I know there were threads about steam and pressure cleaning your engine. Has anyone used this on a 928?

"Dry ice in the form of small pellets (1,5 and 3,0 mm for automotive use) is loaded in a specialised machine and fired at the dirty object at speeds of up to 360 km/h."

http://www.carmag.co.za/technical/dr...your-engine-2/

 

If it is safe enough to use on old books, it should be safe enough to clean an engine.

I haven't used it, but I don't know if it can cut through old grease and grime like a high strength solvent can.

 

I would guess that the ice will also neatly remove the powder coating on the cam covers and intake.
Best way to clean the engine,
with it cool use a rag and some brake cleaner and needle nose pliers

 

^^ then follow up with Griot's Engine Bay Cleaner in the aerosol can. Awesome stuff. I use it on my door jams, A & B pillars, any hard to clean areas made of rubber or metal.

 

I have become a big fan of this cleaner:http://www.pepboys.com/product/detai...nlyStore=false

CRC Pro strength degreaser. It wipes off and does not need to be rinsed with water, leaves no residue, and smells not unpleasant. It foams up, and the can seems to last a long time. Went through many cans lately, and you need to scrub a bit with a brush on heavy stuff. I would end up spraying, brushing, repeat as needed and a final spray and wipe off.

 

How does it clean in the nook & crannies where a brush or towel does not reach to wipe off?

 

Pretty good. But takes two or three applications. I use a toothbrush and a selection of test tube brushes and narrow brushes to get in those spots.
My big deal with cleaners is the stench of most of them and the mess that is created.

 

Don--

I've been using Gunk Foamy Engine Brite for years, great performance but the, um, aroma persists for a while. Compare with the Pep Boys product?

 

I have used that as well forever. This is much better from a smell and no residue aspect. It seems to work about the same cleaning-wise. As my eyesight and hearing go I have my sense of smell somewhat intact... I really can't stand the smell of petroleum distillates anymore. PB blaster being the worst offender!

 

I used Simple Green- cheap, mix to any concentration. Spray liberally on luke warm engine, use brush to clean then rinse.

 

I like simple green too, I use it in my HF parts washer at a 1:10 dilution. Just don't want to rinse when I am cleaning cause I have the car on a lift and man does it get messy.

 

Simple Green does a barely OK-only job on anything more serious than an oil film. It also seems to leave aluminum a darker grey color after a short while unless it's rinsed very thoroughly. If you want the al bits to stay a little brighter a little longer, use a lower-pH cleaner like diluted orange oil degreasing products. Several folks like histoclear, a d-limonene (sp?) cleaner/solvent. I found a similar cleaner at Ikea of all places, disguised as a kitchen cleaner. I don't have a bottle handy unfortunately or I'd share label info.




As far as rinsing on the lift: Heavy plastic painter's dropcloth formed into a swimming pool works OK for containing the runoff. The grease and solvent residue is really unsuitable for storm drain disposal. If I don't have a lot, I capture it into a bucket and let the liquids evaporate off, leaving a paste of whatever scum I was removing. Again depending on how much, it usually goes into my waste oil drum. The sand and dirt parts are usually left on the plastic as the liquid runs off, so that goes into regular trash for relocation.

Warning,: Harbor Freight blue plastic tarps are not waterproof enough to use for this. The seams leak, and anyplace there was fold is a canditate for leakage. I did all my pre-TB cleaning and fluid removal on one, and found a slimy mess underneath when I started gathering the 'contained' fluids into the bucket. Not real good. Had to wash/rinse/vacuum the slime up; I really don't want that running into the driveway.

Someplace in the James Morrison Euro85 thread there are a few pics of the pre-lift period engine bay cleaning prep, with tarps funneling into buckets on the driveway slope. That was my first try with ZEP orange degreaser from Home Depot, by the way. I needed to clean the front of the engine for timing belt surgery, and did some of the top at the same time. Lack of rinse capacity limited the scope of cleaning to only what was really needed.

 

I actually have found that letting things soak in SG at this dilution works well. Having the pump running keeps things mixed and moving. I immediately rinse parts in water and completely dry by hand. They have been sitting around for a month and still look great.
You know how it is with a new garage floor- don't want to muck it up! I did and used a cleaner in a purple jug (forget the name right now) at full strength to clean the mess and was amazed at how well it worked. Even got the chewing tobacco stains off the slab from the contractors, haha. Good info though about the tarps, something I will consider when I do everything underneath. I hate grease, dirt.

 

Use a tarp doubled up with 1 or 2 of these on it.
Should catch most anything unless you use a hose & lots of water. Size is aprox 2 x 3 feet each.
They are also useful for cleaning parts in. You can also use them to drain your block- they hold 20 gallons. Available @ Home Depot usually in the area that has the cement sacks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-L...ct_description

 

Most of the purple cleaners are pretty caustic. While they do a great job of dissolving grease, they also do a number on aluminum. Most of them have warnings not to use them on aluminum. The parts look great for a short while, but turn dark gray with aluminum hydroxide formation after a short time.