Cleaning gunk out of coolant reservoir

[Chris Peace]

Hey guys, simple question.

I put a hole in my coolant overflow reservoir for my 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix (don’t ask me how) so I had to get a new one. I got it from a junk yard.

There is some gunk stuck to the inner walls of the reservoir. I sprayed some brake clean in there and it knocks it off and cleans it just fine, but there are areas that are simply inaccessible for me to spray.

Is there anything I can put in that reservoir that won’t damage the plastic but will get rid of that stuff so I can start with a clean unit?

I’m sure there is a stupid simple answer, I just don’t know what to do.

Thanks!

Topic

[Erin]

Well one thing is maybe just get a metal coat hanger and rig a rag to it, put in a bit of water and dish soap and scrub it.
They usually clean out pretty easy, the hard part is getting to the dirt. You probably won’t get all of it but you can get it clean enough so it doesn’t look nasty.

The thing about water-soluble gunk is that petroleum products don’t clean it very well.

[Lorrin Barth]

A bottle brush with a long handle

[linda]

By your subject I thought u were wondering why there was gunk in the reservoir, after reading the problem I thought you might try a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of white vinegar and dawn dish soap. get a spray bottle, put vinegar in the microwave for 20 seconds or so (just to make it warm) and add dish soap (shake well). Spray it all over in the reservoir and let sit for 45-60 minutes (u may need a thin scrub brush on tough parts) otherwise you just rinse it out with water. I have been in the cleaning business for many years and hardly buy any cleaning products (its all in the type of cleaning rags & a lot of household supplies) This MARVELOUS mixture destroys tough soap scum on tubs and showers/ literally u will have no water spots and your shower doors will look brand new. Now, I know we are talking house vs vehicle grime but I’ve used it on smoke soot from grills and lots of other hard to remove filth so what the heck, give it a shot in the reservoir and if nothing else you can use it the way I do.

[george gonzalez]

Put in some mild solvent like mineral spirits, about half a cup and some small gravel or sand and shake the heck out of it. Rinse, repeat.

[Paul]

I like the vinegar and dish soap idea.

I’ve found Oxi-clean (any brand that contains sodium percarbonate) is a good cleaner when used with hot water. Let it soak overnight and rinse it thoroughly afterwords. Also, TSP 90 (sodium metasilicate) can be added with Oxi-clean.

[Bill]

Dishwasher detergent and hot water is good for cleaning/flushing cooling systems with.

[Author]

Replies