stunthanger.com
Engine basics => Engine set up tips => Topic started by: Carl Cisneros on October 12, 2014, 06:17:32 PM
-
what do folks use to remove (clean) the outsides of the motors that have baked on
crud?
I did a search and wound up zilch.
any help would be great.
thanks
-
i put them in a crock pot full of antifreeze on low for a few hours. keep them in until the junk is off. might need to use a tooth brush or something to knock the crud off, but usually comes off real easy.
if it's stained afterwards, you can soak them in lemon juice. that's what the motorbike shops do to make carbs look new again
-
Hoppes #9
It works well and is readily available. Plop it in a jar of that stuff or spray and use a stiff bristle brush. It can harm some plastics though so keep that in mind.
-
i put them in a crock pot full of antifreeze on low for a few hours. keep them in until the junk is off. might need to use a tooth brush or something to knock the crud off, but usually comes off real easy.
if it's stained afterwards, you can soak them in lemon juice. that's what the motorbike shops do to make carbs look new again
Yes, antifreeze will do it. I have only used the old, green colored Prestone. I do not know if the newer formulations of coolants will work as well as the Prestone. I have not tried them.
-
thanks guys
just have to get another crock pot for the Mrs. now is all. HB~> HB~>
-
How bad is the crud, and what engine is it? The crockpot method removes anodizing, paint, and can melt some plastic parts. It'll also turn modern OS engines a murky gray color, Super Tigres too. It doesn't seem to phase most Foxes, they come out looking like new if the crud comes off. Beyond the potential problems, I really don't like trying to get all the antifreeze out of the engine. You just about have to take the engine apart and rinse it out, dry the parts, and flush it with air tool oil to get it all out. If I don't intend to completely tear down the engine, I only do the crockpot if I can get the engine on the test stand the same day and blow out any residue by running a tank or two of fuel through it.
Carb cleaner, laquer thinner, or acetone work pretty well for castor that's not too badly burned onto the surface. Generally I'll just leave the crud as long as I can unless it becomes a functional problem, or I have a reason to overhaul the engine. Otherwise, it's not hurting anything, so why care?
-
antifreeze is just a rust inhibitor and glycol. a crock pot on low does not get as hot as an engine does in normal operating temperature. so if you've seen it melting plastic parts of an engine, that is entirely too hot. and, you should only leave it in for a short time. I've cleaned blue LA engines, and the blue stayed, where carb cleaner took it right off. really with the antifreeze, heat is not needed. it just speeds it up. you could soak it overnight in a bowl of cold antifreeze and loosen the mess also
-
Yes, antifreeze will do it. I have only used the old, green colored Prestone. I do not know if the newer formulations of coolants will work as well as the Prestone. I have not tried them.
if you choose the antifreeze method, i age with Jim. the green stuff, ethylene glycol, works the best. the new stuff, propylene glycol, is not very effective. the chemical was changed for several reasons, but mostly the propylene glycol is less poisonous n~
-
Hi Carl
If you can find it, DAWN POWER DISSLOVER works great. You just spray it on and wipe it off. I use a toothbrush to get in the tough areas to reach. It can be hard to find sometimes.
Mike
-
I've read that Dawn Power Dissolve and Dawn Grill Cleaner are the same product, packaged differently. When I couldn't find my Power Dissolve last week, I visited WalMart, Lowe's and Home Depot and couldn't find it at any of them. Then I came home and found mine on my workbench, hiding behing some planes... Time to clean off the workbench.
The Power Dissolve worked pretty well cleaning up the head of a McCoy 35. Leaving it on too long has blackened the head somewhat, though.
Bob in NEPA
-
I used to crockpot engines, but any of the currently available antifreeze, here in the UK just blackens the surface of crankcases. A dreadful mess indeed. Just be very careful and don't try a valuable engine to start with!
Andrew.
