer, adds layer to the outside to keep it protected from future yellowing, some damage ext, as well as to the cap an what not, and I'll tell you what, it looks like you just took it out of the package it looks so dam new, was much cleaner looking than this one but admittingly wasn't as bad as this one when i 1st started, but def in my opinion gets the yellowing out better. For the outside/inside you can also use CLR, but for the inside that should be used more for your windshield wiper reservoir, gets out all that calcium deposit
Wow you did a great job with that. Thx. Gonna try it
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Hope it works out well for you too.
Some UV led lights would speed the process up.
Toilet bowl cleaner works like crazy!
I've cleaned many of these tanks, use sulfuric acid ,or muraitic acid
Care to make a video?
I always use toilet cleaner, Hydrochloric acid with fast action
That looks like rust to me. Hydrochloric acid Muriatic acid or a household product called "The Works" takes rust off very well.
CLR in a bucket with water wait 3 to 5 hrs ..rinse ..done no scubbing
"once you pop in...uh. kurac 10:45 😂
Your English is very good.
ThePunter29 Thank you :)
I heard if you boil old yellowed plastic or nylon it will become white like new again, because the heat resets the plastic.
i used Ammonia simple
I bought a box of wood screws and dumped it inside the tank of my f350, then some dishwasher detergent and shaked it like an idiot, it is now sitting with the thing and then i will dump it and do that again
Haven't tested it though
That's cool that you were able to get it all cleaned up and it looks really good but by the time you bought all those cleaning supplies you probably could have bought a new reservoir tank.
Ppl often comment that. New tanks don't exist for my car. No one makes them
nice, now i have some rice stuck to the inside..
da nisi reka kurac hahahahah... pozzzz kralju!!
Brilliant... well done
Most of the filth is from not properly cleaning the engine compartment. Oil adheres to polyethylene, oil catches dirt and binds it. Inside discoloration is easily removed with a mild acidic grease cutter, outside with engine degreaser. Rinse it off and run tgrough a dishwaxkerthrough
Thank you
This method doesn’t do shit except ruin your clothes because you shake bleech.
'carefully tip the contents into the reservoir' immediately spills it. 8:45