What will clean off old grease/oil from engine?

[belfert]

What type of cleaner will work good to remove old encrusted grease and oil from the side of my Series 60?  I used an entire can of house brand engine cleaner from the auto parts store and it took off all the fresh oil, but not the stuff that seems to be burned on.

Do I dare try my pressure washer (with low pressure) on the side of the engine?  (The DDEC is on the other side.)

Brian Elfert

[Beatenbo]

I have not seen anything stronger that Gunk degreaser sold over the counter. I keep a 21/2 gal jug of Purple Power degreaser and does pretty good. I use my pressure washer full force, but I have a 6V92T with no computer or electrical. Should't be a problem i f you avoid electrical, air filters or anything that might get iwater nto oil filler.

[Hartley]

Purple Stuff
Purple Power

( Just remember it has an acid in it and will etch aluminum if you are not very careful! )

and

House Siding wash ( like is used with pressure cleaner )

I got a batch of Puple Power recently from Advance Auto Parts that just flat kicked butt...

I use it full strength in a gardern sprayer to soak stuff down then use a good strong water hose
to rinse. or one of the cheapie pressure cleaners with the 1,000 psi works pretty good from HF Tools.

If you have access to a good supply of HOT water. ( gotta have the right hose! ) It really works good...

Don't waste your money on the spray cans, They just don't work all that good.

[Brill-o]

Hello-

I might be able to offer something here-
I've found that straight engine degreasers tend to dry up a little and not be as effective for cutting deep into old grease.

What I've used is the degreasers in conjunction with a type of wetting agent.
This can be as simple as dish-washing soap (mixed liberally with a little water) or spray Drain-O (if the metal can be cleaned and washed thoroughly as it may etch it), and even some WD-40, or other sort of penetrants.

Anything that will keep the area wet long enough for the agents to loosen the old crusty stuff and not dry out.
It will take a while for the cutter/mix to get down deep enough to loosen the heated and dried out grease, oil and grime.

Gunk says to let it stay on for about 15-20 min-
Sometimes, if the areas are really bad, the cutters need to stay on for days. Gunk won't be effective for that long a time, unless used with some other agents to keep it wet long enough-

I have a top of the line Landa steam-jenny with lots of water pressure, and serious steam, but even that won't "cut-it" without the use of some cleaners.
I can take paint off with it, straight-up--but not old burnt grease-

Be sure and cover all the electronics when using liquids or pressure to clean.
I wrap tin-foil around non electrical stuff (stays in place better) and plastic wrap taped around the electrics, with a bag over top of that and either wire-tied or taped closed.

Hopefully, this is something that will work for you.

Cheers-

[Kristinsgrandpa]

Beatenbo and Dr Dave are right about the Castrol Purple Power. It is wicked. 

And a word  of caution, it ate the paint off the top and front of my Lincoln welder.
Dont leave it on for very long. (it did take a couple of days to remove the paint)


Ed

[belfert]

I use it full strength in a gardern sprayer to soak stuff down then use a good strong water hose
to rinse. or one of the cheapie pressure cleaners with the 1,000 psi works pretty good from HF Tools.

I have a really good $700 pressure washer.  Would you recommend against using that because the pressure is so high?  I could put on the widest tip I have.

Brian Elfert

[Brill-o]

I'm glad to read about something that I haven't tried!

I will definitely try some of the Castrol Purple Power-
Sounds like some really good stuff! Thank you for the heads up!
This is a area with projects that needed a good product like this.

If nothing else- just to cut down on some of the time-

And, I'd forgot to mention a couple of other things:
If the grease/crud is thick enough- scrape as much off as you can that is accessible. This will make the chemicals work much faster (you already knew that).

