Cleaning inside of magneto cover

[Pearson]

I finally got the last gasket in the mail last night and after cleaning and polishing the magneto/alternator/stator/LH case cover, I've accumulated alot of crud inside. I cannot get the stator out of the cover...good Lord knows I've tried and tried.

Would it be ok to rinse the whole thing in fresh water and let it air dry for the next couple of days and then blow it out with a can of air? I figure the thing is bathed in oil anyway, what harm could water do? Any other ideas on how best to clean the inside before I reassemble everything?

Thanks.

[Dave8338]

Get yourself a can of GUNK engine degreaser...it works great and it won't take any of the coating on the stator windings off. If you can do it without getting caught, let it soak in the degreaser for about an hour, rinse all the junk in the cover out, and slip it into the dishwasher. Run it through a short cycle small amount of soap and heat dry. Make sure it is on the top rack and you clean up any mess or you and the cover will become good friends, sleeping in the garrage. 8-[

YOU DIDN'T HEAR THIS ADVISE FROM ME...I WILL DENY ANY AND ALL KNOWLEDGE OF IT!!!! :-D

[Pearson]

Get yourself a can of GUNK engine degreaser...it works great and it won't take any of the coating on the stator windings off. If you can do it without getting caught, let it soak in the degreaser for about an hour, rinse all the junk in the cover out, and slip it into the dishwasher. Run it through a short cycle small amount of soap and heat dry. Make sure it is on the top rack and you clean up any mess or you and the cover will become good friends, sleeping in the garrage. 8-[

YOU DIDN'T HEAR THIS ADVISE FROM ME...I WILL DENY ANY AND ALL KNOWLEDGE OF IT!!!! :-D

Hey..what did I ever do to you? Mamma caught me, that cover and I wouldn't be friends, we'd be intimate :shock:

So you've done this yourself and no probs, eh? I might have to modify it a little for my own safety, but will give it a go. Thanks.

[Jethro]

WD40- basically fancy kerosene in a spray can. All I use it for is to clean greasy, oily engine parts.

[Pearson]

WD40- basically fancy kerosene in a spray can. All I use it for is to clean greasy, oily engine parts.

I've read that in a hundred different posts, at least. I've got a can I use all the time. So why didn't I think of that?

Of course I just got back from picking up the degreaser at the parts store. I think I'll use tips from both suggestions since I don't really want to put my wiring harness hanging off the stator thru the dishwasher. I do have a faucet sprayer tho in the kitchen sink that should do nicely.

[chef1366]

You can get the stator out with an impact driver.

[J_C]

I used a little plastic cake knife to scrape off most of the gunk. The remaining stuff I took care of with engine degreaser, and it did the trick just fine

[jgordon]

You can pull it out and clean it but if you want to clean it in place use safety glasses and Chemtool.

[Pearson]

You can get the stator out with an impact driver.

I'm a fan of the impact tool, that was one of my earliest purchases after I joined the forum but one screw just will not come out and I'm done trying to break the case. At least for now. There will come a day that screw's got to come out...today's not it.:-D

Thanks for the tips. It's warm enough I'm going to go finish that last cover.

[Billy Ricks]

I'd be careful using chemtool around the stator windings. Chemtool is pretty strong and might ruin the insulation on the windings.