What's the best concoction for degreasing an engine?

I'm about to prep my motor in prep for prime/paint and this will include pressure washing. What kind of preparation are y'all doing to mask off the areas where you don't want the water....such as exhaust/intake ports? I plan on having the intake removed for this so I can clean the tops of the heads and lifter valley.

Also, will oven cleaner eat gasket material?

Thanks!

 

I know this in an old post, but I'm going to have to try this... got the car back from paint, but under the hood looks like it hasn't had any love since it was new, and I want something that won't screw up the new paint

 

What do you guys who are pressure washing do to avoid getting water inside the engine? Does duct tape hold up to errant blasts?

 

I use TAL "aircraft stripper" on a lot of things, but only if it isn't painted or if the paint needs to come off too. It will eat through the toughest crud and then bubble off the paint beneath. Comes in a spray can or a brush-on can. I usually layer it on then work it with a wire brush. Not only does it remove the crud, but it gives you a nice clean surface to repaint. Oh, and for Pete's sake... WEAR GLOVES AND GOGGLES! That shit will burn like a sumbiotch if you get it on you. Made the mistake of trying to clean up a steel wheel while wearing flip flops. I never even knew I could dance, but I did!

 

x2 on the oven cleaner

 

Oil Eater works good. Put it on and let it sit for an hour or two and rinse it off.

It's biodegradable [which usually means it doesn't work but this does] so it won't get you in trouble.

 

I don't know how well it works on heavy grease but for the usual dirty engine compartment / engine cleaning I use aerosol tire cleaner. It soaks the stuff loose, runs off and dries with a light sheen kind of like the stuff they put on at the detail shops. I first saw a guy using it on an old Rambler at the Stray Kat gathering last year. On the normal dirty engine you don't even have to rinse. If I am removing 50 year old baked on grease then cold oven cleaner (be sure it says cold because the other stuff relies on heating the oven to work) but be very careful of aluminum because it will eat aluminum.

 

I used Gunk "Jel" formula the other day, and was impressed that it clung to the surface of the engine. Let it sit oevernight, than hit it with a pressure washer afterwards and it looked great!

 

I would agree! Its even easier when you buy it in 5 quarts. Put it in a garder sprayer, pump up and soak her down.

I forgot all about using the gojo hand cleaner. I used to do that when I was a teenager. I kept it in the shower too to get grease off the rest of me. Mom was not to crazy about that.

 

I used POR-15 Marine Clean and it worked great!

 

This is what I do, and it works great.

 

What he said

 

I have tried everything. I use some of the mineral spirits based cleaners first (Gunk, etc) sprayed on with a bug sprayer. Let it sit for while, then hose it off and scrub using Simple Green or Deep Purple. This has given me the best results.

 

There was a garage that specialized in big rigs. They also had a steam cleaner. When the oil line for oil pressure gauge busted, once it was fixed, I ran the car over to have the engine steam cleaned. My daily driver, I had the local car wash also detail the engine, they too, used a steam cleaner.

 

i do one bottle of simple green, 2 gallons of boiling hot water, long handled brush ... bast it with brush .. but a set of small brushes . ... it will take hours . keep brushin,... the pressure wash .

 

don't clean it !!!...all that grease is a rust preventative !!!....just kidding....get that purple stuff that 35mastr suggested...it works......scrape the heavy stuff with a scraper and screwdriver and a heavy wire brush......then use the purple stuff....you'll be amazed!....I put all my nuts and bolts in a can of this purple stuff and let them soak overnite.....rinsed with water...and they look brand new !!!...there are a few kinds of purple stuff on the shelf....any one of them will do the job.

 

wow, the easyest. cheapest. the fastest. and the best is oven cleaner, and all this advise, and no one said to use oven cleaner?? buy a cheap brand that doesn't foam (the foam blows away outside) the cheap stuff is a slime spray it on DON"T BREATH IT let it sit. work the bad spots with a scraper. put more on let it set hose it off. 2 cans $7 and 1/2 hour of time and 5 gallons of water

 

oven cleaner 99cents store

 

My secret: I fill a squirt bottle with mineral spirits and spray it everywhere, under, over and all around. Leave it on for a few minutes and let it soak in. Put your spray nozzle on your garden hose and blast it all off. It doesn't leave a mark on anything and the runoff doesn't even harm the grass. Be sure you get "real" mineral spirits not that white crap they try to pass off as "paint thinner". Real mineral spirits will say it's made of mineral spirits. And if you read the can it'll tell you it's a de-greaser. And it's fairly cheap and you can even buy the oderless kind.

 

Dude, go on an take a look back at posts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 29, 35, 37... Oven cleaner HAS been mentioned. Quite a few times!

 

I also use Oil Eater, fast and cleans up easy with water. Spray bottle or 1 and 5 gallon.

 

Does anyone have ideas on how to protect/cover the holes of the motor to prevent high pressure water from finding its way into the internals?

Here's what I was thinking:
- Clean off gasket surface.
- Apply duct tape over opening.
- Try not to spray water directly at the tape.

But I'm open to better suggestions!

 

That's about what I was thinking, short of fabricating little covers to bolt in place with a gasket underneath.

It also might pay to be more aggressive with the solvents and scrubbing, which would allow you to be less aggressive with the final rinse.

 

Yessirree! I was thinking the same thing. Just for grins, I poured some Gojo onto part of my engine last night just to see what it'll do. With a little brushing, it definitely looked to have potential.

But with regard to blocking off the ports and openings, I guess I figured someone would sell some simple, rubber block off plates to basically "waterproof" a SBC (or other motors, obviously) for cleaning or painting purposes. A friend mentioned that he thinks they exist, but he couldn't locate them online. Ultimately, it's not that big a deal, though.

 

Like this? I think they're intended for storage, but they could probably be used for cleaning or painting too.

 

Yep! That's what I was thinking, but I'd have to search around to see if they have any for the intake ports, too. None of my keywords worked yesterday when I was searching Speedway! D'oh!

 

I find it best to "scratch" thru to the surface in spots of heavy crud with a screwdriver or such to allow oven cleaner to get between metal and crud and it helps it lift off.

 

diesel fuel or kerosene works great and is affordable in bulk. I even use diesel in my parts washer cuz it's cheaper than saftey-kleen.

 

Tried EZ OFF oven cleaner yesterday and was pretty disappointed with the results. It bubbled up, but not sure it really did much, if anything. I only had access to the foam, not gel, but it was the kind that didn't require heat to work. Maybe I need to try the gel type....

 

Nuthin like a candybarred up teenager with a wire brush and a soda.