The Shibaura/John Deere Frankentractor project is looking promising. I have the dead engine out of the JD and the next step is to remove 30+ years of caked on grease and grime.

The last time I was in this situation, I tried Gunk brand degreaser and it was (probably thanks to the EPA) as useless as tits on a trout.

I've scraped off the big chunks but there's a billion or so nooks and crannies and I'd like to douche it down with something and then power wash it off.

I've heard oven cleaner works, I've also heard Dawn Platinum is pretty effective.

Any other suggestions?

I've had decent performance from the purple stuff at Walmart. Old-school...spray a little diesel on it, works well still. I like the dawn dishsoap also, I've found that to work ok. Heated water in the pressure washer helps also, if you can.

Dawn is a pretty good, I might would be tempted to use that in a garden sprayer, repeated soakings.

Sometimes Simple Green works for me, sometimes not.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
Heated water in the pressure washer helps also, if you can.

Nothing beats a http://www.steamjenny.com/ that I’ve seen for that. Makes an engine block look good.

Be careful with oven cleaner and pressure washer combo. You'll splatter that stuff all over including yourself and it is toxic. Steam cleaning is the most effective but you probably don't have access to it. I used to have access to it and it does better than any pressure washer and chemical cleaner. The heat really helps.

Yeah, hot water and/or steam would really be the way to go. Might have to check into a rental.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Yeah, hot water and/or steam would really be the way to go. Might have to check into a rental.

Depending on the impeller system of your pressure washer, sometimes you can run a hose off a mixed valve, like a garage sink, or even the hot water heater. Even warm water is better than cold. Around here....our water comes out of the ground pretty cold, so getting warm water is quite helpful.

I've taken engines to the car wash before.
Wash the mess down the grate and not in my yard.

Mineral spirits/parts solvent cuts the worst of it with a brush.
That's what I use at work before blasting it off with a pressure washer.
The engine is too big to drag around so it just gets washed with solvent and brake clean.
Which makes a giant mess.

quote:

Originally posted by powermad:
I've taken engines to the car wash before.
Wash the mess down the grate and not in my yard.

This is why they have those signs outside of every U-Brush ‘Em.....

Personally, I’d start with simple green or purple power and a pressure washer

I buy Spray 9 in the gallon jug at Lowes or Home Depot. It's not going to take off caked on goop though.

Purple Power degreaser. Works great. Might take an application or two, and warm water helps, but this shit cuts engine grease. Anything it doesn't get, finish with brake cleaner.

Brake cleaner.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

Any other suggestions?

A friend of mine who is quite, um, "thrifty," frequents the bargain bins. He found something that was labeled Scotch whisky, aged in the plastic bottle for almost three years, 1.75 L for less than five bucks.

Even he could not drink it He brought it to the hangar and gave it to me. I couldn't get past the smell, so I gave it to Martin, who does the maintenance on our equipment.

"What's this for?" Martin asked. "You know that I don't drink."

"Degreaser," I replied.

company that steam cleans motors anywhere close?

I'm with AK on diesel or K1.

I use the Gunk but you have to leave it on there for ten minutes or more before washing off. Sometimes a second shot if it's really thick and old.

quote:

company that steam cleans motors anywhere close?

This mostly. Find the closest local shop that does engine work. Preferably someone that works on race engines or marine diesels. In my town (probably too far for you to drive) there are two with specialized 'cabinets' that steam clean parts. In the absence of that choice a steam pressure cleaner which you can probably rent.

If taking the motor apart, I would use brushes, solvent, wire brush, etc.

If you plan on running the motor without disassembly, I would use some sort of pressure washer with hot water out of your water heater. Add detergent if you can.

I’ve seen drilling rigs degreased with Tide detergent, water and a bristle brush. Tide is pretty harsh stuff.

Whatever you use, get in there with a stiff bristle brush and scrub. Pretty much any decent degreaser will work. But I don't know of anything that you can just spray on that will eat away decades of cakes on grease without applying a liberal amount of "elbow" grease too.