Topic: Solvent advice

[stereosilence]

Long story short: I got my engine cases, block, and head blasted buy a guy who didn't really understand what I was looking for. He used sand and took all the paint off but stayed well away from all mating services or anything that could be damaged. So, now I have to go through and scrub off all remaining grease, gasket material, and sand residue.

What sort of solvents can I run through the ports and everything to degrease and scrub them clean? My plan is to scrub everything really well and then go blast it out with water at a car wash.

[RSchaefer]

I'm cheap and flooded the crankcase with gas to clean everything out.

[Jerry E.]

I used a soda blaster to clean the paint/grease from my motor, but I still got media I needed to clean out. So, then I ran my case thru the dishwasher on "heavy wash" a couple times. Works well, then take an air hose to all the oil/bolt passages, to get any excess water out. Hondaman mention's using a dishwasher in his book, but I have washed everything from engine parts, to degreasing bolts, for years. I don't like car washes for cleaning parts, unless I have to. Hate the wet/greasy blowback in the face that always seems to happen.

[Bodi]

Wear a rainsuit and go to a pressure wash bay. Remove the oil gallery plug , spray through all oil passages, spray into all bolt holes, etc. You will get soaked with the sprayback, but nothing else cleans the crap out as well.

[Toxic]

FYI ... I don't know about the car wash booths in your area but trust me that high pressure stream will cut your skin like a hot knife in butter.  Keep your digits away.

+1 on getting soaked so pick a warm day and bring a change of clothes.

Good luck

Gary

[stereosilence]

Yeah. This is pretty much what I had anticipated. I figured I would use chemicals and scrub off the dirt and grime and everything I could and then go blast it with water.

[tlbranth]

You might do a preliminary cleanup with Brake Clean. It really gets stuff off. O'Reilly has their own brand of it that seems to usually be on sale for $2.50 or so a can. Then soak in Simple Green for a day or so. Then soda blast, then car wash.

[shinyribs]

I'm not trying to discount anyone else's advice,but here's what i did:

Sand blasted the cases
Duct taped any sensitive areas-the duct tape WILL stay-easily removed with lighter fluid,wipes right off
Preliminary cleaning with brushes/pipe cleaners and Purple Power
Final scrubbing in the tub with Dawn,warm water and lots of flushing.

ALL oil gallery plugs were removed and the pipe cleaners were run through.

Clean as a whistle!


Notice the 'tools of the trade'

[stereosilence]

Would there be any problems doing this with the block and the head? I'm not sure what other metal is in that. Is there risk of rust?

[shinyribs]

I haven't gotten around to it yet,that I do plan to do this to the head and cylinders. After washing with dish detergent and soap I'll rub the steel surfaces with Marvel Mystery oil to keep them from rusting. I used to do this to all of my race engines( autos,not bikes) and spare engine when I would build/store them. Never had a problem. You really have to rub the oil on the parts though,simply wiping them down can let it rust sometimes. I guess it has to be ''worked into the pores'',at least thats my non-professional opinion 

[Magpie]

You MUST be a bachelor!    Cliff.

[shinyribs]

 ;)It's my tub. I shall use is as I deem fit...at last while i'm still a bachelor 

[nccb]

;)It's my tub. I shall use is as I deem fit...at last while i'm still a bachelor 

I just did something similar while my wife was away, cleaning up now for her arrival

[matt mattison]

;)It's my tub. I shall use is as I deem fit...at last while i'm still a bachelor 

I just did something similar while my wife was away, cleaning up now for her arrival

If you washing parts in your bathtub, you might be a redneck

[flybox1]

;)It's my tub. I shall use is as I deem fit...at last while i'm still a bachelor 

just for when your parts are still soaking, and you get a little odiferous....

[nccb]

;)It's my tub. I shall use is as I deem fit...at last while i'm still a bachelor 

I just did something similar while my wife was away, cleaning up now for her arrival

If you washing parts in your bathtub, you might be a redneck

I was at least using my kitchen, I still need to get the wheels out.  TO my excuse though, I don't have lights in my building.

[stereosilence]

How about getting the crud out of the ports? My exhaust ports have heavy carbon buildup. Soak in the hot bath and run pipe cleaners through? I was out scrubbing today and there is still grease and crap in nooks and crannies here and there and it did not want to come out. I'm thinking of just doing the bathtub treatment myself and giving it my best effort and then painting.

[matt mattison]

How about getting the crud out of the ports? My exhaust ports have heavy carbon buildup. Soak in the hot bath and run pipe cleaners through? I was out scrubbing today and there is still grease and crap in nooks and crannies here and there and it did not want to come out. I'm thinking of just doing the bathtub treatment myself and giving it my best effort and then painting.

Those $5 plastic totes they sell at Wal Mart work great. That way you don't have to use your bath tub . Solvents mixed with grease going down your drain should be avoided for many reasons. Your local recycling center, where you dump your old motor oil ,will usually take the degreaser/solvent left over when your done.

[mono]

all the DIY car washes here have a heavy-duty degreaser spray option that works really well.  just spray it with degreaser, let is soak for a while and/or scrub it (use gloves for sure) and then rinse it with the high-pressure spray, repeat as necessary.   over the summer my buddy and i degreased the front chassis clip on his project car this way.  before we took it there, we had literally been scraping dried grease/dirt off of it with putty knives and wire brushes. for days.   about 45 mins in the car wash and $15 later, it was almost 100% clean.

[shinyribs]

How about getting the crud out of the ports? My exhaust ports have heavy carbon buildup. Soak in the hot bath and run pipe cleaners through? I was out scrubbing today and there is still grease and crap in nooks and crannies here and there and it did not want to come out. I'm thinking of just doing the bathtub treatment myself and giving it my best effort and then painting.

Those $5 plastic totes they sell at Wal Mart work great. That way you don't have to use your bath tub . Solvents mixed with grease going down your drain should be avoided for many reasons. Your local recycling center, where you dump your old motor oil ,will usually take the degreaser/solvent left over when your done.

Good point! You definitely dont want all that nasty stuff going into your plumbing.

Most coin car washes will rake you over the coals if they catch you degreasing parts into their pits. I know if I owned one of those stations I'd be pretty upset to find it being used as a community parts washer. JMO of course.

[stereosilence]

Could be. Mine is truly just dirty. It has some carbon build up and baked on crud in the tight places. I'm not even sure we have those drive up places around here. I'll have to check.

[stereosilence]

Well, I haven't found a pressure sprayer place yet. I decide to try the tuperware tub treatment. I let some purple power soak into the crud and then added liquid soap and cover it all in hot water and let it sit. I did a lot of scrubbing and an impressive amount of sludge was left at the bottom of the barrel. However, I didn't come close to removing all the nasty. I had hoped a lot would loosen up and rinse off, but it didn't at all. Only scrubbed parts came clean. The other thing is that I started to get some rust in the cylinder and around the valve guides. Also started finding washers from valve guides. I didn't even know those came out. Should I take them out? If so, how?

[grepper]

Mineral Spirits breaks up oily crud well.  I've also heard of people using Kerosene.

I like using a Long Bristle Brush like those you would use to clean wheels on a car.  A long Bristle Wire Brush the real stuck on stuff between the fins.  Also a pick set is good to have too.