Cleaning 20 year old dirt in engine bay

Hi all,

Taking things apart etc and now I am facing engine bay cleaning. It is very old dirt, maybe corrosion too, don't know. This is the picture of it, thermostat and all piping have been removed so I have full access to it now.

What would you use to clean such a hard dirt / corrosion (?) ?

Don't have sand blaster and using power washer is not an option atm.

Thx

 

That is some major gunk there. I would stat with a really good soaking with engine degreaser and or WD40, agitated with a stiff parts cleaner brush. And finally a good cleaning with a liberal soaking and agitating with a strong soap solution and a rinse. See where you are at after that.

 

That will be a f nightmare of a job...

 

BTDT.... remove all hoses, get a toothbrush with degreaser/naptha/wd40 (mostly naptha). Let it soak a while first. Small wire brush can remove stubborn stuff... when you're done, soap and water or my fave, isopropanol is less messy.

 

"This is the picture of it, thermostat and all piping have been removed so I have full access to it now." did that. Ok, will try naptha. Have isoprop, thank you for your advice. Next weekend will be fun...

 

Brake cleaner is great on oil and grease, and cheap detergent like “elbow Grease” yes I know but it’s a real name, and a selection of good stiff brushes

Did this with that combo

 

it helps the chemical cleaning process if the engine is warmed up.

 

Engine is out, frame sent for powder coating, doing valves soon...

 

powder coating a shiny alloy frame doesn't sound like such a good idea.

 

Have done it few times on different bikes, if you prepare it good it will work well.

 

I've done it twice. Didn't have any issues. It was an improvement for both.

 

Mostly used citrus-based degreaser and scrubbed with various brushes.

 

That situation looks like a good time to use a small sandblaster, but with baking soda as the medium. It will blast well, not damage the aluminum, and cleanup after just needs some warm water. Just do it somewhere outside. That dust goes EVERYWHERE!

Jose

 

Here's what mine looked like before cleaning. I went with citrus-based degreaser as GreginDenver already suggested and used a toothbrush and some small wire brushes which I think were originally meant for cleaning spark plugs. Turned out ok but it took some time.

 

I would have to look at the bottle to be able to tell you the brand name. I'm in the middle of a move right now (changing from Denver to Huntsville Alabama) and everything I own is in storage while my new house is being finished.

One thing I learned about citrus degreasers is that some brands work really well and others are awful and nearly useless. Do not buy a citrus degreaser labeled "foaming" because they're useless.

 

Do you have a before picture?

 

I think my old Photobucket account is on its last legs, not very functional, but I'll try...

Here's my engine's "V" before cleaning.

Yeah, the engine on my '99 didn't start out as hideously dirty as some others I've seen pictures of.






It's strange, when I go to "edit" the pictures show up just fine but when I click on "Save Changes" I get that "photo with a big red "X" on top of it" thingy.

 

Cheers for that. Considerably cleaner that the ones I have attempted.

Yeah I’m in process of removing all mine from photobucket. I’ll see if I can find some for you.