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Cleaning solution


ianmayco68

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Hi all , I’m starting to clean up all the Ali bits off the engine on my project 300 tdi and there’s lots of nooks  and crannies , so was thinking along the lines of getting a largish plastic tub and soaking the bits in it then jet washing them off , so what’s the best stuff to use ? Used jizzer last time and didn’t think much to it any recommendations ? 

Cheers Ian

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I have jet washed blocks before. A mate of mine even spent an evening in the bath with a pair of V6 heads, but he's a special kind of loony nature thankfully rarely provides. The critical thing is to make sure you can dry it quickly after, so plenty of towels, blue roll and water dispersant ready to go. Blow out oil galleries with air too. 

Ebay up some cheap parts cleaning solution, it works pretty well. For extra zing, dishwasher tabs are amazing, but not on anything ali, bronze or copper; it will eat them slowly. 

Having said all that, most engine rebuilders have giant engine washers with fancy chemicals and don't charge much for a wash and blow dry. 

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Sometimes caustic solutions are used for cleaning oily parts and can be done DIY at home. This is fine for iron things but I wouldn't be tempted to do this on aluminium parts in my opinion.

An overnight soak in a solvent such as white spirit (this stuff is still quite cheap at places like toolstation) followed by a scrub in the morning has suprisingly good effect on oily engine parts. I use a paint roller tray filled with white spirit for smaller items, it kind of works like a little parts cleaner.

DSCN1061.JPG

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Ive been very impressed with a product called Hyper Clean (think its made by Comma), applied with brush or rag, scrubbed with a brass wire brush and rinsed of in water. Best Ive ever tried, I wish Id had it before I wasted two weekends scrubbing the engine and gearboxes for the Ibex

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I've used Hyper clean and Jizer in the past. Both gave good results when followed by a jet wash.

I cleaned ali parts in some alkaline degreaser last time a rebuilt a V8. A mere 20 second dip took all the carbon staining off the timing and rocker covers. Just make sure you wear good PPE and wash thoroughly with fresh water afterwards.

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Cheers all , will have a root around on ebay and see what I can dig up . Just a thought the mother and father-in-law are ex farmers and we have some diary hypochlorate , a chlorine based solution we mix it with water and use it on the tiled floors at home , do you think that might do the job ?

cheers Ian

Edited by ianmayco68
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I've always dunked well-crudded oily-stuff in a 55-gallon oil-drum full of 28-second heating-oil and left it to stew for a few days. Immersion soaks into the 'difficult' crevices with time, then when you hoick it out a week or so later a blast with a jet-wash lifts off most of the nasties.

Be careful of using caustic solutions on anything containing aluminium, aluminium-alloy, white-metal, brass or sintered-bronze: a friend 'pickled' the barrel and head of his 1950s two-stroke motorbike engine in a rather aggressive Sodium Hydroxide bath to try and remove the accumulated oil/carbon from the ports.

Alas it dissolved 100 Thou off the bore and digested-away about half of the thickness of the cooling fins on the barrel.

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1 hour ago, ianmayco68 said:

Cheers all , will have a root around on ebay and see what I can dig up . Just a thought the mother and father-in-law are ex farmers and we have some diary hypochlorate , a chlorine based solution we mix it with water and use it on the tiled floors at home , do you think that might do the job ?

cheers Ian

No, I wouldn't. Aluminium is an odd metal in that it will dissolve in both acid and alkali solutions. Hyperchlorate is usually supplied in a strongly alkali solution. I would only use either solvents or the commercial degreasing agents suggested above.

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On 6/30/2018 at 10:30 PM, ianmayco68 said:

Cheers all , I’m getting  the head and block cleaned at the engine place I’m using as the need work . It was the timing case , cover and the few other bits I was planning on doing myself .

i use the dishwasher :D

BUT only use half a dishwasher tablet... you dont want to know why, but it doesn't end well :D

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I am sure I speak for the majority when I say that we doooo...... really....  want to know why??     Anyway just reconsidering binning the old DW in the shed? I didn't realise it could be a parts washer!

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39 minutes ago, Blanco said:

I am sure I speak for the majority when I say that we doooo...... really....  want to know why??     Anyway just reconsidering binning the old DW in the shed? I didn't realise it could be a parts washer!

umm well....

coated the entire inside of (a BRAND NEW) dishwasher with a black deposit (aluminium oxide?) when i washed a alu cylinder head.... cleaning the smooth metal surfaces off was easy, but all the fiddly little bits on the trays? no chance.....  i thought 2 tabs would clean it better :ph34r:

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