I have most of the front end of the engine removed and am in the midst of installing a new cam, rockers etc... For those of you who may have done it, what is the best method for cleaning up components (mostly aluminum like the intake, accessory bracket, throttle body etc...) before reinstalling them?

I don't want polish, just clean them up so that they look as good (or better) as they did the day I bought the car.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

Simple Green and a parts brush or I often use a paste of laundry detergent and water. It takes grease off pretty well.

 

I went to the Tractor Supply Co. store and bought me a 20 gallon parts washer. I used the HELL out of that thing!!! That, and a couple different size wire brushes, and pipe cleaner brushes and you're in business.

Oh, and an Air Compressor to blow the parts dry afterwards is nice as well.

While you're at it you could get a glass bead cabinet too!



For budget cleaning, get the heavy grease off with a brush and some engine degreaser. Then hose it down with brake cleaner. That stuff is awesome. Goes quick though.

Just keep the aluminum parts away from anything that's caustic towards aluminum. I think engine degreaser will be fine. Not sure about Oven cleaner though.

Simple green is great stuff too, probably better to use that and scrub instead of engine degreaser.

If you wanted to get them powdercoated after you could probably get them all done the same color for a decent price. Guy here in town is doing my intake and brackets etc. for $55 as long as they're the same color, and a basic color.

 

Laundry detergent... Interesting idea, I'll have to try it.

I've used all the others, simple green, brake cleaner engine cleaner etc, and even though they clean to a point, I was hoping that there might be something else out there (short of a glass bead cabinet) that may give me that extra level of clean I'm looking for.

Of coarse, there is a Harbor Freight right down the road with a nice parts washer at a decent price!! Now if I can only sneak it in without the misses seeing it!

Thanks guys!

 

I use a harbor freight parts washer and diesel fuel. Works great (and cheap)

 

I have used oven cleaner for years on aluminum parts. Works every time, just don't get any on you. That S*** burns!

 

Everybody has laundry detergent handy. If it will get your greasy clothes clean, it will clean your parts. I have used it for many years. It may not go beyond the level of clean that you want, but it is cheaper than a lot of the other solutions.

 

Well, it looks like I might have to get these parts bead blasted (or similar) to get them as clean as I'd like.

Just might be that 8 years with 4 winters might have "seasoned" (excuse the pun) the aluminum parts to a point where conventional cleaners can get a majority but not all the filth off.

 

I second the motion for oven cleaner. Go to the quarter wash forst, spray the hell out of it, and let it sit for a few minutes and then blast it!! Or you could have taken them to a machine shop when you started the project, had them hot tanked, and picked them up the next day! That will make them like new.

 

A WIRE WHEEL in a drill works WONDERS too.

 

All great ideas!! I'm not in a rush though so if I can find a machine shop around here (moved recently) I'll see if I can get them hot tanked.