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#1
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Cocking about trying to clean an expansion tank
G'day Folks,
I've been messing about with a little experiment trying to clean out gunk from an expansion tank. The gunk came from a failed head gasket - and then there's the age yellowing that probably will never go... ...so far it is a list of what doesn't work and one thing (so far) that has given the best results. I started off with baking soda - forgot to mention this the first time I posted... ...sorry no pictures - it didn't work... ...Then I tried vinegar (hey it is pretty good at cleaning burnt off crud on saucepans!) Unfortunately I only had red wine vinegar. It managed to stain the inside a bit more. So OK after that I thought - engine degreaser It works well on mucky engines Not so good inside grotty expansion tanks though (It looked like the red wine vinegar staining was planning to stay)
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! Last edited by Stretch; 09-12-2015 at 05:44 PM. Reason: Forgot about the baking soda |
#2
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Make your whites whiter!
Next up Vanish stain remover
Oxi action (don't ya know) Can ya see the bubbles? It was definitely doing something Red wine staining is gone! And some of the gunk is gone too. I thought it might be the work of bleach - so I tried a heavy dose of that but it didn't seem to make much difference
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#3
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So I'm planning to carry on with the stain remover stuff and see if that will get more of the stuff out...
...unless of course someone here has a better idea...
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#4
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You are going to spend more in cleaning products, than if you just bought a new one. LOL
I know, that isn`t the point. This is a DIY group of enthuiasts and we ain`t going the direction of new. Bur just in case you get weak kneed........ 1992 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 Sedan - Radiators - Page 3 Great work though. This is what you are striving for. Coolant Charlie Sent from my pos computer
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there were three HP ratings on the OM616... 1) Not much power 2) Even less power 3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast. 80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works |
#5
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I just installed a new one on my '85 a while ago, mainly because I figure it was now the weak link (in terms of cracking plastic) after replacing the radiator.
The side benefit is how good it looks! Still, I'll follow for curiosity. Plus what works here may work inside the brake reservoir too. Those aren't nearly as inexpensive to replace as the expansion tanks, for some reason...
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1979 300D 040 Black on Black - 1985 300D Maaco job (sadly sprayed over 199 Black Pearl Metallic) on Palamino http://i.imgur.com/LslW733.jpg The Baja Arizona Oil Burners Send a message if you'd like to join the fun Left to Right - UberWasser, Iridium, Stuttgart-->Seattle,, mannys9130 Visit the W123 page on iFixit for over 70 helpful DIY guides! |
#6
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Tape off a line to use for checking the level.
Paint it your favorite color Smile
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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#7
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I tried to show you:
What's inside that header tank? The stuff inside is a combination of who knows what...motor oil, oxidized glycol, dissolved bits of rubber hose, ancient silicate deposits, biological contaminants; a real witches brew. I found it hard to remove mechanically, even after sawing the tank open! On top of the difficult material, the only entry in or out of the baffles are tiny holes. You may not even be reaching the rearmost baffle with your cleaning products. You might be able to do it with muriatic acid and a lot of patience, but then the filler neck would be compromised. And the resulting hydrogen gas would be an explosion risk. If the discoloration really bothers you, a new tank is the only way. I wish it wasn't so. |
#8
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I would put a half cup of crushed walnut shells, a squirt of Joy dishwashing liquid, a little water, a little sand blasting sand, and rotate it a lot in all directions.... then repeat if necessary....
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1980 240d , chain elongation, cam marks reference: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html evap fin cleaning: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator A/C thread http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html |
#9
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Quote:
Quote:
A spade is a spade - the thread is entitled "Cocking about..." for a reason! The fat lady isn't singing just yet - I have a few more ideas that might work. I don't expect it to be as clean as the new one but if I can get out most of the muck then perhaps it might be of use to someone in the future. My problem with going straight for the new tank solution is that you need to be pretty sure that there's no more junk in the old system otherwise you end up mucking up your new expansion tank... ...may be there's more to this cocking about after all - clean up the old as best as possible - run some fresh coolant for a while - coolant flush - new expansion tank - new coolant => proper job?
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#10
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Quote:
Look at Mxfrank's thread to see pictures of an expansion tank in bits. The holes for the fluid between each section are really small. If you put any solids in the tank there's a good chance they'll get stuck in there. I'm fairly sure I'm going to keep trying fluid only solutions
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#11
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Then I save money on coolant too!
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#12
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Quote:
...damn it!
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#13
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OH... .I thought you were wanting to seal up those holes.....
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1980 240d , chain elongation, cam marks reference: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414 http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html evap fin cleaning: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator A/C thread http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html |
#14
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How long did you let the products sit inside and mix? Maybe some of them take some time to chemically react to whatever is inside.
Given enough time surely one of the more potent ones will work if you leave the reservoir to soak in the solution long enough.
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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg |
#15
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Quote:
Here's a summary so far Baking soda - 24 hours [No visible effect] Red wine vinegar - 24 hours [Left more staining!] Engine degreaser - over night (say 16 hours) [No visible effect] Vanish stain remover - over night (about 16 hours again) [Lots of bubbles - removed staining - best effect so far] Bleach - over night (about 16 hours) [No visible effect] {Everything has been mixed with tap water expect the vinegar}
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
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