What is this hot tank thing?

What is this hot tank leland keeps talking about... is there anyother way to clean a case/components?

Adam

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1978 911SC 3.0
roseneck@cyberbeach.net

Adam,

Most good overhaul shop has a hot tank to clean parts. Problem is that some of the solutions in there are not good for alloy parts.

I am not real well versed area in this but have heard of people taking a alloy block to "joes podunk motor shop" and they stuck it in the same tank (and solution) that they use for "leroys ford pickup motor" for the last three years and came back with much of it melted away. Evidently some of the solutions used are meant for steel, and steel only.

Another place with tanks are radiator shops. If you ever need work on an oil cooler, take them to a good shop and they will soak your old cooler to get the gunk out, then pressure test and fix it.

If you ever blow a motor, ALWAYS either get a new cooler (both of them) or have your old ones cleaned out (oil lines included) by someone who knows what they are doing. Many a new motor destroyed by dirt and metal shavings left in the old oil cooler/oil lines.

Used properly, a hot tank will take a case, or other motor parts that look like crap after years of use and covered with oil and grime and give you like new appearance. It also makes it a lot easier to check for damage or wear. You can always clean parts by hand in various ways, but the "hot tank" does a really nice job and is a lot easier as long as its done correctly and with the correct solvents.

After spending a couple of hours with your arms covered in solvent, holding a brush used to clean a case or like, you will start asking about tanking the piece, its just a lot easier and more through.

JA

I just took my intake runners to a guy who specializes in aluminum heads, so he has two cleaning tanks.

One is the typical hot tank that has a heavy concentration of acid. This is typically used for iron and steel parts.

The other tank is a specialized solution for aluminum, and does not have a high concentration of acid. I don't recall what he said was in it (bi-sodium phospate, or something along those lines), but I should be picking them up today, so I'll let you know how they turn out.

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Michael
'78 911SC Euro

I've heard of guys buying old dishwashers, hooking them up in the garage and sticking parts in them for a cycle or two-supposed to do pretty damn good job-but I guess you'd have work on engines all the time to make it worthwhile and pratical.

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Clay McGuill '66 912, '97 Jeep Cherokee www.geocities.com/the912guy

Hello

Magnesium cases and parts need neutralisation after the solvent bath.
Best is allways to rinse the parts direct after cleaning with any type of solvent. Use soft water.

Grüsse

I picked up my intake runners after a soft solvent bath, and they're squeaky clean!! I wasn't thrilled with the buffing job that I did, so I painted them with 1,200 degree silver heat paint. They look really nice!

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Michael
'78 911SC Euro