Getting it clean...

[geezer101]

I wanted to share with you guys a budget way of getting really cruddy engines and parts clean. I have used all the usual weapons to clean an engine but I tried out something a little left field (so to speak) and found it was pretty effective. Oven cleaner. Not the caustic based stuff as this would be disastrous to be spraying anywhere in a car. It will dissolve pretty much any old oil and gunk lurking on an engine but I have noticed it doesn't make much of a dent in the stuff inside the gearbox (might be the oil or maybe the clutch powder...I dunno) I tried it out on a 4G52 valve cover I had sitting in storage for over 10 years and wanted to see if it would work - http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i351/geezer1011/parts/shedstuff096.jpghttp://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i351/geezer1011/parts/shedstuff094.jpghttp://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i351/geezer1011/parts/shedstuff098.jpghttp://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i351/geezer1011/parts/shedstuff099.jpgAll I used was an old tooth brush and it came up looking fresh as! The non caustic oven cleaner does a good job of breaking up brake pad dust and road grime too (if you're cleaning wheels I'd recommend doing one at a time and working quickly as it could discolour the finish)

[pennyman1]

the lye in the caustic oven cleaner will eat the aluminum up - btw, some drain cleaners use lye and aluminum to speed up the drain cleaning process, as it releases heat to melt grease clogs.

[geezer101]

the lye in the caustic oven cleaner will eat the aluminum up - btw, some drain cleaners use lye and aluminum to speed up the drain cleaning process, as it releases heat to melt grease clogs. Oh yeah, was well aware of that one - thus me making a point of using a non-caustic oven cleaner. It will munch alloy, paint, seals and pretty much anything you don't want it to. I used to go through cans of spray on degreaser to clean something up but I found that this stuff made short work of removing crud off an engine and didn't require anywhere near the amount of effort to get the end result. Happy cleaning! :)