How to clean, restore, whiten your coolant overflow tank

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

[@d4a]

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.

[@jamesjones9207]

Can you use the bottles of liquid hydrogen peroxide?

[@supremekizzle]

@@jamesjones9207 talking drug store peroxide? No. Not high enough content.

[@ΝΕΚΤΑΡΙΟΣΜΠΟΡΜΠΙΛΑΣ-υ9π]

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.

[@D.O.T.U.K]

Or u can use a small handheld UV torch / flashlight, I bought one for pc and gadget repairs on eBay for £2

[@D.O.T.U.K]

@@jamesjones9207 yes

[@Entharion]

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!

[@marcinpromil2862]

I know is old comment but is this really working?

[@AndyZULUL]

@@marcinpromil2862 I’d say yes IF your reservoir is dirty from gunk and not from actual yellowing

[@angelstolen6966]

Genius! I used carb cleaner and rice, almost immediately with a couple shakes it was clean 🙌

[@nairblab4061]

Thumbs up just for those dances.

[@d4a]

Thank you, I can't believe someone actually saw that nonsense :)

[@Pmaka647]

using sand and soap?

[@off-roadrcaddict4572]

False Teeth whitening tablets work well. Submerge the whole item in warm water and add some tablets and watch it fizz the muck away.

[@hedaron3787]

I like this video a lot but I was cringing over bare hands in concentrated bleach 😬

[@ady-bdavid1173]

My mind is boggled! I've never seen powder bleach before 😐😐😐

[@tinavillarreal6771]

I was thinking the same thing. Only powder bleach I now is the powder bleach to bleach your hair

[@tinavillarreal6771]

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

[@fasnuf]

That's how my wife makes rice too!

[@mohammadsiddiqamon2696]

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.

[@0Tigrincs0]

This method doesn’t do shit except ruin your clothes because you shake bleech.

[@HUBBABUBBADOOPYDOOP]

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.

[@petermathews9298]

Has gone yellow since you cleaned it?

[@HUBBABUBBADOOPYDOOP]

@@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.

[@elplateado0018]

Great job. For certain vehicles it might be more cost effective to purchase a new reservoir.

[@neudimensions1320]

Ebay

[@ViciousBulldogKennel]

Hahaha foreal

[@Ruvalc]

200$ for a new one for my car I'm good

[@FACTORIO-bj4ln]

El Plateado 001 Not here in Mexico my friend, definitely not here.

[@captainburble86]

It’s about keeping the originality of the vehicle

[@robertschilling3308]

this concoction didn't clean my bottle as advertised but it cleaned my kurac super good! :-P

[@astanisystems]

If he says "kurac", then he could be from one of the EX-YU countries.

[@TractorWrangler01]

That looks like rust to me. Hydrochloric acid Muriatic acid or a household product called "The Works" takes rust off very well.

[@robertemmonsemmons4331]

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

[@d4a]

"dancer boy" lol :)

[@sspeedy2859]

Have you ever tried Sulfamic acid? No scrubbing or any real cleaning just soak for 10 to 20 hours and done.

[@McLetra17]

Instructions not clear, I accidentally made myself a margarita

[@footballCartoon91]

I clean it with citric acid And it works fine with me Save me a lot of money too

[@ianmontgomery7213]

also bicarb soda works for some deposits.

[@nathanchalecki4842]

great tip mate. I'd always thought these tanks weren't salvageable

[@KosovarMods]

10:46 Kurac hahaha !

[@davidhatzenbuhler6888]

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.

[@AnthonyChew]

Love the bloopers at the end, so funny! And THANK YOU for the video!

[@d4a]

Anthony Chew Thanks for watching, I'm really happy you found those funny :)

[@brunocopetti2948]

Good. Contents. Just al tip, your audio is terrible, you need to speak louder.

[@JonnyDIY]

Mmm now I want some rice... Never cooked it in this manner :)

[@JonnyDIY]

lol ps- great vid I havent had luck with cleaning mine before, but hadnt tried the rice or sand. Thanks for the tips!

