cleaning a block...

bj · Post by bj » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:54 pm

what do most people use at home to clean their blocks? i have a high pressure washer (only 1400psi) and was wondering if i could push some simple green or degreaser through it? i'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt anything, but i don't like the fininsh of aluminum after hitting it with degreaser.

thanks.

bj

aircooledtechguy · Post by **aircooledtechguy** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 11:38 pm

Pre-soak it in simple green and then hit it with the pressure washer and a brush. Should come out pretty good.

general_lee_jr · Post by **general_lee_jr** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:12 am

I have used simple green and it does a great job of getting the garbage out. It is amazing how those blocks clean up.

bj · Post by bj » Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:48 am

cool. i guess i have to buy a few more gallons then. i love that stuff!

bj

Post by **Daniel G** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:14 am

I just took my engine block to the car wash and used the engine degreaser and high pressure hose. It was nearly spotless when I was finished, so you should be able to clean yours with the stuff you have already.

Daniel

4getaboutit · Post by **4getaboutit** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:18 pm

havent worked on to many blocks, but I took my CASE

to a quater operated car wash like railbuggyman03 said, got good results. After I got the CASE

back from the machinist it was spotless. Good luck

general_lee_jr · Post by **general_lee_jr** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:08 pm

4getaboutit wrote:havent worked on to many blocks, but I took my CASE to a quater operated car wash like railbuggyman03 said, got good results. After I got the CASE back from the machinist it was spotless. Good luck

Whats a case?

Is it like a block

mharney · Post by **mharney** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:33 pm

It's a case if you have more than one tooth. Kinda like a fuel burning motor is an ENGINE.

vwduud · Post by **vwduud** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:23 pm

1.) Split the case
2.) Extract oil galley plugs (tap for threaded plugs)
3.) Buy a cheap parts cleaner (Harbor Freight - under 100 bucks)
4.) Buy 10 gallons of varisol - place in parts cleaner
5.) Using bottle cleaners, brushes, and scotchbrite pads - scrub it - inside and out!

This will get the grease and grime off. What becomes slightly more challenging is the removal of previous gasket compound. My local air-cooled repair shop has a nice large soak tank with carb cleaner in it to allow it soak for a day or two. The case came out shiny almost polished in appearance.

Besides that option, spray can carb cleaner will remove gasket compound, just requires a lot of patience, time and elbow grease.

Obviously, replace the oil galley plugs when finished.

One last tip - remove at least the 8 (4 per case half) head studs which mount into holes in the case that go completely through the case half. These can easily identified by looking on the inside of the case halves. If you can see the end of the head stud, these are the ones to remove. Carefully extract these, taking care not to gall the threads as you remove them. I failed to do this my first go around. After doing all of the above to clean the case, whatever sealant was used to seal these threads from oil leakage was removed. Inevitably, I had oil leaks at these head studs. Second engine build I removed these, thoroughly cleaned both the studs and their mounting holes and reinstalled use a high temp RTV sealant. ZERO leaks this time.

bj · Post by bj » Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:55 pm

the block is completely stripped down. haven't removed the galley plugs yet though. i guess i will have to do that. i'll leave up to the shop to drill and tap though.

how do you "not" gall the threads? i spray oil, but man those things are on there tight! every single bolt on TWO cases so far held their torque as jake said in the video. i have two more to go...gets tiring cleaning up a garage!

what do you do about the head studs that won't come out? had two that i just had to have the machine shop charge me...i mean take out for me.

thanks for all your input guys.

bj

vwduud · Post by **vwduud** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:19 pm

bj wrote:how do you "not" gall the threads?

Carefully rock the stud back and forth - that is tighten and loosen it very slightly while adding penetrating oil. It can be a fairly slow procedure for some. 7 of my 8 came out rather easily. One was fairly stubborn. It eventually came out, with no galling or damage to the threads.

bj · Post by bj » Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:37 pm

i hope the machine shop doesn/t mess it up.

thanks for the tip. i have a feeling my other block will give me a rough time. it looks very "dry" on the outside of the case since it has ran since it was rebuilt.

bj

Wally · Post by **Wally** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:45 pm

bj wrote: what do you do about the head studs that won't come out? had two that i just had to have the machine shop charge me...i mean take out for me.

bj

Don't know if its the best method, but I heat those up with a torch (sp?) as gradually as possible.
I usaully remove them all and never have broken one stud in a type 4 case so far. Would be difficult to break a stud tho, as I use two counterscrewed M10 nuts and that has its limits of torque as well.

Good luck,
Walter

Jim Andritsakos · Post by **Jim Andritsakos** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:20 pm

Double nut it spray some kroil and let it sit for an hour or so.
Use some Kroil it works even in the wbx rusty head studs.
Also a light heat in the case with a propane or oxy-acetylene torch would be ok BUT BEWARE ONLY MINOR HEAT.

Good luck

bj · Post by bj » Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:01 pm

i sprayed with PB Blaster and let it sit for a couple days give additional sprays and still no luck. it was IN there.

bj