I wondered about the effect of the degreaser on the asphalt....I hosed it off as quickly as possible and I still have a driveway. Maybe that means I need a stronger degreaser! (I've been using Formula 88)

 

Well, it was a world record time. We could have gone faster but working with one hand, while holding a Stella with the other added some minutes. My contributions were mainly with a 3 foot crowbar and plenty of insults.

OP, don't make a rush about it. Let the job take the time it takes. If you think something should be done while you are in there, go ahead and do it now. Even if you have to call Roger from under the car. He's heard it before, and will ship the same day.

 

I'd feel better about that if it were my own lift in my garage...but my friend knows how these things go, so I'm sure he's expecting a lot of WYAIT stuff too...

 

This is really important advice...

I did not spend entire days doing this job. I did it over 3-4 weeks, sometimes working just an hour, other times during holiday vacation for 5-6 hours. I took a lot of time to clean and just study the next steps and then go under the car and visualize it. It's what you have to do if working alone and with zero experience doing 928 MM/OPG job. If you have help it will go much faster....but don't rush. At times I felt I was dragging it out - often stepping back and just reflecting on what I had done up to moment, and what would come next...with a beer in one hand, and my other hand scrolling Dwayne's write up on my laptop to double check my work. The first time doing this is a real feeling of accomplishment and self reliance. Take time to enjoy it.

 

That does sound like good advice. Especially the beer part ;-)

 

Choose degreasers carefully. "Biodegradeable" might be important, but the truth is that spray oven cleaner will ultimately biodegrade, sort of. Most important to NOT use one of the caustic degreasers on your aluminum bits. So the "Purple Power" and most other parts-store degreasers include warnings against using them on aluminum. The spray Foamy Engine Brite is a solvent-and-surfactant product, and so is not truly biodegradeable on its own.

My disposal method lets the oily part float to the top of the catch bucket, then pump the water and soapy part from underneath the scum layer. Let the bucket sit out in the sun to evaporate the remaining water (slowly), than fold the plastic trashcan liner in the bucket and sent it to local haz disposal as oily residue. The cans sometimes offer disposal guidelines, but most these days just say 'according to local regulations'.

We don't have stormwater drains, so I have a catch area, a depression with rocks kind of like a big "french drain" by the driveway and garage. Whatever I put in there will stay in there, so I'm really careful about what goes in besides rain and car-wash water.

 

I'm in the midst of an interesting experience with cleaning fluid wastes- 2 years ago I picked up a 30 gallon safety-kleen aqueous parts washer from a pawn shop in the inland empire, along with a 5 gallon bucket of Aquatene concentrate. Fast forward to now, 2 whole cars' and 3 engines' worth of greasy parts later, and my 20 gallons of cleaning fluid is pretty gross. I figured I'd call Safety-Kleen to see whether they'd open a residential account to have the unit serviced and the waste fluid hauled off.

First question was 'what's your California EPA ID number?' Huh?

Long story short, I'm now a registered toxic avenger with the state of California, having completed a Department of Toxic Substances Control form 1389:.

https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/IDManifest/index.cfm


Cost to be licensed is $0.00 since I'm an individual and not generating more than 100 kilos of hazardous waste per month.

In the past I've been slightly cavalier about not capturing the ounce-quantities of oil and grime that run off the driveway when I'm pressure washing car parts, but gallon quantities of grimy stuff (the fluid no longer degreases well even when heated to ~120oF) certainly warrant proper, compliant disposal.

FWIW, a house call from Safety Kleen including a swapout of the barrel and 20 gallons of fresh solution is $200. Totally worth it to me to have it done professionally and properly.

 

From the James M '85 Euro S project a few years ago at the Glendale house. A gallon of Orange Clean 50% solution in the garden sprayer. A few gallons of rinse. All captured for treatment and proper disposal. These don't show the plastic over the edge and down the driveway to a 'capture area' or the little pump and the big bucket.