I was wondering what you guys use, or what is the best solvent to use to clean a block after tearing down a motor to rebuild it? Mainly talking about the inside of the block-cylinder walls, oil channels, inside the main bearing saddle etc. I have a Moroso nylon bristle engine brush set I am going to use, but what solvent? Acetone, paint thinner, mineral spirits, isoproyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol? Or some sort of brand name commercial degreaser? The block is painted and I know acetone will remove some of the paint (which I don't want-if I want to remove the paint, acetone will do a half-assed job, I would use aircraft stripper), but I want to use something that won't leave any residue, brake cleaner? Help!


Modified by d16dcoe45 at 10:02 AM 8/21/2005


Modified by d16dcoe45 at 10:04 AM 8/21/2005

 

You first do this cause I personally just posted in another thread just like this today.

 

Another words click his name and go to his watched topics and click on this link:

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1344528

 

I used some plain old Castrol degreaser stuff... in a purple bottle... and a pressure washer.

I just let it soak for a bit and sprayed it off. You shold have seen this block before, you couldn't even see anything but black oil and **** all over the place, it was nasty...

Looks better now though. It's not perfect, but it cost me $3 and about 30 minutes so I'm satisfied.





There are a lot of different methods, just use one that's easy for you.

 

Thanks alot guys--the search function hasn't been working for me for the past 2-3 days--it always says "try later on". Also, when I do search--its seems like you have to put the EXACT words of the post--or else nothing comes up--is there a method of searching to find what you want? You understand what I am trying to say? Also, I really wasn't concerned about the outside of the block--more the oil channels and getting all that crap out--I have heard that pain thinner gets absorbed (at least with cast iron) into the metal and seeps out slowly later on--so even though paint thinner seems like the best solvent to use I don't want it to seep into my block and then thin the oil later on when the motor is running.....

 

Brake cleaner?...... i heard that stuff cleans like crazy

 

They also make engine cleaner? Spray it down, Let it soak, then Rinse! Easy as that. Gunk! $1.49/$1.99 a can!

Works for me.

 

gasoline + rag = success.

 

brake parts cleaner will clean off any grease build up guarenteed

 

Don't forget goodole Simple Green and a toothbrush.

 

i used simple green, wire brushes, and the sponges with scotch brite on one side. my b16 was about the dirtiest motor you could imgagine. it had a bad oil leak and was then in a roll over accident where it got covered in dirt, and then sat for 6mon or so. i was able to get it about as clean as EJ1's pictures, defnitely presentable.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by d16dcoe45 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks alot guys--the search function hasn't been working for me for the past 2-3 days--it always says "try later on". Also, when I do search--its seems like you have to put the EXACT words of the post--or else nothing comes up--is there a method of searching to find what you want? You understand what I am trying to say? Also, I really wasn't concerned about the outside of the block--more the oil channels and getting all that crap out--I have heard that pain thinner gets absorbed (at least with cast iron) into the metal and seeps out slowly later on--so even though paint thinner seems like the best solvent to use I don't want it to seep into my block and then thin the oil later on when the motor is running..... </TD></TR></TABLE>
Searching can be a pain in the *** sometimes.... I just had my block painted after the machine shop hot tanked it. No crazy color but a light grey. LoL I remember asking them "damn my block was that clean!" and they said no, its just paint lol.

 

hello guys,

i've bought this junky B 6 months ago for cheap and work is still in progress. stopped for a while now due to budget constraints but hope to finish it soon. this is my first ever B project and i wanna build it right the first time

i cleaned everything out of this block with a soft wirebrush(attached on a drill), gasoline, carb cleaner and engine degreaser. what i did was to spray all the external parts of the block with the degreaser, leave it for 10 minutes and start brushing off the dirt using a 2" paint brush soaked on gasoline. make sure u do this on a well ventilated area ... do refrain for a while smoking on some stuborn areas, use the carb cleaner for better strenght. then use the paintbrush soaked on gas afterwards.

when i just had it:



see how clean it is??



my homie engine stand.


start working will yah



and so...






the cyl head how it looked like as well


after a while:


how it looked like before i took it for a PnP job. i don't have a current pic out of the PnP job coz i kept it sealed for now due to delays of the rebuild.


and don't forget to have your hands clean too


more pics on my sig. thanks for viewing

 

I used foaming Simple Green in the aerosol can and a wire brush.