-
I like the crockpot/antifreeze method but you must be careful, AND NOT IN THE HOUSE. However, Big Art boils engines in Calgon dishwashing detergent and water, swears by it. I've never tried it but it for sure is more healthy, ethylene glycol fumes are nasty and I expect the same goes for propylene glycol.
-
I've read that Dawn Power Dissolve and Dawn Grill Cleaner are the same product, packaged differently. When I couldn't find my Power Dissolve last week, I visited WalMart, Lowe's and Home Depot and couldn't find it at any of them. Then I came home and found mine on my workbench, hiding behing some planes... Time to clean off the workbench.
The Power Dissolve worked pretty well cleaning up the head of a McCoy 35. Leaving it on too long has blackened the head somewhat, though.
Bob in NEPA
Dawn Power Dissolve: http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Power-Dissolver/dp/B00C40BGWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413216600&sr=8-2&keywords=dawn+power+dissolver#customerReviews (http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Power-Dissolver/dp/B00C40BGWK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413216600&sr=8-2&keywords=dawn+power+dissolver#customerReviews)
Not cheap, but very effective. Free shipping if you're a Prime member.
Brian
-
Dawn power dissolver and an old toothbrush works very well.
Before you brush on the D.P.D. stick pieces of paper towel in the exhaust and venturi.
Brush it on and let it set for 10-15 minutes.
Wash and brush it off in the sink.
Then after removing the paper towel pieces, shoot some oil in the exhaust and venturi.
Rotate the engine a few times.
You can dry the engine with 1. compressed air or
2. spray it with WD-40, and wrap it in a paper towel to dry.
-
When it starts to look funky, but isn't too nasty, use a toothbrush with some fuel after a flight at the field. A few minutes of brushing on the warm engine will remove an amazing amount of funk. Best of all there is no need to remove it from the airplane!
Of course this does nothing for the insides, and with a barn find this technique is useless. Don't expect miracles if the coating is baked to hard black.
Phil
-
When it starts to look funky, but isn't too nasty, use a toothbrush with some fuel after a flight at the field. A few minutes of brushing on the warm engine will remove an amazing amount of funk. Best of all there is no need to remove it from the airplane!
Of course this does nothing for the insides, and with a barn find this technique is useless. Don't expect miracles if the coating is baked to hard black.
Phil
That's just it, the antifreeze/crockpot solution can make those look like they just came from the factory.
Brett
-
Finally found a use for the 15-20 year old Morgan Omega fuel I was given. ;D
I won't run any Morgan fuel in my engines because I don't trust any company that doesn't report oil content accurately!
Cleaned a couple of Fox 25 engines with the Omega, and it works great.
Kept the engines over night in Acetone first, and then another night or two in the Omega fuel. Came out pretty nice, and with very little scrubbing required.
I never guessed that synthetic oil would dissolve baked on Castor just soaking a night or two.
Bill
-
I have used a small crockpot on LOW for engines, mainly old Fox engines that were black with baked on castor. I used the green antifreeze. Took the backplates off, left them for about two days. They came out looking factory new. Do it in an outbuilding or ventilated garage if possible.
-
Hi Carl
If you can find it, DAWN POWER DISSLOVER works great. You just spray it on and wipe it off. I use a toothbrush to get in the tough areas to reach. It can be hard to find sometimes.
Mike
Caution !!! I have seen quite a few engines now ruined by Dawn power Dissolve , It will eat bearings, rust any steel or iron, badly corrode wrist pins , eat the C Clips , and corrode Aluminum very very badly, You must take the engine completely apart if it has bearings, and its a good idea to do as much with plain bushing engines.
Wash rinse, wash rinse, then oil everything with air tool oil or afterrun oil.
Randy
-
I use Dawn Power Dissolver regularly with great results and haven't run into any of the problems Randy has described.
However, I wait no loner than 10 -15 minutes before brushing and rinsing the gunk off. Perhaps waiting longer leads to trouble. I usually dismantle the engine and clean and rinse the innards.
Ace Hardware here in the Northeast carries it and will order it if out of stock.
