Motor Degreasing/Detailing

[airtime77]

After my 1977 911 S has unfortunatly sat for several years due to bad fuel lines on its part and more medical issues than I want to think about on mine I am finally working at getting my car back on the road. There is much work to be done but one thing I wanted to address is cleaning the motor. I changed the oil on the last day the car was driven and I now see many seep points of the new oil. Obviously I need to replace all the gaskets but is there a problem with degreasing and detailing the motor to make sure I get all the leaks? What products would be recomended and would the use of a nylon brissle brush be ok?

[RS America]

Shouldn't be a problem, I do it all the time. Prep-Wrap Distributor and all other electrical components with plastic and tape in place.

I use this canned degreaser I get from Pep Boys, but any shop should carry them. One sprays a few feet, the other sprays a foam. Get a bunch of different sized brushes, maybe even tape one to a long stick to get in the back.

Spray a small area and scrub, rinse with a gentle stream of water, if degreaser dries, re-wet and rinse. Hint, keep hose water running, if you turn in off it will build up pressure and give you a hard rinse stream.

When you're done, dry with clean rags and compressed air. Put a fan on the engine for a few hours and try to start.

Good luck, Don

[cabmandone]

Check out my thread Anyone wash their engine compartment? A few guys mention using a small steamer.

[CountD]

If there is one thing that is probably pretty caked with oil, it's the 911 engine, not to mention the compartment which takes hours of cleaning to get right for painting.

I would highly recommend taking the CIS off, along with the shroud so you can tackle all the oil leaks (triangle) and clean it with the shroud off (along with the rest of the bay).

Out here in SoCal they sell something called SUPER CLEAN in a big purple gallon bottle at AutoZone and I have never in my 25 years of doing automotive found a better cleaner than this. It is not Purple Power, it is called Super Clean. It doesn't leave the oily haze or streak marks (though wear gloves). It's so strong that a pressure washer is not needed, just a hose or wipe it off. It makes Simple Green look simple (never liked simple green anyway). I used gallons in my compartment, and I think the motor + compartment took me a solid two days to get clean. There was a lot of oil over the past 40 years. This stuff Super Clean is amazing - though be careful on aluminum.

Get it clean now and take it apart to do the leaks so you won't have to clean it every six months.

[Fastdog911]

HF has 25% off everything today... Picked one up for 105.

[Laneco]

As a matter of habit, I do not degrease engines until after I have them running (e.g. removing from long storage). That way if they don't start after the degreasing, I know the problem is very likely related to moisture when I cleaned it as compared to many, many other variables.

I also prefer to degrease warm (not hot) engines. Then start the engine up after the degreasing and let it run long enough to ensure things are dry. Shut it off, pop the distributor cap open and let that air dry over nite (wipe out any excess).

Just a suggestion.

angela

[Fastdog911]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K5CnQrvXc&feature=youtu.be

Just bought a steamer... results are better than expected..

[Jcslocum]

They are great for the dirty bits.

[airtime77]

Thanks for the help so far. I just remember a story my dad used to tell about degreasing the engine on his classic bettle back in the 80s and it blew up two hours later. So I want to make sure that I get this right.

[turbobrat930]

To be honest, I would drop the engine. then attack the engine and compartment with a vengence!! (this is coming from a guy that spend close to 200 hours hand polishing the crankcase!!) You could eat off of my engine and engine compartment. All it would take is a few weekends of getting in there and spending some time. You could replace the engine cooling tin rubber surround while you are in there, engine sound pad, etc.

[Flojo]

my philosophy: start gentle. so for pre-cleaning a can of WD40 is great, as it disolues greasy gunk without attacking rubber, plated bits and aloy/magnesium like those industrial degreasers.

and for the realy bad gunked up stuf use baken-oven cleaner... magic.

for yourself: a one-time overall is king to have (like those CIS guys wear on crime sights)

and dont do it on your driveway or your wife will kill you ;-)