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How do I clean my block ?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ayers Garage, Jun 30, 2009.

  1. Ayers Garage
    Joined: Nov 28, 2002
    Posts: 1,382

    Ayers Garage
    Member

    I am about to start assembling my 327. I had the block vatted, bored, and cam bearing'd. Now that I have it home on the engine stand, how do I go about getting it nice and clean for assembly ? I don't work in a shop with a parts washers anymore, so that is out.

    I was thinking about a strong mix of degreaser (like Castrol Super Clean) followed by garden hose and finished up by blowing all of the hidden areas and oiling passages with compressd air.

    Any better ideas ?
     
  2. Labold
    Joined: Nov 1, 2007
    Posts: 1,219

    Labold
    Member

    I think you are on the right path. Don't over think it, just clean it.
     
  3. Use Hot Water !! As it blow dries better >>>>.
     
  4. cinemafx
    Joined: Mar 28, 2009
    Posts: 94

    cinemafx
    Member
    from Vancouver

    One man's way

    Solvents will not clean the dirt out rather the opposite happens.

    Blow out block and all check all threaded holes for swarf. Use soap and water create bubbles. When the bubbles collapse they create a vacume pulling the dirt out. Put the block in a tub with soap and water and an air hose. After block is dry/blown and inspected, take white rags soaked in engine oil and push it back and forth through bores etc.. until rag does not pick up any material. Rag has to remain white after.
    Should be clean now.
     

  5. Soapy hot water and an airhose. Clean all the treads.
     
  6. mark460
    Joined: Jun 29, 2009
    Posts: 21

    mark460
    Member

    I use a pressure washer sometimes along with soap, water and elbow grease.
     
  7. Retro Jim
    Joined: May 27, 2007
    Posts: 3,854

    Retro Jim
    Member

    If the block way tanked it should be close to clean shouldn't it ?
    I would use a degrease on the outside and rinse good and blow dry , then use a fine coat of oil on the inside . Tape up what you don't want painted and paint the block !
    That should do it .
    You need to chase all the threads too .
     
  8. FiddyFour
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 9,024

    FiddyFour
    Member


    yes, its clean i would say... however its probably got some crud in it from the machining process. . mill coolant mixed with shavings and crap from the mill can make for a sludgy deposit in places you dont want them
     
  9. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    I use an old cheap spray gun. Load it up with Tide and hot water and wash out all the hard to get to areas in the block then flush with water and air dry. As stated above use white no lint rags with engine oil and wipe all bores clean. You should be ready for assembly. The FOGGER
     
  10. recardo
    Joined: Aug 31, 2006
    Posts: 833

    recardo
    Member
    from Winslow

    I agree, hot water and Tide (not dish detergent). I used a scrub brush on the outside, and 1" dish brush on the inside. Blow it dry, paint it and start loading parts.
     
  11. Ayers Garage
    Joined: Nov 28, 2002
    Posts: 1,382

    Ayers Garage
    Member

    Well, I used a bunch of degreaser and a garden hose, then blew it all dry. As a final measure, I went ahead and put it into my powdercoating oven to bake it a couple of hours to make sure all the water and oily residue is gone. I'm cooking it at 400 degrees for 2 hours.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. mj40's
    Joined: Dec 11, 2008
    Posts: 3,303

    mj40's
    Member

    What about Simple Green or some of the others? I know I have had trouble painting after cleaning with some cleaners. Some are environmentally friendly and rise off with water. Any recommendations here? Some do better jobs than others.
     
  13. Russco
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 4,327

    Russco
    Member
    from Central IL

    Maybe I'm mis understanding here but if the machine shop vatted, bored and installed cam bearings it shouldnt need much cleaning. I use laquer thinner on all the machined surfaces one last time before assembly.
     
  14. Ayers Garage
    Joined: Nov 28, 2002
    Posts: 1,382

    Ayers Garage
    Member

    They did the vatting, but after that, they ran it through the boring bar where slimy coolant flows thoughout the block. Then, it was up on a workbench where they knocked the cam bearings into place. Not clean enough to suit me.
     
  15. Glen
    Joined: Mar 21, 2001
    Posts: 1,789

    Glen
    Member

    Make sure you run a tap thru the thread holes. Specifically the head bolts, they always have some caked up goo after baking.
     
  16. You definitley are on the right track cleaning it after the machine shop work. Be careful with cleaners like Super Clean as they can be too caustic for the cam bearings. i would also be leary of abrasive soaps like Tide on the cam bearings.

    For 30 + years now I have used liquid dish detergents and HOT water followed by blowing with an air nozzle. Never had any issues with hundreds of motors done this way.

    Always chase the threads as well
     
  17. I remember an engine we built years ago that had the same prep work done. Boiled, cam bearings, bored and finish honed. Looked good after a good soap and water scrub, especially the fresh crosshatch pattern in the cylinder bores. But we decided to wipe the bores down one last time before fitting the pistons and rings. Took some white shop towels soaked with, I think, MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) or maybe it was trichlorethylene and was amazed at how much nasty brown gunk came out on those towels from those great looking freshly honed cylinders.:(

    As it turns out, MEK and trichlor are really some fairly nasty solvents, but we used whichever one it was mainly because it was available to us. I suspect that maybe acetone or toluene might be more readily available, work as well and not be so hazardous to handle. I don't know if it helped the life span of the rings but we all felt a lot better knowing that we'd really cleaned the cylinder walls.
     
