Hey guys,
Merry Christmas!

What have you used to remove mineral deposits or scale build-up in your coolant system? I see some products advertised, but what do you recommend to get rid of it?

I got a bunch of crusty mineral deposits in my cooling system, it is on the t'stat neck and crept in under the coolant hose and gave me pitting corrosion on the neck of the t'stat housing. There is some on the tops of the radiator core tubes.. must be more of it in places I can't see. I wire brushed the snot out of the t'stat housing, and primed and painted it really good. I plan on gooping the neck with sealant before sliding the hose back on and clamping it. That should conceal the sealant under the hose and keep it OEM looking.

I researched the background and basically it seems that decay of the corrosion inhibitors in the ethylene-glycol coolant can lead to chemical changes that then deposit themselves as scale.
My lesson learned seems to be to flush and refresh the anti-freeze every 3-5 years.

Thanks,
- Art

Evaporust makes a rust/scale remover product designed to pour in and use in place of coolant and then flush out later. Most people seem to like it when you read about in online.

https://www.evapo-rust.com/thermocure-cooling-system-radiator-rust-remover/

Thanks Neil,
There are a bunch of products making claims, thanks for recommending one that has a decent following.

Glad to hear from anyone else too..

Cheers,
- Art

They talk about rust and scale but no mention of mineral deposits or am I missing something ? not trying to be an a-- just trying to clarify for the OP

The glycol in anti-freeze never wears out unless it's been overheated. The corrosion inhibitors simply go away with time. With the price of anti-freeze being what it is, I'm starting to drain it every five years or so, filter it, and add this schmoo or something similar.

Cooling Sytem Corrosion Inhibitor

Thanks again Neil.
I got some Evapo-Rust from the parts store for descaling the individual parts and will order in some Thermocure. I'm glad to read that the chemicals are harmless for all metals, aluminum, copper, brass.



TJP. ... 'scale' is a mineral deposit.. .. In my case it's a blue/green crunchy crud built up on my aluminum parts.



yes, it seems the inhibitors decay and that leaves the ethylene glycol at risk of reacting with the metals.. if you leave the coolant in your engine too many years..
Here is the article I found describing how 'uninhibited ethylene glycol' in a cooling systems can degrade and contribute to corrosion and scaling..
https://www.boydcorp.com/blog/avoiding-galvanic-corrosion.html

I have to track and refresh my coolants more often.
Cheers,
- Art