Whats the best way to get rust off an engine block??

One that has been fully machined and cam bearinged, wd 40'd down, but has slight rust from sitting in a garage for a year

 

maybe some Muriatic acid.

 

Wire brush on die grinder, or drill.

 

If it is apart take it to the mach shop and have them shot blast it!

 

For the machined areas I used some 2000 grit sandpaper and a little elbow grease, seemed to work OK.

 

die grinder with a ro-lock scotch brite pad works good and fast, wire wheel on the casting #s and other little areas and you should be good to go

 

Evaporust. Seriously.

That stuff works awesome!

 

I have two blocks in the same condition. I was thinking of soaking in vinegar. I thought that might take care of the surface rust without hurting the machining. Might run the hone back through the cylinders, though?

 

The Must For Rust and a scotch brite pad will make quick work of it. Available in a spray bottle at Home Depot.

 

Really make sure those wire wheels dont leave any stray pieces of wire in the block.

 

I got a pair of surface rusted heads in a tub of molasses, I'll tell you how it goes in about 3 weeks.

 

As the son of a baker, that sounds like a huge waste of molasses.

Vance

 

Gibbs brand penetrating oil, I can't link to it from here, but it takes surface rust away.

 

Is it at all painted? Rusting on a gasketing surface? Where you are going to paint?

 

Are you talking about the machined surfaces or cast surfaces? Internal or external?

Either way, if you do anything remotely abrasive it's going to need the garden-hose scrubbing of a lifetime afterward to remove abrasive bits and loose rust. Good luck

 

Gibbs doesn't actually REMOVE rust, does it? I know it prevents rust and serves as a surface protectant, but I didn't think it actually removes rust. Please correct me if I'm wrong though. I could be mistaken.

 

If it's machined already don't use anything to abrasive, and don't use acid. I you use acid you will never get it dry fast enough before you have the same mess all over again. How bad is it? I'm with scootermcrad. A scotchbright pad and penetrating oil. When you are done and ready for final assembly wash it down with solvent, then hot soapy water brushing ALL of the oil passages.

The best way to keep parts from rusting in the future is keeping them in bags. Seal it up so the air can't get to it, and light oil works good.

Jeff

 

I was going the info off this link, it's half way down the page about removing surface rust. If it's heavy rust it wouldn't work until it was wire brushed. Any light rust it should clean up. I'll admit I havn't used it yet, but it looks promising.

http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/

 

Really Light, i think this is my best bet, i was hoping for a miricle cure, because i was worried about getting it into passages, but i guess it's just a matter of elbow grease

 

I've used it to chase the Must for Rust stuff and it works well to prevent any further rust. Just didn't realize that it would actually remove rust too. Great products for sure! Love Gibbs! It's like a miracle product. One of those "as seen on TV" products but it ACTUALLY works. HAHA!