Howdy all,
I've got an '87 van with a mess of baked on, thick oil. I'd like to get something to strip the stuff off so I can see where it's leaking from. I've been running this this for a week and go through a quart in two days. From the puddles, it's not burning as much as it's leaking. Do any of you folks have a brand that can clear a tar pit? I'm against any undue manual labor that can be avoided by asking questions!
Thanks,
-John R.

 

I have always had good luck with Gunk. If your engine is really greasy, it might take two washings. Also, I use the do it yourself car wash, as they have high pressure water for hosing everything off, and it keeps the mess off my driveway.

Pbfoot

 

No worries about a driveway here. My gravel's stained from years of "oops's". The high pressure sprayer is a good idea though. On top of not wanting to work harder than I need too, I'm a cheap sucker too. It's not that I'm lazy, but I've got 2 old Fords and two active boys. I'd rather buy two cans of good stuff than 3 cans of poor quality crap. As thick as this is, I think I'll get 3 cans of Gunk and use two here and one at the car wash.
Thanks!
-John R.

 

There are several threads here on degreasing or cleaning engines, check them out for some good info.

 

try Greased Lightning....I bought it at an AutoZone and it worked really well.. Enviro friendly too!

 

I agree with using Greased Lightning. It cleans very well. I even use it on my tires.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I've got enough on there that I can probably try both and let you all know.
-John R.

 

I have found that barbeque/oven cleaner works better than anything else. Spray-bottle, not aerosole.
The one I used was made by SANO, do not know if it's availeble somewhere else.
It was the only one that could remove the stuff that flows around steering pump.
Wash away the chemicals after cleaning and apply something to prevent corrosion. I used some wd40.

 

I used some oven cleaner once on a motorcycle case. It took the baked oil off great, but left a white oxide-like covering on the aluminum. I imagine it would work better on steel. Either way it won't matter where I plan on using it.
-John R.

 

Here is a warning for you.

I used gunk to clean the engine bay, I was really interested in cleaning the front suspension, chassis, and crossmember that goes under my 4.9L( there was a very leaky engine in there). Well the gunk worked great, I washed it off with a karcher pressure washer, and when I was done there was alot of bare metal on my chassis.I had washed the undercoat right off the engine area part of the frame.

I don't know if it was, years of oil laying there, the gunk, or the pressure washer; I do know that I had to surface prep the entire area, prime it, then re-undercoat the bare metal. Just be careful where you spray that stuff, it isn't wimpy.

 

I have had the best luck with Castrol Superclean.

dj

 

The white coating you saw was most likely corrosion of the aluminum. There's a link somewhere of where the U.S. Army tested the corrosive effects of Simple Green when used to clean aluminum fuselage aircraft and it sounds exactly like what you are describing. I will try to find it and post it here. Very enlightening. I would be very careful on what products to use around aluminum. I have also had Gunk remove some of the paint from the valve cover. A good cleaning product that seems to be fairly safe is Varsol.

 

Here's one of the links I mentioned:

http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/ma.../cleaners.html

 

That would be correct.

Begin chemistry lesson.

Most oven cleaners are dilute caustic solutions - AKA: lye, caustic soda, NaOH. NaOH is extremely corrosive to aluminum. When aluminum extruders have a die pack up (fill with cold aluminum) they hot tank them in caustic. The bath eats away all the aluminum but does not touch the die steel.

Aluminum anodizers also dip the parts in caustic to strip off any surface oxide prior to their process.

Cleaning a BBQ with oven cleaner generally eats away the paint and some of the aluminum, too. Of course if you don't leave it on too long it won't do too much damage.

It was mentioned in another thread here that using a dishwasher to clean parts does a nice job, but tends to leave a haze. Again, cautic dishwasher detergents are to blame. Ever notice how aluminum cookware starts to look pretty sorry after a number of trips through the dishwasher?

Of course, you can use this information to your advantage, too. If you have stripped a hole in an aluminum part you can clean the aluminum out of the bolt threads in a caustic solution. Lye is readily available as "granular" drain cleaner. Mix up a batch, drop in the bolt and watch it fizz. But wear some eye protection and rubber gloves while you do it. And don't breathe the fumes.

End chemistry lesson.

Cheers,
Eric

 

I will agree with the Castrol Superclean from my experience, can get it at any automotive store, or even wal-mart. I had old stains on my motor off an old car and just sprayed it and hosed off for some of the stains. I'd be sure to spray it clean though, just in case with the aluminum. This stuff also works great on tires, spray it on, rub it with a strong bristle brush and just watch the dirt come out of it! once again, be careful with aluminum rims, don't want it to eat away at the protective finish!