  18. Russco
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 4,327

    Russco
    Member
    from Central IL

    They dont clean the block after boring? Then put cam bearings in a dirty block?
    Its been several years since I worked at a machine shop but, when I did, cleaning the parts of coolant and debri after machining was part of the process. If I had installed cam bearings in a block with boring debri still in it they would have thrown me out on my ear!
     
  19. pastlane
    Joined: Oct 4, 2007
    Posts: 1,063

    pastlane
    Member

    Just remember that ordinary rags leave a lot of lint behind.

    Soap & water followed by lots of air and then WD 40 or other such product
     
  20. Here's what happened to me this week:
    I tore down a 45k mile '83 Ford 2.3 Turbo motor .The 2.3 Turbo motors came from the factory with forged pistons.My pistons were perfect,no wear ,no scuff marks,std.bore,no cyl.wear....just needed a slight carbon buildup removed.....Rather than scrape,wirebrush etc to clean 'em up ,I soaked one of them overnite in full strength Simple Green...when I washed the piston off with hot water ,a silver ,paint-like coating peeled off of the piston & the wristpin was tight as Hell...It took lots of Gibbs Oil,Kroil,& PB Blaster to get the pin loose again...after close inspection of the other pistons ,I can see that they were factory coated with some type of silver grey coating....No one that I have contacted ,so far, can give me any info as to what it is(or was!!!)...I may have ruined a perfectly good set of factory forged std. bore pistons....so be very careful in using Simple Green on engine parts(at least full strength)....Not sure what it would do , but I'd suggest being very careful with it around bearings..

    BTW: Any SWAGs,info , on what I might have stripped off the piston???
    Stan
     
  21. Russco
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 4,327

    Russco
    Member
    from Central IL

    Simple Green is caustic to aluminum, I kid I know soaked a motorcycle head in it for a week, it was junk when he took it out and it was at a 50/50 mix
     
  22. budd
    Joined: Oct 31, 2006
    Posts: 3,478

    budd
    Member

    i was always told to wipe the cylinders with trans fluid, that it cleans better then oil.
     
  23. Get a gun cleaning kit and run a rifle brush through all of the oil passages. after using hot water and dish liqiud and a scrub brush. blow dry and whipe the cyl bores with paper towels and AtF until the paper towels are clean. OldWolf
     
  24. About a week or two ago I was waiting on a customer who had formerly worked for Zollner Pistons some years ago. He was explaining a process that they had used at the time on some small engine and air cooled applications that involved applying a very thin moly or graphite coating to piston skirts to improve wear.

    Here's a link to some patent information on the same or at least a very similar process. It says that their method applied the material with a silk-screen process.

    http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5257603/description.html
     
  25. Joe Didio
    Joined: Oct 7, 2006
    Posts: 93

    Joe Didio
    Member

    Brake clean will remove machine shop residue.
    If you need to remove grease and grim, use purple power, rinse with warm water and blow dry.
     
  26. Thorkle Rod
    Joined: May 24, 2006
    Posts: 1,392

    Thorkle Rod
    Member

    Before I start I take a die grinder with various abrasive attachments and clean up all the sharp edges and clean and smooth the rough radiuses inside and out. I have always used a big bucket filled with a half a box of Tide and mixed with degreaser and a 1/4 bottle of dish wasking liquid, these are all great grease and grime removers. I get a variety of round brushes for the oil galleries and other such places. I rinse good and then do it one more time for good measure. I blow it dry and them prep the outside only with caustic acid just like you would do for bare sheet metal. I prime and paint usually using the same body paint that I would for the car. This combo has worked numerous times for me with great success. Have you thought about painting the oil galley? After the paint I install the Brass freeze plugs that were polished and sprayed clear. Apply liberal amounts of oil on the inside. Do not use shop rags as they leave all kinds of crap and residue inside. Keep covered with a large trash bag when the engine is not being worked on.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2009
  27. hotrod40coupe
    Joined: Apr 8, 2007
    Posts: 2,561

    hotrod40coupe
    Member

    I just use either laundry detergent or dishwasher liquid in hot water with some scotch brite. If you are going to paint the oil galley, use glyptal, it's available from Eastwood. Works great and improves oil flow.
     
  28. ClayMart: Thanks for the info/link/reply....I also think it was some sort of moly or some such coating...These pistons were mf'd in '83 ,so it was probably before the advent of poly type coatings...Whatever it was ,it peeled off in the Simple Green soak. As Russco mentioned,I have found out that SimpleGreen is caustic to aluminum...The info on the link you supplied ,seemed to be where an aluminum piston ran in an aluminum cylinder....but ,the coating was applied to resist wear..
    Live & Learn...

    Stan
     
  29. stealthcruiser
    Joined: Dec 24, 2002
    Posts: 3,748

    stealthcruiser
    Member

    Just for the hell of it, do some research on the temps cam bearings can handle, as I think they probably never see close to the 400 degrees of your powder coating oven..........and it all depends on how "heat soaked" everything got while in the oven......

    I would just be concerned they may have shrank or "relaxed" slightly, and lost some of their "pinch", (interference fit).

    Hate for one to spin, or migrate out of it's bore, after you have buttoned everything up and are motoring.......
     
  30. BigBlockMopar
    Joined: Feb 4, 2006
    Posts: 1,361

    BigBlockMopar
    Member

    Liberal amounts of brake cleaner is what I always use.
    No rags needed, runs off easy, evaporates completely dry, ready for paint.
    Make sure to spray some penetrating oil on the blocks surfaces that aren't painted to prevent rusting.
     

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