Also, as I'd mentioned, you can use the most high performance pressure washer you can find.
Some of the crud on my bus is 60 years old. No pressure washer on its own will break it loose-

Not to sound like a smart-mouth here, but my Landa steam-jenny cost $7K and if you were close, I'd say come over anytime and give it a go, and try every tip I have.
If the grime is bad enough, it won't come off without using some other agents (like the Castrol)-

One last thing-
Cover everything around the area with tarps or plastic painter's drop cloths.
The pressure washer will fling all the loose grime everywhere along with the chemical residue- making for a huge mess and dirtying everything it hits that's uncovered-


Cheers-

[Beatenbo]

You guys mentioned Castrol brand, I get 21/2 gal jugs from my oil supplier. It just says Purple Powe. I'm sure it's the same formula. Right on that stuff will ruin aluminum. Sometimes I mix a small amount with my wash soap to get a weeks wort of oil and road grime from a long trip. I also keep a spray bottle full strenth and just open the engine doors and spray everything down and rinse with garden hose when I wash bus and nothing builds up...Also it's mean on the skin. Be careful

[Busted Knuckle]

Ok if your gonna use spray can stuff use brake parts cleaner! Mean stuff! Now I use some stuff I get at Wally World in the cleaners area, it's called Spray Power! It comes in Qt.s with the sprayer top, or gallons (I usually pick up 5-10 gallons at a time! We use it for cleaning the road crime of the back, presoak the windshields (bugs rinse right off) & on the tires and wheels (hasn't hurt the aluminum wheels at all!). But I think it cuts grease better that the purple stuff!  It's made by Crown in KY they have a website but I don't remember it. You can order it direct in cases of Qts, & Gallons, or you can get it in 5 galon buckets, 30 or 55 gallon barrels. But I jsut get it off the shelf at Wally World it comes in a white Jug with a blue label, & red lettering !Goood stuff give it a try! Now Brian I have to agree with Brill-O I have a ZEP high pressure steam cleaner that does wonders but still needs some help! BK 

[Hartley]

I use it full strength in a gardern sprayer to soak stuff down then use a good strong water hose
to rinse. or one of the cheapie pressure cleaners with the 1,000 psi works pretty good from HF Tools.

I have a really good $700 pressure washer.  Would you recommend against using that because the pressure is so high?  I could put on the widest tip I have.

Brian Elfert

Use the wide tip and soak the area good with Purple Power for about an hour. Sometimes it helps to spray water on some of the areas before application but only if you think it needs a little extra moisture.

Spray it down at 4 to 6 inches away to get the first layers off, Let it drain and coat with PP again and let that soak for about 1/2 hour.
Then power wash maybe a little closer as needed. If you don't get it all the first couple of tries. Spay PP on the worst areas and let it sit
overnight then wash it down again.

I have used this process many times on Transit buses that were so grimed up that you couldn't tell there was an engine in there...
Most looked like new after a couple of treatments, Clean enough to repaint. One had 1 1/2 Inches of gunk on the bulkheads
and one good twice-over and then a low power pressure washer took it all off.

Just make sure to wrap sensitive stuff in plastic or seal with duct tape around connectors and switches before the cleaning.

Oh... Be sure to do the cleaning somewhere that the 50 pounds of dirt, crap and residue won't be a big cleanup problem.

Whatever you do, Don't use Oil-Dry or Cat Litter to soak up anything that has water in it. The Bentonite Clay turns into a gummy
mess of slick-slippery and messy Owl-SNOT... Impossible to clean up or even wash away..... Don't ask how I know that !!!

[belfert]

give it a try! Now Brian I have to agree with Brill-O I have a ZEP high pressure steam cleaner that does wonders but still needs some help! BK 

You guys and your steam cleaners are dredging up bad memories of cleaning the sheep barn at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds with a steam cleaner.  I got burned quite a few times from the steam and man did it stink!  I remember that someone got seriously hurt or killed using the thing down in a hole once.

Oh, and I do have some brake cleaner that I can try.  I'm wondering if I really care about the baked on oil and grease since it isn't that thick and isn't hurting anything.  I don't want to break something trying to remove it.


Brian Elfert

[n4rsn]

Soak the area in diesel fuel. Diesel will penatrate through the crud, and than use the cleaner of your choice. It will roll off with the preasure washer.
Steve