Thomas Aquinas

iTrader: (14)

Hey guys, I have a few questions for you all. I just got finished with tearing down my junkyard treasure and now I want to clean it up and get it ready to take to the machine shop. Questions:

I have a power washer, what kind of or brand degreaser would be best to get the crap off the exterior of the block?

Now once this thing comes back from the machine shop what should I use to keep the surfaces from rusting? I have heard you want to use ATF to wipe them clean then spray WD-40 on them? Correct or no?

Also, I have heard and read about painting or polishing up the lifter valley to allow to return to the pan easier. Thoughts about that? I have a die grinder and time so thats not an issue.

Any other prep work I should do or be mindfull of before I take it to the machine shop.

Thanks,
Brent

RB83L69

I would suggest that you take your pressure washer to the local quarter car wash late at night; shoot some Gunk Engine Bright or equivalent store brand diesel fuel in a spray can all on it, and let it soak, then use the pressure washer and some Castrol Super Clean.

Unless of course you just really want to leave all that crap laying all in your own yard.

ATF by itself is fine. WD-40 adds nothing to the picture.

Yes you can grind the lifter valley smoother to slightly promote drainback. Also use some electric motor varnish, or even just regular engine paint in a non-metallic colr, to paint it. Clean up the drainback holes especially at the rear of the block, and clean up the little trough between the lifter bores and the water jackets, so that oil can run along there as freely as conveniently possible.

But all of that is a bunch of mindless monkey-spank, compared to accomplishing useful work. Remove all the oil passage plugs and the cam bearings; and take rifle brushes to every passage, and a tootbrush shaped wire brush to the grooves behind the cam bearings. Those are what REALLY counts. The rest of that is mostly just allowing yourself to be distracted by shiny things.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Easy-Off oven cleaner, hands down better than power washing and degreaser for the intial rinse. Will look like it's fresh outta the hot tank.

Klortho

You may want to ask your machine shop if they have a tank to dip it in. The shop I use has a hot tank which takes all the oil, paint, cleans out the water passages etc etc and is very worth the money. I can't speak for the other shops, but when the one I use gets finished with one, they paint the outside of the block with a standard grey engine paint (cast iron color) and all of the cylinders are oiled up real good as is the rest of the inside of the block and then wrapped in plastic and sealed up.

Thomas Aquinas

iTrader: (14)

Thanks guys for the responses.
RB,
Don't worry I'm not doing this at my house, it will be done behind work, where the engine is now. I basically just want to clean it up some so when I handle it at home I won't get crap all over. The block is basically bare, I have removed the freeze plugs, and pins. Which leads to my next question.
A good technique to remove the oil plugs? I don't have a torch so that is out. Could you drill them out? Or is it better to have the shop do it. Also I don't have a cam bearing remover. I was thinking the hot tank would just melt them off.

Easy-off oven cleaner? That makes sense, for that stuff that is baked on with heat. I might have to try that.

One more question, has anyone heard of Fogging Oil? It's similar to WD-40 in that it displaces water, but it isn't has thin. It "says" its made for internal engine. One of my buddies told me about it, but you know how that is... Its basically used for storring marine engines, here's a link:


fogging oil

Later,

305PhoenixAm

Geez, you guys all have useful machine shops. Wish they had some around here. I took my block to get it hot tanked at a local shop and it came out exactly the same as it went in. The only effect was the paint started peeling a little.