Just my 2cents worth. The timer is outside of the washing area. I do not think you could create an explosive environment inside a dish washer, by washing automotive parts. Commercial hot tanks are nothing more than a large dish washer. They use lye as a cleaning agent. Lye is not a problem to buy and it will solubulize - nice word - automotive grease very well. You can buy liquid lye at home centers, it is the purple cleaner. It is the ultimate degreaser for ferros metals. Do not us on aluminum. I do not know how it is for foaming, which is a concern for dish washers. I know commercial parts washers use an anti foaming agent to control foaming.
Oh, by the way, wear protective clothing. Lye eats flesh with ease.