Ara
-
I use Dawn Power Dissolver regularly with great results and haven't run into any of the problems Randy has described.
However, I wait no loner than 10 -15 minutes before brushing and rinsing the gunk off. Perhaps waiting longer leads to trouble. I usually dismantle the engine and clean and rinse the innards.
Ace Hardware here in the Northeast carries it and will order it if out of stock.
Ara
All you need do is clean one with ball bearings without taking them out and throughly cleaning and oiling, the parts hidden and the al. case they are pressed into will corrode , you have to completely take all the parts out and clean EVERY bit of the surface, then oil it up before you reinstall the parts.
BERRYMAN's has a 1 gallon dip pail of card cleaner that works well on leaning engines, and Green anti-freeze in a crock pot on low works well too.
Randy
Randy
-
I really would consider Hoppes.
Rememeber it's designed to clean carbon based material from rifles/hanguns etc. It's reuseable and does not require heat to make it work.
I didn't think it would work at first, but was suprized at how well it does work. I cleaned some very black Fox .35 heads with it. Overnight soak and the stuff pretty much fell away.
Ron
-
I've reported this before.
You don't need a "crock pot" (unless you already have one that the wife doesn't want)
I use a Pyrex bowl and a small hot plate. Turn it on "low", cover the dish full of Prestone with your engine. Next day, all is clean. I even let the anti-freeze settle, and pour most of it back in the jug!
(there's nothing "magic" about a crock-pot)
-
I really would consider Hoppes.
Rememeber it's designed to clean carbon based material from rifles/hanguns etc. It's reuseable and does not require heat to make it work.
I didn't think it would work at first, but was suprized at how well it does work. I cleaned some very black Fox .35 heads with it. Overnight soak and the stuff pretty much fell away.
Ron
Hi Ron,
How big of a container of Hoppes did you buy?
-
De,
I was going to ask the same question.
Hoppes is no cheaper than any of the other methods, but I have to admit that it smells a lot better!
My last Hoppes purchase was about fifteen years ago, and I still have most of that pint left! I own a few guns, but they sure don't get a bath in Hoppes ever week! ;D
Bill
-
Hi Ron,
How big of a container of Hoppes did you buy?
De,
I only bought a small 8oz bottle as I was testing it and only soaking heads. I have seen 1/2 gal jugs though.
I had heard about Hoppes through the grapevine and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It actually worked well.
Ron
-
For many years, I've used Hoppe's #9 to clean model spark plugs. Gets rid of carbon and makes them nice and clean.
Floyd
-
There may be a foam cleaner out there that works.
Davis Diesel, of glow to diesel conversion heads fame, used to sell a foam spray cleaner that worked quite well. Gil Greenberg, aka Northeast Hobby (engine test stands and dynamometers) did some detctive work and found the manufacturer but wouldn't devulge their identity to me. He sold the cans @$10 each.
Today I found a 'Hoppe's Foam Cleaner' at Walmart that "...cleans lead,copper and carbon...", the same claim on the Hoppe's #9 label.
Could be the same stuff Gil and Davis sold. I was too cheap buy some.
Ara
-
I decided to go with Ron Cribbs suggestion in using Hoppes.
Stopped by the local Wally Mart on the way home from work last week and picked up an 8oz spray foam bottle of it.
I Took my old ST G series X45 FIRE C/L motor apart (bearings needed to be changed anyways), got out an old
cereal bowl, and sprayed the motor down good and let it set for about 1/2 hr. (directions say about 5 minutes).
I came back to the garage and took a new tooth brush to it and lo and behold, VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The stuff really worked a treat. the motor's head and upper cooling fins were pretty black from Castor over the years
and the Hoppes works really nice on it. Didn't change the way the metal looked and all I can say is that
stuff work great.
Just remember to let the tooth brush do the work for you. Don't try to scrub hard with it, the bristles will just flatten out and do nothing.
I also used hot water from the sink to rinse the parts off with,.