[@d4a]

Give it a try, it should work. Glad you liked the video.

[@AlessioVillani]

Wooowww.... tomorrow I try to do the same with my coolant tank of a '96 Clio Williams !!!! The shaking dance is a fantastic!

[@joerangel611]

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

[@austinharding9734]

cuz its a solvent

[@michelle.1979]

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 🤗🤗🤗

[@d4a]

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.

[@dntlss]

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?

[@d4a]

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.

[@christopherbrougham]

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...

[@albertlanger2339]

Brilliant is of using a permanent text marker for the tank's Min/Max levels.

[@Diamond_Hanz]

In russia the tank wears cloves , not me. Jp 🤭

[@austinharding9734]

funny, the guy that invented bleach was like " boss, ive invented this new chemical, it whitens ANYTHING but its extremely potent, strong, definitely poisonous, and permanently damaging to anything it comes in contact with boss: hmmm, lets promote it as a hair product! guy: why stop there, lets have people use it for there teeth as a whitener and have everyone wash it with there clothes! We'll be having people covered in the stuff in no time!

[@conniecostner9665]

Yes my dumbass got into industrial strength Clorox last year, not cut with water. Needless to say it messed me up bad with no gloves on either. I wasn't thinking. I ended up with 1st degree burns and had to go to the doctor. Very very painful lesson learned. 😢😢😢

[@lomparti]

I wonder how well drain cleaner would work. Like draino

[@kostachristofides291]

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?

[@johnkillick6061]

Hypochlorite- swimming pool bleach, also good for cleaning your driveway 👍🇬🇧

[@d4a]

Thanks for the tip

[@rodneyemmerich8828]

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

[@paulevans4021]

theres another video on youtube that uses Sulfamic acid with very good results

[@Iknowonlywhatimtaught]

Muriatic acid should work better then all this stuff. It's used in swimming pools and for cleaning stone work. If it can clean that stuff plastic should not slow it down.

[@MickJ666]

UK bleach in a bottle and rice!! I'll try that tomorrow and give you the results in another message👍

[@HamzaAzouziGrimchou]

How it went?

[@simonomisimonomis]

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

[@jamram9924]

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😳😳😝😝😝😝

[@Lynxive]

Top tip for ya - use sand and water. Works better and faster

[@jakebilbao]

instead of rice, you could also use sand. a mechanic used this method to clean my reservoir tank.

[@mandytuning]

Yes,i use sand,the rice will softing and grow with water

[@keithtrap8693]

For 3 hours of your time you could have just went and bought one and moved onto the next project. Remember time is money!

[@StipeSurlin]

da nisi reka kurac hahahahah... pozzzz kralju!!

[@myfastcars]

English, = Basin or pail or bucket. Most commonly referred to as a plastic basin due to its shape.

[@nanab256]

How to clean tank fast and cheap: -put old tank in trash can -buy new one

[@itsmee9779]

DONT FILL WITH RICE if ur tank has layered compartments

[@austinharding9734]

so does the bleach actually whiten the plastic? making it more translucent? or does it merely add a layer of whitening?

[@juanvaldez2896]

I've cleaned many of these tanks, use sulfuric acid ,or muraitic acid

[@Customsouthernarms]

Care to make a video?

[@sleepy1029ify]

Use CLR it's much easier and let it set overnight.

[@pakkelly]

Great job. Thanks for teaching us how to do it.

[@petermathews9298]

You welcome

[@ShanePKing]

What a cool guy, best KZbinr of all time, even a class act before you got professional with your setup.

[@SlamDunkInstallationKenosha]

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

[@strikeeaglemodels1588]

Try WD40 it’s strips staining in ten minutes flat

[@Finnertoncentralmodelrailway]

awesome idea thanks ,we call the blue reservoir a bowl

[@binagarten4667]

Alas H202 makes the pastic brittle. It is a stong oxidant.

[@wce05308]

I used a coat hanger with a scotch pad cable tied to it to get to the corners. worked well.

[@d4a]

Good tip!

