i just bought a b18b1 and it's really dirty with some tough grease, whats the best thing to use on it?

 

brake cleaner

 

^ that works but for like 4 bucks a can ..idk or id just pressure wash it.

 

its on sale regularly in my area for 2/5, 3/7, 4/10 and if used liberally 2 cans are more than enough

 

I use both simple green, and steel wool

 

i use super cleaner from autozone. purple power use to work but super cleaner (purple bottle) and a toothbrush works its magic. then rinse off.

 

Brake cleaner is awesome, but that stuff tears up my hands like nobody's business. I tried wearing latex gloves, and it ate right through them in about 5 minutes. I end up with a red itchy rash all over them.

Is the block outside of the car? If so, I've used simple green, a hose, and a die grinder with a wire wheel. The wire wheel is almost mandatory if your aluminum is surface oxidized.

If it's inside the car, there's a little trick you can use that has worked well for me. Warm the engine up, then spray some cleaner of your choice on the block. Agitate with a brush. *Carefully* follow up with a hose to rinse. If you're lucky, the heat and moisture will steam it right off. It's shocking how quickly the grease comes off of a hot engine. You want to be careful not to get the engine too warm or the water too cold to avoid the block cracking from the temperature difference. And, you want to be careful not to get water in the electronics. You'll almost certainly get some in the sparkplug wells, and have to dry them out afterwards.

I use a hose on my engine about once a year, and it works awesome. Lately though, I've been spraying the engine cold because I have my OEM header painted, and spraying water on the hot header takes the paint right off.

 

are you cleaning it to paint, cleaning it to remove debris from machining, what? I brought my head to the carwash to pressure wash after getting it machined. Worked nicely. People have used Dawn dish soap for removing grease. Simple Green is an awesome degreaser, and safe.

 

I sprayed purple power on my entire engine bay let it sit for 10min and power washed it at a DIY car wash. Clean at a whistle.

 

There is a product called "Gunk" that is specifically made for cleaning oil & grease off engines. It works great.

 

i just bought some Gunk myself.
it foams up and sticks to the block better, penetrates good, too.
What i do is pressure wash engine bay first to get the thick stuff, get close and hit every angle.
use safety glasses.
then GUNK it let it sit for 10 minutes, then pressure wash from the bottom up.
make sure (if you have aftermarket air intake, take it off and bag the TB.)lets you get to hard places.
when you are done, use a leaf blower to completely dry entire engine bay.

 

yea the engine is outside already... but say if by accident i get the simple green in the cylinder walls would it cause a problem?

 

leave the head and intake on and you should be fine.

 

i clena my motor in and out and use purple power it a industrial strength all purpose cleaner work good as ****

 

lol dont have the head with me right now

 

use some dutch tape to tape off the parts that you dont want to get wet

 

Throw some brake fluid on the spot. Seriously, just don't get any anywhere else and be careful washing. But if you let that sit for a day, everything underneath it will come right off.

 

Engine bay - Ajax
Engine, simple green xD

 

are most of those products safe to use inside? i plan on cleaning it in my dorm room

 

I wouldn't recommend using engine degreaser inside, gunk engine brite is about 95% diesel fuel, and the orange stuff tends to make you choke. brake clean should be alright.

 

Inside a dorm room, brings back memories. OPEN A WINDOW!

to anyone reading this: all above cleaners are good, not a big fan of brake fluid because it will damage allot of things it touches including paint and some plastics or rubbers, if you use engine bright or engine degreaser (gunk), be carefull not to get too much on plastics in the engine bay or it tends to leave yellowish brown deposits in cavities.

Using a power washer or hose in you're bay can cause allot of problems, be sure to dry ALL CONNECTIONS before re-connecting battery and starting engine. If you neglect this step and get a check engine light, dissconect all visible connectors one by one and spray out with compressed air gently.

Don't do what my friend did with his lude and have honda replace a TDC sensor for around 400bucks. All he needed was to clean out the connector.

 

simple green by far

 

Brake clean, not brake fluid.

 

i use a product at my shop that works better than anything ive tryed other than my hot tank. its called FR-37 heat made by renu car care products its safe on engines and dosent mess anything up and you can mix it with water 9:1 i use half and half depending how dirty it is.

 

look up www.finishrenu.com