dr bob

Ed-

I don't know Bill Clinton's definition of caustic, except as it applies to special prosecutors.

In the meanwhile, P&G MSDS lists a pH of 9 in a 10% concentration in water. That's a little stiffer mix than most use for cleaning, but that's still the number they use. The recommended use concentration is in the teaspoons-per-gallon range. pH of 9 is 'more caustic' than water, but is well below the range that most consider a caustic chemical. Shipping info and the rest of the MSDS all say harmless/biodegradable. No warning about stainless anywhere. FWIW, I just used it to clean my stainless grill pan and it still looks shiny and new. Pork chops were really good too.

It would be an interesting experiment to stick a test tab of your stainless in a bucket of Dawn dishwash water, and see what happens. If there is really a problem, I know who to call in Cinci.

Bill Ball

Ed:

You need to catch it before it starts to machine the block. Usually there is other damage at that point, such as cracking of the block starting a the TB journal. We had a case reported here where there was still a bit of the TB shoulder left, but the block was cracked. I thought there was some hope when the shoulder was stil intact, but that was not the case. If you catch it when the crank endplay is just over 0.4mm you could replace the TB. That requires pulling the motor to remove the cradle to get to the main bearings. I'm at 0.32 and stable for a couple of years. I release the flexplate every 3-6 months, but I have not found more then 3mm preload except the first time. I saw a 91 that had never been touched to our knowledge and it had less than 2mm preload on the flexplate.

SharkSkin

Hmmm... I'd stay away from using anything potentially corrosive(speaking of Easy-Off here ) on any assembly that has nooks & crannies that might not get rinsed thoroughly. It's one thing to use something like this on a single part, like a rear knuckle that's completely off the car. But the mention of using it on fully assembled suspension makes me cringe when I think of all the places it can seep in but you can't rinse it adequately. IIRC lower rear shock bolts can be a hug PITA without adding corrosives...

Ed Hughes

Dr. Bob-Your grill is probably 300 series, the 400 series is a lower NI content, and has become the food service industry standard for external surfaces in commercial kitchens. A cost reduction method. This different composition could be the issue. But, since I "retired", I could give a rat's a$$ if any household cleaner causes an issue.

Bill: Thanks, this reminds me to re-check my flex plate, I did it about 9 months ago, and used the higher torque and loctite method. It will be reassuring/enlightening to see what the situation is. I'm very curious to see what piccardo's crank endplay is like IF he was anywhere near 1/4" of flexplate movement at release.

piccardo

You would think there would be some side effects if there were serious damage. Knocking or nose of some kind maybe the engine would run hot. Low compression. Something!
If I am not having any of the before mentioned problems. What would be the advantage of tearing into the engine now VS keeping a close eye on things and monitoring the situation? If we assume that there is a hairline crack in the block or some crank damage and that the pressure from the drive shaft has already been relieved. Opinions????

Ed Hughes

I think the idea here, is that if the crank has worn down the thrust bearing, then it can subtlely move back and forth in the journals of block doing further damage over time, and ultimately destroying the block. That is why it's good to know what your crank endplay is after doing the release.

piccardo

ok makes sence. I will check it and see.