Degrease / Clean Engine Block

I have my D16A6 torn down on an engine mount.

The tranny and block are extremely dirty / greasy. The machine shop wants $140 to hot tank it when they bore/hone. I would rather save that money for the many bits I need to purchase to rebuild the bottom end.

Thoughts on methods to clean an aluminum block that is completely dismantled?

Also, the transmission needs to be cleaned.
What is the best method to clean inside the bell housing and the outer shell without damaging the internals? It is not dismantled but has the speedo hole and axle holes exposed.

I've had good luck with oven cleaner. Spray on, let it set for a while (10-20 minutes) hose off with a strong blast of water. Plug up any open holes before you start with any product. Scrape off the big stuff first, you'll save time and product.

Hot tanking will clean out the internal parts of the block, including inside the water jacket. You won't be able to do that at home.

If I was paying someone for the machining, I would probably let them tank it, too. You'll probably spend $40 of that in materials if you DIY.

If I let them Hot tank it, what about the transmission? They already said they won't touch it.

Pressure wash it really good with purple power run 100%. You can then use etching wheel cleaner and a clear coat over it or paint it with "cast blast".

Transmission before...

After pressure washing with Purple Power.

Painted and installed.

$140 for a hot tank when they are already working on it? That's absurd.

In reply to 93gsxturbo:

What did you use to plug the holes in the tranny?

Isn't purple power on aluminum a no no?

No, you just aren't supposed to leave it too long. I clean a lot of aluminum, and I like the purple too.

alaskangrown wrote: In reply to 93gsxturbo: What did you use to plug the holes in the tranny?

looks like a big cork....

Gasoline or a degreaser of your choice and take it to a self serve car wash and pressure wash it

2 big corks in the output shaft seals and didnt get to aggressive on the input shaft seal or transfer case output shaft seal inside the bellhousing. I have also stuffed rags in the output shaft areas.

On a FWD manual trans I don't know if you would even have to plug the axle holes. Just drain the oil and put in fresh before you run it. There should be enough gear oil on the guts to protect it in the few hours between washing/cleaning/painting and install. Its not like you are using a garden hose. Pressure washers are all about pressure, not volume. I would be surprised if you end up with more than a few tablespoons of water in the trans that will end up directly in the sump.

On an auto trans or something that cost real money I would be more careful.

I thought some pictures of before and after would be good for everyone to see.

Pressure washed the block at a spray and wash, it did get build up for the most part off the block but it wasn't clean by any means. Friend suggested that we soak the engine in a bath of simple green and boiling water. Results below.

Blurry but you can see how filthy it is. After the spray and wash (This was taken when it was set into the bin)

With some brushing and soaking back and forth.

Glad you did that - can't imagine people on a board built on $201x dreams would think of spending $140 to clean one part. I've always used the car wash, too, and some big brushes. Does the job just fine, and for a handful of quarters at best.

Not only pressure wash but rather use a steam cleaner with a soap dispenser.

Cleaned every engine bay like that.

Results like you have never seen or imagined

I would ask are they really hot dipping it or just putting it in the large dish washer most shops are now using.

edit: Wait..if you hot dip an aluminum engine, you may end up with just some iron sleeves in the basket. .

The best degreaser ever is the el cheapo $1 per can oven cleaner from Dollar General or Family Dollar.

Aeromoto wrote: The best degreaser ever is the el cheapo $1 per can oven cleaner from Dollar General or Family Dollar.

That is clever, I never thought about oven cleaner...I will have to give it a try.

Feel free to correct me, but I would think that you would not want to use oven cleaner anywhere there's paint, like an engine bay?

Matt B wrote: Feel free to correct me, but I would think that you would not want to use oven cleaner anywhere there's paint, like an engine bay?

Only on paint aluminum IIRC.

That is how I cleaned and stripped the paint off my Bottlecaps to put on my Civic.

CarKid1989 wrote: Not only pressure wash but rather use a steam cleaner with a soap dispenser. Cleaned every engine bay like that. Results like you have never seen or imagined

Im always very scared to do this because you hear horror stories of alternators and distributors, cols and the like getting fried because of water intrusion...what do you do? Just not spray near these? Under the hood of my G20, there are 2 big boxes of relays, and the alternator and the coil/dist. are very exposed. Not to mention the dozen or so electronic sensors and what not. Am I just being overly cautious? Do you wrap plastic bags around these items before you attack? Learn me, forum!

I always just let'er rip with my gas powered cold water pressure washer. Of course, I don't do dumb things like spray directly at the sensitive bits. But I don't mask or bag a God damned thing.

Matt B wrote: Feel free to correct me, but I would think that you would not want to use oven cleaner anywhere there's paint, like an engine bay?

Yes it removes paint, which can sometimes be a good thing.

A tip when using oven cleaner- spray it on when the parts are dry, not wet, and let it sit about 5 minutes if you just want to remove grease/ grime, and go 10-15 if you want the paint gone also