Cleaning parts without parts washer

[grjr]

mineral spirits with a cleaning brush. personally I'd blast them with a pressure washer to save time.

edit:
nice thing about mineral spirits is you can collect it after it has been used and bottle it. Let it sit for a long while and most all the junk in it will settle out and you can pour off your used mineral spirits for use again over and over.

edit2: I use a large basin I got at home depot to clean parts in. It's intended for mixing concrete/mortar but works well for this purpose as well. They come in a couple different sizes and are inexpensive. example here

 

[Hall]

The guy next door to me uses gasoline.

And no gloves either, right ?

 

[The Critic]

Decided to call one of my friends and use their water based parts washer. I decided it would be the more responsible approach.

 

[grjr]

if that is an oil pump I would open it up to make sure the insides are good and clean before reinstalling.

 

[Trav]

Just for info, Purple power is very aggressive to aluminum, the Simple Green Aviation is very good and safe.

Amazon.com

For aluminum that has corrosion from previous cleaning with aggressive products (white dust) spray it with this ant leave it for 1 min before thoroughly rinsing. Repeat if necessary.

Amazon.com: Aluminum Cleaner & Brightener & Restorer / Made in USA / Quality Chemical / 1 Gallon (128 FL Oz) : Automotive

Buy Aluminum Cleaner & Brightener & Restorer / Made in USA / Quality Chemical / 1 Gallon (128 FL Oz) on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

 

[twouvakind]

Kano Labs Floway, parts brush and a garden hose.

 

[Warstud]

What Cleaner did you use ?

 

[wolfox03SS]

I use brake Cleaner, brushes and towels to clean up any part that faces the interior of an engine.

To clean outside facing parts, entire engine blocks and to knock out deep, baked on gunk? SuperTech engine degreaser. It's the same chemical compound used for cleaning AC coils, so it is completely aluminum safe, water soluble, dries clean if you thoroughly rinse.

Is not as aggressive as a petroleum based product, (i.e. Gunk Engine Degreaser) so you'll be a little busy with a brush to agitate heavy soils, reapply cleaner, brush again and let stand for 15 minutes.

Flush it away with hose pressure water gently. I still bag up air filters, any top of engine electronics and the alternator as they shouldn't be wet down or degreased. (You'll wash the grease right out of it's needle bearings. )

Looks fantastic every time.

 

[ctechbob]

Wow, that thing had been really leaking, and for a while. Probably some PSF in there as well though.

 

[CDX825]

Was watching some videos on youtube and guys were using pinesol and water and soaking the parts in it. They came out looking clean and new so next time I need to clean something I will have to give it a try.

 

[Snagglefoot]

A combination of brake cleaner, Engine Shampoo and Degreaser, Silicone Gasket Remover,and Metal Surface Prep Wipes is the Ford approved method and works really well. Just wear gloves, especially with the wipes. It will take some skin off as I found out the hard way.

Agree totally. Gasket remover will remove your finger prints.....from your fingers. OK if you are a safe cracker, but bad if you use thumb print identification on your Smart Phone.

 

[The Critic]

What Cleaner did you use ?

Not sure. I think the parts washer was filled with LA Totally Awesome degreaser, but the fluid was pretty nasty and smelled like sour milk. It worked though. I'm sure heating the fluid contributed to its effectiveness.

Wow, that thing had been really leaking, and for a while. Probably some PSF in there as well though.

Yep, there was - we also did a minor reseal on the P/S pump.

 

[Tundragod]

Decided to call one of my friends and use their water based parts washer. I decided it would be the more responsible approach.
That looks like a Acura/Honda V6 oil pump. I'll be re-gasketing mine in the next few weeks due to oil leak. I'll probably using carb and brake cleaner.

 

[The Critic]

Purple Power 1:1, CRC foaming degreaser, lots of scrubbing and 3800 psi. Not going for perfection, just enough to see if there are other leaks.

 

[wolfox03SS]

If leak chasing, Dawn ultra is PH neutral and won't attack metals. Neither will SuperTech engine cleaner. Both clean and clear super fast on cold engine and generous hose water dousing.

Add a florescent dye in anything suspect and check at night with UV flashlight after a day or two of usual driving.

Problems will just literally jump out at you. (How I found bad valve cover weeps to my relief - suspected a bad rear main seal at first as I had a minor drip under the bell housing)

 

[Falcon_LS]

Just for info, Purple power is very aggressive to aluminum, the Simple Green Aviation is very good and safe.

Amazon.com

For aluminum that has corrosion from previous cleaning with aggressive products (white dust) spray it with this ant leave it for 1 min before thoroughly rinsing. Repeat if necessary.

Amazon.com: Aluminum Cleaner & Brightener & Restorer / Made in USA / Quality Chemical / 1 Gallon (128 FL Oz) : Automotive

Buy Aluminum Cleaner & Brightener & Restorer / Made in USA / Quality Chemical / 1 Gallon (128 FL Oz) on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

Yup, if it's aluminum I use Simple Green's Boeing-approved Extreme Aircraft Precision Cleaner. If it's iron, steel or plastic, I just use Simple Green Industrial Cleaner and Degreaser.

I let it sit overnight in a large enough bucket or container with a 50:50 mix of cleaner to hot water, then clean it off with a brush the next day while dipping it in the solution to rinse the brush. If it needs further cleaning, I let it sit another night. If the solution is too dirty, I'll change it out. This is a slow process, however, which works for me but might not be for everyone.

 

[Motu]

. I'm sure heating the fluid contributed to its effectiveness.

Heating water based cleaners is a must, otherwise it's like washing greasy dishes in cold water.

 

[Tundragod]

While waiting for the gaskets to arrive, should I clean this front valves? I did some cleaning with brake fluid and carb cleaner already but didn't go all out as I am afraid I may damage some some seals. It was full of black gunk when I first open it up.

Below is a right, front corner prior to cleaning,

 

[The Critic]

While waiting for the gaskets to arrive, should I clean this front valves? I did some cleaning with brake fluid and carb cleaner already but didn't go all out as I am afraid I may damage some some seals. It was full of black gunk when I first open it up.
View attachment 55121
Below is a right, front corner prior to cleaning,
View attachment 55123

If the nuts are easily movable I would leave it alone. The front bank will always be nasty on those engines.

I hope you are planning to do a valve adjustment, at least on the exhaust valves.

 

[Tundragod]

I did most the valves. I don't know how anybody can adjust the rear exhaust valves. I was laying on my belly trying to see valves in the rear and bam, instant Gorbachev tatoo on my head......I didn't adjust any rear exhaust valves except Cyl 1. The rest felt like it was between 0.33 - 0.34mm. It's on the higher side but Gorbachev told me to stop. The intakes were on the lower side of the spec. Some were too tight, <0.205mm gauge.