[@martinez1701a]

308wce 05 I used a can of white spray paint. 😁

[@tskipwadoo3447]

And women use this on their head, RIGHT ?

[@samsonimport]

AND YOU PLEASE NEVER DO JOB IN BIRYANI SHOP. OTHERWISE YOU USE ALL RICE 😆😆😆😆

[@valiantrose5694]

cost usd3 to my reserved radiator tank . but maybe for other stuff soon

[@mullaway5746]

i cant believe u got that clean , good job

[@D.O.T.U.K]

Save the and money, pick a replacent one up at local scrap dealer.

[@my.little.80]

Just shit in the bottle. Shake around should do the trick

[@cyrielgaemers]

Thank you, followed your steps and it worked.

[@JoelDunstan]

Did u learn this from cleaning your bong?

[@ronaldariaaria1781]

Is he goonashow or all day or give the method to clean

[@loligagger85]

still looks like crap, what a waste of time and $

[@รพีพรดียิ่ง]

I always use toilet cleaner, Hydrochloric acid with fast action

[@victorgojocco1716]

Sulfuric acid will surely do the trick!!

[@troylinden369]

Some UV led lights would speed the process up.

[@isaiahwatson-zz4zj]

What do I put inside of my coolant tank

[@deejohnson5163]

How long did you leave in the sun ????????????

[@stevengonvera6189]

good tips, I do this with ordinary sand and water and works very good too

[@maxpain0007]

so satisfying ... good job done .. and thanks for the very helpful video .. looking forward to clean my car's reservoir soon .. thanks again

[@maxpower9848]

You do realize you can buy a brand new one for about four bucks right?

[@d4a]

You do realize I'm not insane right? New ones for my car and many others aren't made at all. Generic ones don't fit. No one in their right mind would do this unless necessary. Also for four bucks you can only buy absolute junk.

[@TechItOut]

If I remember properly you use boric acid to remove rust (the discolouration) on the tank

[@robertmartinezjr.-li7td]

What were the packages used??

[@aleksandarkosanovic186]

Odakle su tvoji....

[@seatime674]

Just buy a couple of gallons of muriatic pool acid from your pool store and submerge the whole thing overnight. If anyone is ballsy enough to do this let me know I think I'm going to try it.. it can't hurt and your muratic acid is the sh**..😉

[@Stefanv3rn]

Hahaha, ovo neki Jugo, 10:45 :D

[@austinharding9734]

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

[@dkongul]

wtf is bouıycgh????

[@MikeKollin]

Can you use regular bleach, liquid bleach from a bottle instead?

[@williardbillmore5713]

I have 35% hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting my hot tub. Do you think that will work?

[@kovac2002]

nitro razrediivac plus sitni pjesak i na kraju profi pasta za ruke rezultat 10 puta brzi i laksi kad vec pricas balkanski znaces ahahh

[@last2go313]

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

[@aussietaipan8700]

blue plastic bowl mate.

[@harirulez810]

10:44 for all my Balkans 😂

[@ronaldwitteman2134]

peroxide 12% and uv

[@TheOriginalUberGoober]

This guy doesn’t care about his skin or more importantly his eyesight.

[@threepiecehoodz2940]

i used Ammonia simple

[@ReadyUpGo]

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 KZbin video?

[@Solomonvids]

Can't hear a word. You need to project instead of talking to yourself under your breath or the vid is pointless.

[@buzzflood7539]

Excellent video! Very informative! Thanks very much!

[@user-my5nr3il3q]

Lol or just soak it in CLR inside and out for a good 15 mins and then spray it off

[@danpettis1675]

use oxyclean

[@armandokatime8854]

cheaper faster and cleaner buy a new tank

[@d4a]

Doesn't exists for this car. You think I would be doing all this?

[@WallaceTexas]

an abbreviated version... fill reservoir with lacquer thinner, let it sit overnight, fill with bleach and super hot water, shake, rinse, done.

[@noobspawnersstreams4102]

pee pee tank clean :)

[@Strykar86]

You can simply use Oxiclean, hot water, and a sturdy scrub brush.