Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I noticed that i cant see the water level in the header tank on my car anymore.
the tank itself has a brownish colour to it now and the water level cant be seen through it.

I was recently looking at some superb pictures on Rennlist and i noticed they have sparkling white tanks.

Does anyone know a way of cleaning these tanks?

Rav

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/944M/POR_944M_WATrad_pg2.htm#item5

Hi,

Mine was exactly the same as yours. So brown that you couldn't even see the coolant level till you took the cap off.

The coolant tank eventually split so I got a replacement from OPC Leeds. It was around £50 which compared well to other part suppliers. You need a slightly different tank though with yours being a turbo. You have a an port attached to the header tank. It took me aroung 30 mins to change the tank. Here's my original post:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5656

Ben

According to some people the tanks quickly yellow off again after a while.

There is a way to clean the sediment from the inside of a tank like this, what you do is remove it from the car and fill it half full with hot water plus some detergent, then put a handful of small nuts into the tank (as in nut and bolt of course!). Seal the holes in the tank so the water does not come out, then shake the tank for a while and the nuts will swill around, removing the brown sediment. Try it...it works!

Yup washing machine powder or dishwasher detergent. I've heard it rumoured that the dishwasher top shelf works very well & for ali parts, but I'd never do things like that

Bought a new one for mine from the states. But there about the same price as OPC now If you go this route you also need to replace the brake reservoir or it looks terrible! Still looks new after 3 years of use. And it is good to see how much coolant you have without taking the cap off.

edit. Only paid £20 for mine but they've gone up a bit!!!

If you're going to use washing powder make sure it's biological (ask your wife / girlfriend / boyfriend) as it will probably work better. I'm going to do mine at the weekend now just to prove a theory right or wrong.

Top tip - if you sprinkle biological washing powder on an oil stain on your driveway, leave it to get rained on, when it dries the stain is gone. An old man told me that, and it wasn't Paul Daniels, but it works - although our close has a brick road and brick driveways, so cannot vouch for tarmac. It's also useful for scrubbing the patio and the railway sleepers in the garden to get all the green stuff off after winter, etc etc.

All these suggestions (meaning the whole thread) are better and cheaper than buying a new one.

Of course taking the tank off would mean having to re-fill the system with coolant.
I have heard that bleeding air from the system is a massive job in its self.

Im technically inept when it comes to mechanicals. Electricals on the other hand are my bread and butter.

I've only refilled mine once since I've had it but no problem. Top it up, start it, loosen & remove the various bleed screws, when the coolant runs free screw back in.

How much do you charge per hour? My 928 is electrically inept!

looks to me like you are pretty handy at cleaning, that engine bay is spotless

Lyndsayhbrown - that picture is shamlessly stolen......mine is the colour of mud!

Watchcam - Start a new thread and let me know - I am happy to help!

I took mine off and did the old washing powder trick but it hardly made any difference. Perhaps I was using the wrong stuff or didn't wait long enough but there are big chunks of muck on the inside of mine making it pretty much impossible to see the coolant level.

I think I'll try taking it off again this weekend and see what else I can do with it. Will also give me a good excuse for flushing out the coolant and putting some fresh stuff in there.

ETA: This link has a few interesting suggestions

I would not have thought you would lose much water from the actual system it is only the header tank so unlikely to need much more than a top up. I can recommend as a cleaner when left overnight either dishwasher powder usually the cheaper the better or a couple of Sterident tablets (the false teeth cleaner) It always works on my teapot.