ultrasonic cleaning engine parts

[Tippy]

Originally Posted by Catorce

The trick is soda blasting. Ultrasonic just doesn't give that "like new" look. Soda is harmless to the motor and even if there is some small amount left in the crevices it just dissolves. Only way to really remove tough grime.

Ditto. But vapor honing, IMO, makes an even better finish than baking soda, but glass media residue in the gallies is not a good thing!!

[Speedy Squirrel]

Here are some pictures of a case that I just had ultrasonically cleaned at West Michigan Ultrasonics. This is my first try at ultrasonic cleaning and I am very impressed.

I had the main oil gallery plugs and the piston squirters out. The inside of the mail oil gallery and the pistons squirters, along with the rest of the case surfaces are amazingly clean. I mean really, really, clean.

Ultrasonic cleaning is not abrasive, so it does not remove any aluminum oxide (blackish or whiteish colorations. You will need some sort of blasting for that.

This is the case. I decided not to blast the case with anything. My main goal is cleanliness for the case.

Before



After



I wanted the covers to all be shiny, so they were blasted and ultrasonically cleaned afterwards

[Porsche84]

I coated the parts with WD-40 after ultrasonic. I found that parts with steel (like the timing covers) tended to start rusting after ultrasonic and rinsing even with drying.

[Dauner]

Speedy Squirrel, can you say specifically what kind of blasting you used on the covers? Sand Blasting?

I am right in the middle of all of this. cleaning Camshaft carriers, case halves, covers, etc.

Thanks!

Mark

[tom1394racing]

I have found that glass bead on parts without oil passages and soda on parts with oil passages provides good cleaning on the external surfaces with oxidation and stubborn stains. I use Gibbs as the preservative to prevent any further oxidation after cleaning.

[Speedy Squirrel]

The covers were with glass beads, followed by ultrasonic cleaning. Not sure what grit was used. I asked that they only do the outside of the covers. The ultrasonic cleaning took care of the inside.

Originally Posted by Dauner

Speedy Squirrel, can you say specifically what kind of blasting you used on the covers? Sand Blasting?

I am right in the middle of all of this. cleaning Camshaft carriers, case halves, covers, etc.

Thanks!

Mark

[DSPTurtle]

Our ultrasonic cleaner gets used everyday with great results. We even named her Sonia. It will not remove the corrosion from aluminum as stated above. For that you must glass bead or soda blast. The ultrasonic tank is great for aluminum to remove any particles post glass bead. If you leave it in longer than 15 minutes, you get little chicken feet like markings. I have not found a solution for that just yet. On steel parts, like the IMS shaft, you can add some cheap Purple Power degreaser and palmolive to remove 90% of the built up grime. The last little bit still requires a brush and some hand washing. For really greasy nuts and bolts, etc, I float a tupperware with only Purple Power in the regular solution. Results are phenomenal after a few cycles.

[Harpo]

Speedy squirrel,

What did they charge you for all of that cleaning?

Thanks

DAvid

[Speedy Squirrel]

David, it was $1100 from greasy carcass to what I posted above, for the case, covers, housings, and cylinders.

Originally Posted by Harpo

Speedy squirrel,

What did they charge you for all of that cleaning?

Thanks

DAvid

[Discseven]

Bead blast ref...







Blasted with medium grain beads at 35 psi exterior surfaces only. Tested coarse and found it hammered metal too much (for my taste.) Fine grain... takes too long. Swept up, strained beads and recycled them. Process eats quickly through cylinder fins if not careful. Exposed threads were all covered. No interior surfaces touched. 4 day process including prep, blasting, post-blast cleaning (thoroughly with mineral spirits & compressed air---engine was taken down to short block for rebuild.) Prep & post-blast cleaning took 2 of the 4 days. Made significant difference in thermal performance (heat shedding) of engine.