Hi gang, I attempted to clean up the engine and drive train today. I rented a steam machine and went to work. But it does not do what I expected. 54 years of baked on grease and grit realy would not budge. I used a degreaser every now and then to break it up, but it is not doing very much. I tried a regular presure washer, but I did not have hot water out there then. Did not do much either.. If I take a parts brush and some kerosene, that will start to move it, but I can not get into nooks and cranys.
Does any one have a good method of cleaning up tranys, rear ends, engine, and front end. Out of ideas.

As always, I appreciate your input

JimG

 

here is an old cleaning trick that works real well but be very careful with the fumes and such . a combo of the following works well 1quart gas 1 quart kerosene mixed with 1/2 gallon of water and little dawn dish soap . works great on the light to medium gunk although you will need to use a little elbow grease on the heavier caked on stuff . use in a ventilated area and wear crappy clothes .

 

Jim, what size pressure washer did you use? We have a 3700 psi engine driven washer at work and it will cut through concrete with the right nozzle. Hard to understand why it wouldn't cut through old grease and crud. You can also rent pressure washers that will pick up solvents/soaps to mix with the water. One word of caution, if you use the high pressure washer, use a face shield and wear old cloths. Also do not get you hand or any part of your body near to outlet of the nozzle as it will take off flesh as well. Good luck and be careful which ever method you choose to use.

Gil

 

I've always found that an hour of scraping will save several hours of solvent or spray cleaning.

I wouldn't use anything with gas in it.

 

I agree with Ross post; I always used putty knifes & dull razor blades to scrap the 1 to 2" stuff & then use handheld wire brush & wire wheel on a drill to hit the tight spots; then pressure wash with a degreaser like product.
I've even use sand blaster on frame & axles before. Just cover the seal type areas if you use this method.

Mitch

 

I have used a bit of everything listed here however I do have a 2500 PSI washer, and it will take the grease right off. Even with a sandblaster, it takes time if the grease is thick. On the thicker areas, I would use a putty knife, you can get different sizes for different areas also I have a grinder for the larger more flat areas, you can get some flexible discs, those work real well. 50 to 60 bucks and your ready to rock. Good Luck

 

Oven cleaner works well, but be careful! It'll burn the hell out of your skin.

For the most part, manual labor with what everyone else mentioned is the only way to get it all off. I'd knock off all the big hunks with a putty knife and wire brushes, then go to the power washer and finish it off with some chemicals and brush as needed.

Here's a link to some pics of what I ended up with. There's no before pics but trust me, it was a rusty turd!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...rtytace&page=5

 

Thanks for all the input. Went out to the shop today and started over! Ran hot water to the presure washer. Then, sprayed Kerosene and degreaser. Blasted away. Came out much better then yesterday. Repeated on tough areas. I wore a full face mask, ( like a air pack mask ), and a full hood to keep the crap out of my eyes
Thats why this site is just the greatest. Eveyone helps one another.
Color of the block was red, intake manifold was orange. Posibly painted at fire truck factory when they installed pump and body. Tranny rear end and all of undercariage is red as well as pump.

 

There is 2 different cleaners that I use..Both are from ZEP...first is the Zep Orange the second is Zepalene (sp?) you just spray it on and let it set a few then hit it with a pressure washer....and presto...Clean

 

The 19545 engines were red with argent (silver) valve covers. So red is correct.

 

Pointed very small spray pattern will do the heavy stuff(pulled the paint off the badges on my ranger) a wide pattern doesn't have any effectiveness. I always would putty knife the big pieces of grease off/ then grab a tin full of mineral spirits/thinner and a 3M Scotchbrite green pad and start scrubbing. Spread the gunk around and don't trying to get it clean with that step, just scrub and loosen it . Spray on more spirits this time and wipe clean with rag or paper towel. Rinse with water and she's clean. I've used this method with much sucess.

 

Abe,

The valve covers were in fact argent. Amazing what you see when teh gunk is removed. Do you think the input manifold was replaced? Truck has 17,000 mi.

JimG

 

Yes, it must have been replaced. I thought perhaps the the "orange" color was actually red but if it is def. orange and different from the red engine block then it must have been replaced or painted at some point.