Is it safe to use Brake Cleaner spray for under...

[mareakin]

Is it safe to use Brake Cleaner spray for under the hood?

Why do I ask?

I want to use brake cleaner to clean the area around the power-steering fluid reservoir and brake fluid reservoir, there are rubber hoses around that area--I'm 100% certain that if I spray the reservoir to clean it, I will get it on the rubber hoses.

 

[rclint]

NO it is not safe. I would not dare spray any kind of brake, carb, or any other kind of this type of spray, or even the ones that come in a gallon ca (carb soak) on anything near or around plastic, rubber hoses, plastic lines, or wires/harness/pigtails etc.. Some of these may say safe for plastic, but even if it did not fail at the time of cleaning you stand a good chance of it making these things brittle(plastics), soft (hoses) and the list goes on... If you want to clean it a miles soap like car wash with a brush, a sponge or similar would be best.

I have seen people let cars, and machinery even more so go to the pits on dirty, greasy etc.. then try to over clean with the incorrect, harsh chemicals, and ruin bearings, complete lathe shafts, wiring nightmare from electronic control boards to micro processors where something has a short that is intermittent, and is very hard to trace down from a machine tech stand point. The machines I'm talking about would cost around 100K each.. and more on some.

 

[mareakin]

Thx for the warning. I'll just use dinner napkins then!

 

[j_mac]

Yeah, I've damaged alot of stuff with brake parts cleaner before I learned (its too harsh.) Just use an old paint brush and a strong mix of water and laundry detergent and then gently rinse with water.
Or if its really stubborn the ultimate is gasoline and an old paint brush. The gas wont really hurt anything.

 

[qdeezie]

I've always used purple stuff and water to clean under the hood on my vehicles. Or, if I'm near a car wash and don't have my purple stuff handy, I use the engine/tire cleaner to soak it and spray it off with water (the rinse cycle).

 

[Mr Nice]

Yep, Purple Power is awesome for cleaning grease and grime under the hood

 

[demarpaint]

Simple Green is good too, just be careful around aluminum parts with it if you use it straight up.

 

[Familyguy]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Simple Green is good too, just be careful around aluminum parts with it if you use it straight up.


I'll second that. Simple Green works well for me. Just be sure to give things a good rinse with water when you're done. If you get any on the exterior paint, give it a coat of wax after rinsing it off since it will strip the wax.

Best,

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Cleaning oil residue underhood will not harm rubber hoses. It will strip paint and possibly craze plastic. Just make sure it is all evaporated before starting the engine.

 

[dwendt44]

Cheap engine degreaser from Wal-mart. Spray, wait a minute then hose off.
An old paint brush for the tougher stuff.
Do it again.

 

[j_mac]

He's just wanting to clean the brake reservoir and power steering reservoir so he doesn't contaminate it with grit.

Dont use high pressure water to rinse. The caps on both of the reservoirs are vented and you can get water into the systems.

The best thing possible is a product called Ballistol. If you have a REALLY good gun shop in your area they are likely to have it. Get it in aerosol and hose down the area. Rub it with a paint brush to break up the grime. Pour water over it to rinse it away. Maybe use low pressure from a garden hose. One of the harsh cleaners the other guys mentioned would work well too with a paint brush. But the Ballistol is an oil and alcohol mix. Try it, you'll like it.
And you'll never stop finding new uses for Ballistol. Its a wonder fluid.

 

[rclint]

j mac hit on a good thing. Local walmart also has some spray on evaporating chemicals that are supposed to be plastic safe.. I was not sure of your intent, and maybe I was to safe in my explanation..but what I said was true, I have seen some awful things with harsh chemicals..

If all your wanting to do is clean the reservoir etc, then one of the plastic safe sprays should be fine... still I wouldn't get it around or on any wiring, rubber, or even use it any at all over the minimum of what's needed... it's just not worth the chance of having the kind of problems this can create, and the time it would take to fix them all, or pay a technician to trouble shoot them for you..