Amazingly good for a 10 yr old...

[spydrjon]

Truck that is.
My disco has been an oil leaker for 6 out of 10 yrs, as most are, and a collant leaker for about a year. Well this weekend roverless no more Dave and I broke down the top end of the engine. I sent the heads to the machine shop to be decked and resealed. While I was there the shop owner, Don Ewing (Ewing automotive machine shop parkwood dr Snellville GA, shameless plug) said they were in great shape for a 10 yr old head. don't need to grind the seats, or replace the valves. There was no ridge on the top of the cylinders, and other than a little carbon, the pistons looked perfect. This weekend will be the oil pan and then after that its put it all back together time.

I promise there is a question here....

What would be best to use to clean all the old oil and gunk off what is remaining? Is there an enviro-friendly cleaner out there tough enough to remove the gunk?

 

[Rover Puppy]

I don't know if it is enviro-friendly, but I use Dawn Dishwashing detergent for tough jobs.

It breaks down oil and gunk beautifully.

 

[az_max]

I sent all the stuff I took off out to the vat at the machine shop. Came back spotless.

 

[Surf]

Spray it with a good brake cleaner, and let it dry then pressure wash. Or if you have a steam cleaner skip all the crap and go straight for that.

 

[p m]

Spray it with a good brake cleaner, and let it dry then pressure wash.

That is an excellent advice on how to screw your engine well beyond a weekend's repair.

 

[bri]

Whenever I cleaned I tended to use PB Blaster on a rag. Then wipe dry. Pressure wash and steam cleaner always kind of scared me. I worried about the water in the electronics.

P M why?

 

[ptschram]

P M why?

Water on the cam and in the oil pan?

 

[Rover Puppy]

Spray it with a good brake cleaner

Several years ago, I read numerous DWeb posts about how good brake fluid works to remove off roading mud and gunk.

I thought I might have finally found a way to get all the grimey stains out of T-shirts I had worn while on the trail.

I bought some brake cleaner at Walmart, completely saturated my T-shirts with it, let them soak for awhile, and put them in the washing machine.

Brake fluid does not work on clothes.

 

[DennyDoler]

John, This is for components that are OFF of the engine, Try easy-off oven cleaner. It works great on braking down almost everything down to the bare block. DO NOT use where there is paint or on rubber pieces you do not want shredded to useless foam. This is probably not fish friendly but there are no fish near my house anyway. Spray it on just like the instructions and let it sit for about fifteen minutes and reapply where you think it needs it. Always wear gloves and do not spray it against the wind.

 

[luvs2getmuddy]

I've used diesel in the past, and it work tramendously well.

 

[RBBailey]

At the airport, when I helped out in working on warbirds in my off-time, we used to put 100LL Av Gas into a garden sprayer and pumped that puppy up -- cleans metal parts really well!

 

[spydrjon]

Thanks for the input. I am trying to get the rest of the crap off the parts that are still in the engine bay. The heads and intake and the valve covers are going to the machine shop for clean up. The enviro-friendly part is because my house sits on a hill, the car is in the driveway, and all the water drains into the neighborhood lake in which I fish. Would prefer my fish to taste like fish.
Has anyone ever tried to use simple green on this type of crud?

 

[az_max]

At the airport, when I helped out in working on warbirds in my off-time, we used to put 100LL Av Gas into a garden sprayer and pumped that puppy up -- cleans metal parts really well!

At $4.50 a gallon?!? ($5.50 at PHX)