Cleaning Engines

[Mike Griffin]

Other than submersing dirty engines in Antifreeze in a crockpot, what products and methods do you use to clean dirty engines? 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Mike

[Brett Buck]

Other than submersing dirty engines in Antifreeze in a crockpot, what products and methods do you use to clean dirty engines? 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Mike

  If it is baked-on nothing comes close to crock pot and antifreeze for cleaning ability and safety (to the engine). All the chemical cleaners entail significant chance of damage or staining.

    If it's loose debris and oil, on the outside then almost anything that will remove oil will work. My favorite is isopropyl alcohol and an old toothbrush. Acetone or lacquer thinner will work about as well, but IPA is really inexpensive and relatively safe. Rubbing alcohol from the grocery store is 79 cents a pint. There's very little that lacquer thinner will remove that alcohol won't, aside from paint.

    Everybody will cringe, but when disassembling engines and cleaning them, laundry detergent and hot running water works awfully well, as long as you dry it out and oil it promptly. Running water is great because it washes away the debris so there is little chance of just pushing it around with a toothbrush/whatever, and laundry detergent is a very powerful cleaner for any covalent-bonded substances like oil. Boiling water/layndry detergent is probably the next best thing to crock-potting, but there is a chance of staining and corrosion, just because good old liquid Tide is pretty stout stuff. It's far and away the best thing to use for washing your hands after working on cars, much better than Go-Jo, etc.

    Brett

[Ken Culbertson]

This is the perfect thread to ask what most would call a dumb question.   If you remove a piston from the liner is there any re-breaking-in that needs to be done before flying?  You would think after 60 years of playing with them I would know the answer to that but I have only disassembled engines when they needed to be rebuilt, not just cleaned.

Thanks - Ken

[pmackenzie]

 

    Everybody will cringe, but when disassembling engines and cleaning them, laundry detergent and hot running water works awfully well, as long as you dry it out and oil it promptly. Running water is great because it washes away the debris so there is little chance of just pushing it around with a toothbrush/whatever, and laundry detergent is a very powerful cleaner for any covalent-bonded substances like oil. Boiling water/layndry detergent is probably the next best thing to crock-potting, but there is a chance of staining and corrosion, just because good old liquid Tide is pretty stout stuff. It's far and away the best thing to use for washing your hands after working on cars, much better than Go-Jo, etc.

    Brett

FWIW, I do this all the time when cleaning F2D motors. (Which can get lots of dirt deep inside them when they take a "soil sample".
 I use dish washing soap and hot water under the tap.
Dirt (clay soil around here) dissolves much better in soapy water than in just about anything else.

After cleaning I blow the water out, the flush with fuel a few times. The alcohol will absorb any remaining water.
Generally pull the backplate and head off first to make sure all the dirt is out of the motor.

[Juan Valentin]

Hello
                 If the engine is an old engine I make a mark on the cylinder to place it back as it was before removal. Then I clean the piston top only because if you clean the sides and remove the baked on castor oil you will lose compression and might make your engine worthless. I clean everything else. If everything goes back the way it was I just run them as I normally would.
                                                                                                                                                         Juan

[M Spencer]

Dont Leave ANY TRACE of Moisture in them . 

[Bill Mohrbacher]

Regarding Brett's post--Isopropyl comes in several different concentrations and pricesget higher with concentration.  90% is still cheap and that is what I use.  It is on the shelf at most any drug store.  Big difference in cleaning action between 90% and 70%.

[Gerald Arana]

  If it is baked-on nothing comes close to crock pot and antifreeze for cleaning ability and safety (to the engine). All the chemical cleaners entail significant chance of damage or staining.

    If it's loose debris and oil, on the outside then almost anything that will remove oil will work. My favorite is isopropyl alcohol and an old toothbrush. Acetone or lacquer thinner will work about as well, but IPA is really inexpensive and relatively safe. Rubbing alcohol from the grocery store is 79 cents a pint. There's very little that lacquer thinner will remove that alcohol won't, aside from paint.

    Everybody will cringe, but when disassembling engines and cleaning them, laundry detergent and hot running water works awfully well, as long as you dry it out and oil it promptly. Running water is great because it washes away the debris so there is little chance of just pushing it around with a toothbrush/whatever, and laundry detergent is a very powerful cleaner for any covalent-bonded substances like oil. Boiling water/layndry detergent is probably the next best thing to crock-potting, but there is a chance of staining and corrosion, just because good old liquid Tide is pretty stout stuff. It's far and away the best thing to use for washing your hands after working on cars, much better than Go-Jo, etc.

    Brett

Brett,

Here's what I do for dirty greasy hands; Lather up with plane old hand soap, then grab the Ajax or Comet cleanser and sprinkle some on your hands. Continue to wash.........Probably not the best for your hands, but they sure come out clean!

Crock pot: Easiest and best for engines, bad for paint!

Jerry

[Brett Buck]

Regarding Brett's post--Isopropyl comes in several different concentrations and pricesget higher with concentration.  90% is still cheap and that is what I use.  It is on the shelf at most any drug store.  Big difference in cleaning action between 90% and 70%.

  If you are really going to use it for something critical, it's about $4 for a quart of anhydrous (99.999% {until you open it the first time..}) at Fry's.

     Brett

[Dave Hull]

A friend recommended spraying down my engine (profiles) with Dollar Store canned ether (starting fluid) to wash off the crude. If it gets cleaned off when still wet from the days flying, it won't bake on the next time out.  I have not tried this yet, and wondered if anyone else uses this method. I think most paints are immune and the ether obviously only carries the residue of any lubricant it also contains. The tube on the spray nozzle allows a directed, high pressure "wash" so would be good for cooling fins and crud around the needle valve. I may have to go find a Dollar Store....

Dave