Cleaning coolant tank?

[Babyhauler]

The coolant tank is nasty on my new to me 2004 2500HD Duramax. The baffles inside make it difficult to clean with pressure or mechanically.

What have you used to eat the sludge & gunk out so it can return to the wonderful faded white/yellow color that decorates the engine compartment of so many Chevys? A typical rad flush changes the fluid color, but does not remove the stains on the sides of the tank. I have cleaned several of these, but I am still searching for a quick, effective cleaner.

Let me know what works.

Thanks

[DaveH71]

I typically use a product called RESTORE made by fleetguard to flush coolant systems, they also make a product called RESTORE PLUS that is very acidic that we use on very dirty diesel engines.

 

Either of these two should work. I usually unbolt the reservoirs and remove them from the vehicle, then add a bit of restore then a good bit of hot water and shake. Works pretty well.

 

Use some caution with the RESTORE PLUS, its very powerful. We had a bottle of it sitting around for awhile and it eventually started eating through its own container. Not something i would let sit in the reservoir overnight or anything.

[ColoradoDave]

Restore....never heard of it...thanks for the tip.

 

Been reading about both of them. Looks like Restore is alkali based and Restore Plus is acid based. From the literature I have found online, Restore is specifically listed as safe for aluminum radiators.

 

Looks like Restore Plus is targeted more towards heavy rust and scale contaminated systems and Restore towards silicates and oils contamination. So we have to pick the correct one (acid or alkali) depending on the contamination we are dealing with.

 

Sorry for the slight hijack but since both Restore and Restore Plus appear to be targeted towards the diesel guys and not gas engines, I wonder which one would be more appropriate for dealing with Dexcool sludge that would be found on gas engine cooling systems.?

[MaverickZ71]

I've heard of people removing and draining the tank, washing out the worst crud with a garden hose, plugging the drain hose, filling the tank full of water, and adding a box of denture cleaning tablets, like Polident and letting them fizz overnight. Sounds logical, but I never tried it myself, though.

[ColoradoDave]

I guess I'll take one for the team. I just called up my local Cummins dealer and I'll be picking up some Restore tomorrow. The old, dexcool crudded up tank will be perfect to experiment with.

 

I've already ordered a new recovery tank because I've not been able to clean the old one with anything I can find. Good thing it was only 30 bux.

[DaveH71]

Yeah i would stick with the RESTORE for the coolant tank application since its only made of plastic. PLUS might be a bit hard on it if you let it sit in there for a long period of time.