In the pic below... we have some typical PA corrosion. Say I was to buy the truck attached to that mess... because the rest of the thing was awesome. How do I "fix" this so it stops looking like an ice cream scooper that just came out of the dishwasher? On a larger note... any issue with diesels and my usual way of cleaning an engine ( spray with copious amounts of Simple Green, wait 20 minutes, blast with hose )?
SG will eat at the alum, making it worse.
Honestly, i think you are up the creek my friend. you wash off the layer, it will simply oxidize again.
i'm sure some other will chime in with more on this...
Daily spit-polish?
my parts are doing this on my project. Took a wire wheel to clean off the crust and plan on painting with engine enamel. Could take a polisher, but it will take a long time and will need to clear coat it to prevent from happening again
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
I've had good luck removing the aluminum pieces and bead blasting them with a very fine grit, then clear powder coating them. It gives a soft grey almost metallic paint like affect that is very durable. I've done this on several motorcycle engine cases that looked like total crap and they came out great. Check a few other threads, I think there are some on doing your own powder coating. It's not hard.
It's a truck... Keep the hood closed?
That looks like every car up here that's more than 2 years old. If I worried about things like that I would have a permanent wire-brush claw hand by now.
Armor-All the black plastic bits. They'll really pop against the dull grey aluminum. 
Josh wrote:It's a truck... Keep the hood closed?
That looks like every car up here that's more than 2 years old. If I worried about things like that I would have a permanent wire-brush claw hand by now.
Well... if I buy it - its got to last for 15yrs. So I am really concerned with how to keep it from progressing to the point where I need to just smash stuff to get it off when working in there. I have a pile of old german cars and they don't do this. This would be my 1st domestic product built this century.... I'm not really thrilled that they haven't quite got that whole "not turning to dust" thing conquered yet but a 7k lb truck that gets 20mpg is worth a little nonsense.
Use something like ACF-50 or similar on the bare aluminium after cleaning it up? I don't know how well it stands up in the long term so you might occasionally have to reapply it, but it should reduce the corrosion quite noticeably.
< Billy Mays >Cover it in mud, and forget it! < /Billy Mays>
The white crusty stuff is aluminum oxydation. Same as mild steel corrosion - aka "rust".
You treat it the same way. Sand it off and either paint it or seal it so no air or water can get to it.
The vavle cover on a used car I have is the same way. I used a light tough with a wire wheel and some 400 grit sandpaper to knock it down. Then applied a light film of oil to it. Should last that way for a couple of years. If I was looking for a more permenant solution I would have sprayed it with clear.
A lot depends on the aluminium. The engine cases on my '74 Norton Commando would stay beautiful, if I polished them once a year with Mothers Alum. polish, but some aluminum bits on my cars would start to turn grey again, seemingly within hours. I spent about 20-40 hours (while watching TV) polishing the Norton's cases the first time, but after that, it was an hour a year to keep them up.
Since it takes so long to restore the entire part, I say try cleaning up one area well and try some different things on it.
Jack
you could always clean up and polish.. and then use Zoop seal on it..
I have had good success with using the "all in one" wheel and tire cleaner that you spray on and hose off. I usually spray it on and wipe it off, but it does a good job on the aluminum bits and also shines the hoses and black plastic parts. Be careful not to leave it on the plastic too long, I have had it become difficult to clean off if I let it dry completely. It made my aluminum A/C lines look brand new. Also worked well on the irridium coated parts.
If you try this make sure you test a small area first, as I am not sure that the manufacture would warrant this stuff as an engine cleaner!
"all in one" wheel and tire cleaner + Zoop might be the trick
I wouldn't worry about it. You are not the first person to drive a truck where they salt the roads. the bolts are not aluminum, and that is what is going to give you fits come repair time. It is cosmetic only, it isn't like rust where the corrosion gets deeper, the oxidation will seal the aluminum and it won't get much worse then that.
If you are really bored, just spray the crap out if it with WD40 every few months.
this is interesting.. where in the country was this truck located, how old is it, and how many miles are on it?
My BMW has a 130,000+ miles on it and I bought it in Mass... the aluminum of the head looks pristine. I have to wonder of the aluminum in your truck is of a different quality or the casting was not as clean..
mad_machine wrote:this is interesting.. where in the country was this truck located, how old is it, and how many miles are on it?
My BMW has a 130,000+ miles on it and I bought it in Mass... the aluminum of the head looks pristine. I have to wonder of the aluminum in your truck is of a different quality or the casting was not as clean..
All my BMWs from the early 80s on have looked brand new under the hood after years and years. This truck is 3yrs old, lived all of 'em in PA. I just passed on the deal. A southern truck is a good reason for a road trip.
