expansion tank cleaning?

[goosiegander]

Best product/method for making the coolant expansion/window washer reservoir tanks look like new again?

Thanks, Goosie

[march109]

buy a new one, they arn't expensive.

[goosiegander]

fair... but i do actually like cleaning things up, call me a madman...

[eko]

Big bucket,pop some Daz ultra(or similar) in there,fill with water and chuck the item in there.
Leave for 24hrs or so and remove and rinse!
Worked for me

[goosiegander]

cool ill give that a try!

[sam325is]

did they come out looking new eko?

[eko]

did they come out looking new eko?

Wouldnt say they came out looking like brand new but certainly the cleanest `old` ones ive ever seen!
Carb cleaner works a treat on the stubborn parts

[Chris-W]

Fairy Power spray - smashing stuff.

[eko]

Fairy Power spray - smashing stuff.

lol youve been in the kitchen cupboard too then
Question is did you get caught

[goosiegander]

i just did lol!

[march109]

For stubborn marks I like the citrus bbq cleaner from the same people that do WD40, comes in the same sort of can, but in lime green. Dissolves any crap and cleans my engine bay and bbq great.

Though I'd rather buy a new one.

[DanThe]

They are approx £30 a piece new, I bought an expansion tank, but I couldnt part with the cash for a washer bottle as I knew I would forget to top the screen cleaner up and it would go mouldy again.
I think I filled mine with hot water and toilet cleaner/limescale remover overnight, worked well but it has since had several bouts of mould induced leprosy

[beardymat]

i fitted new bottles to mine so you can imagine my dissapointment when the engine repeatedly filled the expansion bottle with murky brown water despite numerous flushings with clean water and a proper engine flush plus 3 lots of fresh anti freeze

probably had something to do with the car standing for @ two years with no rad and a dribble of water still in the block which i found when changing the timing belt and water pump in prep for recomissioning the engine. which id found the thread about the drain plug on the block a little earlier.

[DanThe]

TFR is a wonderful cooling system flush

[sam325is]

sweet im going to get 2 new bottles then. becuase my coolant isnt murky and brown as my engine is rebuilt.new water pipes etc. might throw a new rad in just for good measure.

cant say ive evey had mold in my washer bottles either

[clubfx2]

I've cleaned mine up using sea sand and soapy solution. Came out like new.

[mikec]

best way to clean tank after head gasket failure is to flush with water,then fill and add some washing powder,run for a few days then flush and fill with water/anti freeze mix.old trade trick!

[grantfk10]

What, run the car with washing powder in the cooling system? Sounds weird, but if it works without undue problems - go for it.

[gareth]

TFR did the job on my cooling system. 2 years on after a cracked head and it's still completely clear! do this before cleaning the tank!

[Chris]

Are the water pump bearings exposed to the coolant on E30 engines?

Just curious as My little Suzuki SJ410 blew a head gasket a year or so ago and i'm still getting manky gloop out the expansion tank, because i've always been scared to put anything nasty in there to clean it all out because i put a new water pump in and was always scared of degreasing any bearings etc.

[gareth]

nope. they're sealed. usually when the seals fail, the bearings fail just afterwards. a giveaway sign is a noisy pump that's weeping coolant throigh the front.

[cliffybabe]

mine went in the dish washer (whilst mum was out) and it come up like new

[DCDC]

C-LIT BANG AND THE DIRT IS GONE !!!C-LIT BANG AND THE DIRT IS GONE !!!
C-LIT BANG AND THE DIRT IS GONE !!!
C-LIT BANG AND THE DIRT IS GONE !!!
C-LIT BANG AND THE DIRT IS GONE !!!


LOL

ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THAT

REGARDS
DC

[e34Murphy]

i will be giving the m30 headertank a clean soon as not only have i got some mirky bornw coolant now (not been change in a year or so i doubt) and the bottle is so dirty you cant see where the coolant is on the min and max indicator

[Gibson]

Ive been threatening this on the E-dirtysix for a while now but i blew radiator to hell last week so now would seem like a good time....

[goosiegander]

finally bit the bullit and purchased a new expansion tank from bmw