crank case cleaning
 

Yup, another cleaning thread!

Is bead blasting a no-no for the case halves, either inside or out? Is it better to just wash? Also, the mating surfaces have left over sealant and other nasty stuff. These will likely not be machined, so what is the bast way to clean them off without damage? As always, thanks in advance.

Brian

Wire brush and solvent....Blasting=trouble.
http://www.plavanracing.com/2004-10-30%20003.JPG

the bes t way is to use 3m scotch brite pads on a die grinder. DO NOT have the case bead blasted its a sure road to ruin.

Jack,
Are you referring to 3M pads that fit a Dremel? Where's you get those, or did you cut up your own?

Yes I am refering to the 3 M pads that fit a dremel. There is a place in orange, CA that sells all kinds of 3m pads. Just off 57 in santa ana. I suspectg that if you go to a 3 m site you can find local distributors of all kinds of abrasives. I am on vac in the hinterlands so I cannot tell you the exact adress off hand. Anyone out there that can help??

You actually can bead blast the case halves, most people will opt not to because of the dangers that are present if all of the leftover media is not cleaned from every nook and cranny. The proper way to do so is to remove EVERYTHING from the case, studs, and especially every gallery plug, glass bead and wash it until you casue a water shortage in your town, then wash it out and blow it out again!!. Its not that necessary and 95%of the time you are fine with using just brushes and solvents. Whether you glass bead or not, I would strongly recommend pulling all of the case plugs and scrubbing out the oil ways regardless.

One of the best. most competent Porsche machine shops in the country tried to bead blast a case for a really high end job. Total disaster. I will not mention their name as they probably would not appreciate it and they are really good and do not deserve any negative press. This machine shop is often cited as being one of the best by almost everyone. If they couldn't make it work, what are your chances???

By their standards, probably slim to none. By mine, I suppose I could ask the owners of the few motors I built and have been running if they have had problems with theirs yet.

The only risk in doing that type of cleaning is making sure that you are thorough in cleaning. I mean, insanely thorough. Glass beads have a tendency to hide in every little spot, even after you clean to the point that you swear its all good, take a blow gun and shoot into the threaded holes, and corners and you can feel them pelting you in the face. Thats why you have to be sure you do it until your blue in the face. You have to clean the halves out better than you wipe your ass, and obviously by some peoples standards, even thats not good enough.

Christian, I see you're from Madison. Do you know anything about ******** in Chatham?

I worked there for about 6 or so years with Gene a number of years ago.

I have taken to cleaning the inside and outside of the case with mineral spirits and a steel brush. This seems to be roughing up the mating surface a bit. Is this okay? The case has a tight fit and does not need to be machined. What about the machined surfaces where the oil pump seals go and the mating surfaces for the cylinders? Okay to scrub these too?

For the nooks and crannies, I have steel brushes from my dremmel. Any reason not to use these too?

Thanks!

Brian

I noticed a few of the piston squirters are clogged when I could not blow compr. air through them. Is this common and can it generally be corrected with some brake or carb cleaner?

In the off chance you aren't doing it correctly see my posts in this thread Piston Squirters!
-Chris

i went to a local machine shop, stuck them a tenner and they hot sipped the case for me. i then tokk it home and just scrubbed it with all sorts of different stuff, thinners in a gun under pressure, fuel, anything that ive used to clean stuff in the past. i then used a gunk like stuff to get rid of all the resudue that i may have left and finished up using trike free and air. worked well. i think the key thing here is really just keep cleaning with a solvent and you will get there (compressed air is almost essential too)

Thanks for the squirter link Chris. That makes me feel better and hopefully they turn out fine. There is no good reason they should be clogged.

Any comment on the scratching of the case mating surface from wire brushes? I assume this is okay since everyone seems to use these. I have been using a razor blade to try and remove the excess old sealant.

I wouldn't use a wire brush on the flange surfaces for fear of scratching it.

Use Permatex Gasket Remover (as recommened by Loctite). It works great.

I use a single sided razor that I've bent a little (smile shaped) so the corners won't snag on the flange edges. If I genty press the edge against the surface, only the middle of the blade makes contact, if I press down more it flattens out so the whole blade touches.

Sometimes I removed the studs to get it really clean. (Aluminum cases only.)

I finish up with red Scotchbright.

If the flange has a scratch or gouge in it that looks like it might leak I fill it with epoxy (JB Weld). Not too common on motors but I see it some on transmission mating surfaces.
Clean and scrub old sealant out of the perimeter bolt thru holes using a plastic bristled gun brush. (The metal ones loose their bristles and can't be reversed in the hole.) I forget what caliber.
-Chris

Hmmm. Too late to not use a wire brush. I'll have to see how it looks when I dry fit it. I am using scotch brite and the singe edge razors too. Damn this takes forever and I am just too anal about this!

thats exactly what i was saying to myslf when i was cleaning my case. worth it though

Breaking News...
I was just reading the factory Carrera manual and it said to use a "fine steel brush" and gasket remover (spray).
-Chris

The first priority is internal cleaning. Machine shop is best equiped to clean right the first time. Aside from that there are many hours with the scotchbrite pads and tips and degreaser. The ultimate result will depend on you or your engine builder.

Do not use anything that scratches the case,heads,cam housings.

Regards,