The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Question: Engine wash!

Im about to clean my engine compartment. Any suggestions on what to do, what to use, how to do, how to use and so on?
The vehicle to be cleaned:
[img]http://www.cheva.tk/chev3.jpg[/img]
1967 C10 Suburban.

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

thx for the help on past (and future) post guys.

GM250

the photo didnt exactly work out
try http://home.online.no/~ben-san/p2.html
instead

GM250-

First, some questions. How dirty is the compartment? Are you trying to get rid of all the old dirt for a show-type of look? Are doing this in the home, at a car wash or at the shop? The stuff you're going to wash off could include hazardous material and you may not want to wash in down near a fresh water supply (like a stream or river).

If you're working at home like me, I started by hooking up a hose to the HOT water outlet in the laundry and sprayed a lot of stuff off with HOT water. For oily areas on the engine, I used a parts cleaner, small brush and lots of elbow. If you wanted painted areas of the fender liners to come clean, you might use a laundry or kitchen detergent to cut the grease. Also, be prepared to get dirty and wet! In the end, you'll be happy with the results!

Good luck!

Hi! Thx for your advise. Thats the kind of advise i needed. I'm not going for a show look or anything, i just wanted to see my block under all the crud.

I guess ill be doing it the way you described. Just yesterday i found that the block was orange at some point.

Castrol Super Clean is your friend. It comes in a purple bottle. Cleans crud very well.

then, there is ye olde lemon joy, it cleans gunk/grime really well.

-W

I agree with Wogeroo, Castrol Super Clean is the best. Not sure, can you get it in Norway?? :confused:

I don't know what you have for an air cleaner, but if it's an open element I would remove the entire assembly and wrap the carb with plastic. I also put a plastic bag (grocery sack) over the distributor, wires and all, with a big fubber band to hold it on.

Also, I start the degreasing a day or two before I wash the engine. You'll have to scrape the thick stuff. Then I go to the car wash, put on the plastic bags, and let it rip.

I used a paint brush cleaner called "PolyClense" and I just kept brushing it on. Eventually the block was so clean that it began to form surface rust. I used some thick cardboard on the garage floor and discarded it after. This procedure removed 50 years of farm dirt and oil!

Just to clarify... to clean the engine bay, block, etc. I should apply a degreaser, scrape the heavy stuff off, then drive to a car wash, cover the electrial/air cleaner items, power wash the entire bay, uncover the electrial stuff, and drive home.

sorry by I am new to this stuff.

thanks
jf

Sorry,
I'm into 100% steam cleaning done by a local pro.

GM250: Never apply any degreasers/cleaners to a hot engine unless they specficially say to do so.

Always test any cleaners you plan to use on a spot first, many will fade or peel paint on the engine or firewall so BE CAREFUL and always test anything the first time.

jf: Power washing is good but it tends to damage some things due to the extreme pressure. Power washers are good for the undercarriage, tranny, and that heavy caked on stuff, but the engine you need to be careful and avoid squirting any water into the carb or electrical.

CMayna are there still places that do that? I don't know of any. It used to be quite common to find steam cleaners.

Tony M,
Most car detailer have some sort of steam cleaning set up but I found this one outfit in San Jose that does nothing but steam cleaning. Infact they have two hoists. They put my truck on a rack, raised it way up and starting spraying the tranny and underside of engine. Lowered the truck and finished off the engine compartment. Not cheap ($70) but now I can clearly see all bolts, fittings, etc.

The only thing I did was to plastic bag the air cleaner and distributor.

Who are they ?

SJ auto steam cleaner
32 stockton ave
SJ
(408) 288-7440

Before I have my truck painted, it's going back to have the entire bottomside & fenderwells cleaned so I can remove the sheetmetal easier.

You might look under "steam cleaning" in your local yellow pages.