Cleaning engines

[bo dawg 476]

How do some of you guy's go about cleaning the dirty grime off your engines. And how much detail is involved getting ready before painting.

[W9JAB 156]

:hide: I put mine in the wife's dishwasher with a nice charge of Gunk :scratchead:

[bo dawg 476]

I put mine in the wife's dishwasher with a nice charge of Gunk

I wouldn't be eating off of any dishes coming out of there.

[bo dawg 476]

This engine is off the tractor and I was wanting to clean it up before doing any work on it. Then I would like to paint it up. What kind of preperation do you do before hosing it down? Do you take all the electrical components off first?

I'm curious as to how much you put into it getting it ready to paint?

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,040]

get yourself the purple power degreaser and spray that on and let sit 10 mins then juse stiff brush and scrub. If you have a pressure washer I would use that carefully not to get in carb. Rinse off and then repeat at least once more.

[kpinnc 10,705]

I use a spray (not foaming types) degreaser and then tape up all the openings (breather/ carb, crankcase breather, and exhaust) and then just spray it off. You may have to do it a couple times, but it works very well.

Clean it up with warm soapy water and she's ready for paint when dry.

Kevin

[oldandred 15]

I use a 3330 lb power washer it takes off every thing even the paint.

[dr74go 1]

I haven't cleaned a lawn mower engine in a long time. On automotive drive train, I will use Easy Off oven cleaner. I saw the tip in a magazine one time. It usually works better than Purple Cleaner or degreasers, but they work well, too. Be sure to get Easy Off brand, it works at least twice as good as the store brands. Spray it on and let it sit for a while, but DO NOT let it sit until it dries, then spray it off. I usually use a pressure washer, but it gets nasty. Be sure to wear protective gear with oven cleaner or other cleaners. They will harm your skin and eyes.

Another tip is to use a screwdriver, scraper, or wire brush to remove large amounts of grease and grime. This makes the oven cleaner or degreaser work better.

When I work on the automotive parts, they are usually torn down for an inspection, refresh, or rebuild. If the part has holes going to the inside, I will tape over small holes and put paper towels into large holes and tape over them.

Like I said, this is what I normally do on automotive parts. Maybe it will help.

dr74go

[cwilson 0]

Whatever you do don't use oven cleaner on aluminum.

[bo dawg 476]

Thanks everyone for your help and advise. I don't have a pressure washer so I hope a degreaser and garden hose will be good enough.

[kpinnc 10,705]

I don't have a pressure washer so I hope a degreaser and garden hose will be good enough.

If you cover all the holes, and are careful, a $1.25 car wash is a decent substitute for a pressure washer.... The wash cycle is usually warm water.

Kevin

[Greg Parnell 6]

The degreaser, a small brush and garden hose method is what I use and it works great for me.

[plowmaster 0]

when using a high power presswarsher w/ oven cleaner, wear a rainsuit and goggles. i keep a rainsuit right by my washer for keeping clean when warshing farm equipment. you always get sprayback. another good idea is cut a funnel to place over the tip of your wand.

carefull that oven cleaner is some nasty stuff, works the best though, esp on carbon deposits.

[Craig Arndt 6]

Purple power stuff I buy at Walmart is awesome. Made the Onan look new again. Really gets that grease off and the grass stains on the rear wheels from the 42" RD deck.

[HankB 16]

I've been using a two step process that seems to work pretty well for greasy stuff. First I hit it with WD-40. That helps to soften the grease and oil. I give it time to soak and do its work before proceeding. Sometimes that's enough. I just cleaned up the bolts from a rear axle hitch by putting them in a bucket, spraying with a bit of WD-40 and swishing them around with a toilet brush. I repeated that the next day and then wiped them off with paper toweling. That was good enough for my needs and the little bit of oil and WD-40 that remain should help prevent rust.

If I'm going to paint, I follow with Simple Green to degrease. Seems to work well for some stuff I just cleaned up and painted. Time will tell...

[dadstractor1 5]

degreaser works fine and i remove carb and light torches and hit blow move quick and blow off with air :notworthy:

[Suburban 550 28]

All good ideas, Bo dawg. Never tried the Easy Off oven cleaner. I'll have to give it a try. :notworthy:

[rickv1957 70]

I just get out my hot water pressure washer,turn up the soap,this washer,made by Hy-Flow is awsome,cleans the worst up,Rick

[Curmudgeon 28]

Will probably get some flack for this, but.

Gasket remover removes everything but the paint, and carb cleaner takes the paint off. :notworthy:

[bitten 133]

Break clean and elbow grease.