Engine Cleaning Tips

Scraped about all I can get off on one side of the used engine I got this weekend. Now I am wondering about a good method to get it paint ready given that it's inside the garage and don't want or make a huge mess, or spray the whole thing with Gunk degreaser??? My brother-in-law came up with a great way to restore stained floor mats by spraying them with 1/2 water 1/2 Oxyclean, let if sit for an hour, then hose off. I was wondering if there are any non-toxic home spun ideas like that.

Before:


Current:

Your garage looks way too clean. Lay down a bunch of newspaper. Get an old coffee can of gasoline, diesel, chem-dip or some other similar nasty solvent... now go crazy with a wire brush.

When you're done with that, then hose the whole thing down with brake parts cleaner and use wire brushes and rags to scrub, scrape and get every last little nook and cranny clean. Clean that thing as well as you possibly can! Get all the crud off!

I also am a big fan of a wire wheel on the end of a grinder to make quick work of stuff like this. Wear eye protection!

Yes, this will make a mess, but it results in a clean surface that paint will adhere to. The end result will look good and it will be worth it.

Make sure to wear dark clothing so oil/grease stains won't show too much.

Glad to see you got an engine!! That's exciting!

heres what i discovered last few years =I use gunk or even simple Green= usually on motor parts -not diluted- and then i do a pressure wash on it =really cleans good =I own a high pressure washer or you can rent some good ones -sure works well.

donivan65 wrote:Spray oven cleaner on it,,,,,scrub it with a toothbrush,,,,wipe it off with paper towels,,,,,wipe it off with wet paper towels with water would be about the least messiest way of cleaning it,,,,,,

Now that's what I'm talking about! But I think I'll stick with my steel wire brush instead of my toothbrush, my breath is bad enough as is.

Don can attest that I took a wrong turn somewhere in life and ended up in a neighborhood with a homeowner's association so the pressure washer isn't an option.

I used Gunk on the balancer I pulled off, stuff works like magic but man does it stink. I think I'll try the Simple Green too. Gas and Diesel as a last resort though.

car wash

I was going to suggest a car wash with an engine degreaser application. We have those up here and it works great. Has a high pressure solvent wash bay, and all crudd goes into a tank under ground and your motor comes out all nice and shiny. Make some calls to see who offers it in your area. Some even have a kind of steam cleaning system as well. Most Big truck stops have this up here...just a thought.

Yeah, those types of car washes seem to be non-exisitent in CA any more, or at least in my beach town. My local car wash recycles all the water and I think the only fresh water you get is the final wax and final rinse. And the rinse comes out really low pressure so you always have to add quarters.

Where I grew up they had the engine cleaner option, it was great. Hit your engine bay at the start of your wash, then power rinse it last and it would all be like new. Anyway, my engine is on the floor in the garage so it's not going to any car washes.

donivan65 wrote:HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION???? you got that engine sitting on the ground on the rug in front of the washer and dryer in your wifes laundry room,,,,,,,,,,you are going to have bigger problems than the Homeowners Association pretty soon,,,,,

You're assuming she ever goes in there to do laundry!

and so far Fido hasn't noticed his rug is gone.....

So far Simple Green is in the lead in my testing. Oxyclean worked, but not that well. Gunk (gel) worked OK too, but doesn't get the really caked on last thin layer. Full strength Simple Green with steel brush got it nice and clean and made all the missed thin layer caked on stuff pop out so I could hit them with the scraper. Don't have any oven cleaner on hand to try out.

I used a bucket of water and some rags to rinse, no need for any power washing. So if you live in an "environmentally friendly" area and can't do the car wash or steam clean it can be done with some good old elbow grease and non toxic Simple Green.