# Coolant recovery tank



## Nicholas (Jan 16, 2017)

Hi everyone. I don't use my factory charcoal filter and was thinking about removing it. I'll keep it. Just put it away for now. In the same position/location that the filter occupies, I was thinking about installing a coolant recovery tank. Not just an overflow tank, but something that holds the overflow antifreeze and the system can suck it back into radiator. Here is my concern. My radiator fluid when cold is about 3" or so down from the top. I'm told this is normal because the fluid/antifreeze needs room to expand. The 3" of missing fluid doesn't seem to affect the temp. of the engine. Not really sure. But, if I had the radiator near full cold, when hot it could expand into the recovery tank and draw back in as needed. Maybe this extra coolant would make the engine run even a little cooler. Anyone ever do this or have any thoughts on it?? Thank you.


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

The simple EEC (charcoal) cannister serves an important purpose, it captures unburnt fuel vapors when the engine is shutoff, then after the engine is restarted & warms up, the fuel vapors are burnt. This is not a power robbing emission part. Several times now, I've dealt with '70's Pontiacs that previous owner removed the cannister, & unhooked the return line, in several cases breaking them off & crimping them shut at the base of the cowl. In two previous cases now, the current owners upgraded the power of their Pontiac V8's & with just a good AC deep cannister fuel pump sucking fuel, and with the original sealed system gas cap in place, the gas tank actually sucked itself in. I was then sourced for a gas tank & to replace the EEC lines/cannister. Desire to remove this small part, go for it...just remember to go to a vented gas cap & be ready to smell fuel vapors after parking in your garage. 

On the radiator plastic puke jugs, for the most part Ive always had the view that they look like crap under the hood of '60's & early 70's muscle. Whether its a tacky jug from PepBoys or one out of a later vehicle, they typically scream add-on junk. As a clean solution, stumbled onto making fairly hidden overflow tanks over the last two decades. The commonality of all these tanks is they were all made out of a 24-32 oz domed top steel can. Paint stripper cans, brake fluid cans, etc. The domed top can needs to be 2 3/4" to aprox 3 1/4" in diameter & will be 12 to 16" tall. The small diameter screw on cap on the top gets a hole drilled in the top, along with a small diameter rubber grommet from the hardware store that the drain hose goes through. By bending a 1" wide thin strap of out of sheetmetal, its never been that hard to make a tight fitting bracket that sucks the tank up against the core support, in the spot between the radiator and on '70 CA & later A-body's, the EEC cannister.


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## Nicholas (Jan 16, 2017)

OK. Thank you PH.


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