engine cleaning question

[mighty13d]

Here is the head off from my 82 gs850g. It had an oil leak from the tach cable and that combined with years of dirt and grime, it's an almost impenetrable mass of crap that's stuck on. I've tried scraping chunks off then applying degreaser and scrubing and more scraping etc and that will litterally take me years to get it clean. Any ideas? can i send it out to be dipped or something? media blasting with something not as abrasive as steel shot/sand???

 

[mighty13d]

nevermind the shavings in the 2nd pic, those are from me repairing the spark plug threads

 

[jed.only]

shooting with walnut/pecan shells as media?

 

[mighty13d]

I know that renobruce got his VERY VERY VERY clean... just trying to get mine somewhere near his

 

[Nessism]

Machine shop should be able to hot tank it but you may have to media blast it afterward anyway to get the baked on crud off. I'd go with simple glass bead but other media would work as well I think.

 

[jwhelan65]

I guess Simple Green is out of the question?

 

[first timer]

i have had good luck with kerosen and a toothbrush. If that doesn't work try a hot tank or getting it blasted.

 

[tkent02]

Tried a pressure washer?
Or at least a high pressure nozzle after soaking with degreaser?
real degreaser, not the simple green junk.

 

[jed.only]

i would think glass beads would beat up the aluminum. ive had good luck for far with simple green and a toothbrush. kerosene is also a good idea. perhaps take it to the carwash and pressure wash it after having a degreaser like simple green or purple power sit on it.

 

[kokopelli]

i worked at a performance shop for a short period and i've done a bit of cleaning on heads of my own and sand blasting has been good to me... i mean try to get some of the grease off so the sand doesn't stick to it and use good since to avoid the ports and all but if done properly it does a great job without any adverse side affects... just my opinion and limited experience but the sand has been good to me

 

[Nessism]

I have a cylinder I'm trying to clean that looked like that head. Stuck it into a large sealed pail along with my bucket of carb dip. Swished the dip around every hour or so to coat the surface for several days. Was surprised to find that after I pulled it out the dang thing was still crusted. It was better but that baked on stuff is tough!

 

[mighty13d]

Tried a pressure washer?
Or at least a high pressure nozzle after soaking with degreaser?
real degreaser, not the simple green junk.

kerosene is also a good idea. perhaps take it to the carwash and pressure wash it after having a degreaser like simple green or purple power sit on it.

I do have Purple Power that I can use, I used it VERY VERY effectively to clean the pistons and the only clean spots on the front of the head. It's definitely more powerful than Simple Green. I was thinking about trying the whole soak/agitate/some scrubbing method followed by a trip to the local car wash. I was also thinking that a diesel bath might work well too if degreaser does not want to cut it enough.

sand blasting has been good to me...

Sandblasting would probably etch the hell out of the aluminum. A less aggressive media would probably work, but I didn't know if anyone had any specific stuff that they had used effectively.


I think I'm going to go grab a heavy duty bag and give it a degreaser bath overnight. I'll repost with the results tomorrow.

 

[Nessism]

I sandblasted my engine cases using common Play Sand as sold by Lowe's hardware. Worked great to give the metal some tooth for the paint to adhere to. I wouldn't worry too much about creating a rough texture on the metal unless you plan to blast at 90 psi (use something lower, like 40 psi).

 

[mighty13d]

I sandblasted my engine cases using common Play Sand as sold by Lowe's hardware. Worked great to give the metal some tooth for the paint to adhere to. I wouldn't worry too much about creating a rough texture on the metal unless you plan to blast at 90 psi (use something lower, like 40 psi).

hmm well since I'm used to sandblasting with an industrial psi.. usually 120+ I guess that 40 would be a lot less agressive. I would have to go buy the real sand though because I highly doubt that lowes would be selling play sand in the middle of winter up here in Maine! lol

 

[rudy]

Maybe try to find some place that does dry ice blasting. Apparently its pretty easy on the surface and takes the crap off. Could be pricey though.

If you can do sand blasting yourself, at your own pace, how you want it, I'd say go with that for sure. You can be as careful as you think you need to be and take all day if you want.

 

[tas850g]

can you use the lower psi (40) on the valve cover too? I have access to a sand blaster and want to clean up my cover.

 

[doctorgonzo]

can you use the lower psi (40) on the valve cover too? I have access to a sand blaster and want to clean up my cover.

In my case valve cover crud was on top of the paint, so when the aircraft stripper took the paint off it took the crud off too.

 

[first timer]

KG Coatings recomends useing aluminum oxide at 40 psi when preping an engine for their paint products. It will increase surface area by about 15% which gives paint a better tooth and also help disapate heat a little better.

This is how i am planning to prep and paint my engine. I will be using the gun kote 2300 product to match what was used by Pops back in the day. KG also offers a lot of other colors in their 2400 series includeing a silver and a brushed stainless steel color.

 

[mighty13d]

ok so here is after soaking half of it overnight. the farthest right cyl got a scrubbing a couple days ago so never mind the shininess. It would be black like the one next to it. Only the left half has been soaked so far in the first pic.

and this is SOOO much cleaner than it was. there is still some stuff that I'm going to have to wash and then re-soak to get

Can everyone see the buildup on the aluminum? I don't know if the Purple Power is making it oxidize or if that's just the Purple stuff making more work for me! lol There does also seem to be a clear coat of some kind on the parts. I will be able to get that off after all of the grease, oil, and dirt are removed though. I will see what kind of trouble I can get myself into sandblasting into all those tiny crevases and stuff.

 

[first timer]

purple power is a detergent, an yes it will cause the aluminum to oxidize to some extent. Purple power is a diluded oven cleaner. You will need to scrub to get rid of that crap. Also it wouldn't be a bad idea to surface the head to remove the old gasket crap and get a nice seal. Same applies for the cylinders.