How to get Engine Really Clean?
 

I just spent four hours with a can of Engine Brite, Simple Green, a toothbrush, and numerous rags....cleaning lots of gunk from my engine, which I'd earlier removed from my 85.5 and placed on a stand.

The engine looks much better...but I'd truly like to get this engine to shine - and there seems to be either some light surface corrosion and/or more gunk which is really stubborn - and I'm at a loss as to how to proceed to clean the engine further.

Have I reached the "blast" phase...or are there a few more tricks I can try to get my engine cleaner? Scotchbrite? Some type of drill-mounted cleaning wheel other than a wire brush? Anything else? Thanks!

pressure washer.

pix of it now?

NOTHING works as well as oven cleaner.

But now for the disclaimers:
-will discolor polished aluminum
-eats rubber
-can damage some plastics
-burns your skin
-will make you choke and gag if you inhale it

But, if you've got some really grease-soaked areas on metal, a few concentrated shots will work great. Spray it on, walk away, then hose it off in a few minutes.

Well castroll Super Clean in a purple 1 gallon container works great. Crv aresol gasket remover can remove carbon deposits but it's realy expensive. I used a pressure washer but not in areas were there were seals bc too much pressure might muck it up. I did preclean everything with dawn dish soap wich is a food degreaser and used it afterwards to remove any acid left behind by cleaners. Engine brute is useless expensive and stinks. The Super clean will still clean ally of gunk off even after engine bright. I also used green and blue scotch bright pads to help scrub surfaces. I also used lots of hot water from a tea kettle to loosen and wash away globs of boogers

yea heavy duty oven cleaner. none of that "fumefree" crap. the full strength stuff.

spray it on, let it foam, brush a little with a scrub brush or a toothbrush to agitate and work it in. hose it off, or better pressure hose it off.

If you want electrical problems, pressure washers work well. Oven cleaner is great for corroding electrical contacts, too.

Do yourself a favour, and live with a clean, but not sparkling engine.

If I need to clean around the engine, I generally use brake cleaner, as it is non-corrosive, doesn't eat rubber, and leaves no residue. You have to use it in a well-ventilated area though. Works well to clean off oil from any oil leaks so you can pinpoint where the leak is from.

Good luck.

is the engine bein taken apart? if it is just take all electrical parts off and pressure wash it with some simple green. or media blast it

True that. Just as long as its not oil soaked. Who cares. Just make sure its runnin good. Focus your energy on the exterior of your car. Thats what people really notice anyways.

+1 for brake cleaner. WD40 will clean just about anything, too.

Oil Eater degreaser works well
I've rinsed with a pressurized water bottle like the ones you spray weeds with

gunk and then steam ?

Washed the engine again with Castrol Super-Clean - which worked a bit better than either Engine-Bright or Simple Green. Lots of brush action also, plus some work with a Scotch Bright wheel on a drill. Looks pretty good now....and for my purpose of getting things clean so no dirt can fall into the engine when I take off the cam and head - I think I'm just about there.

I also had an idea...that I should have used WD-40 on the engine first...to emulsify the grease and dirt - then use a degreaser to clean. I have a sense that degreasers alone may actually "fix" certain kinds of dirt to the aluminum. Not completely sure about this...but when I tried WD-40 followed by Super Clean on the cross member, it looks great. Then again, the cross member does not heat up like an engine, so this might not have been that great a test of this theory. Has anyone else tried this?

Finally, I'm starting to like the idea of having my engine looking good and functionally clean...but not go overboard with paints, polishes, etc. In truth, I think this engine looks great just as is, without the grime and dirt.

...but I want to polish and clear-coat the "PORSCHE" lettering on the cam!

WD40 is kind of a good idea, i'll have to try it sometime!
You definitely don't want to spray oven cleaner on wires or rubber, duh...you just spray it on sections of the motor/frame that have really caked-on oil/grease/grime.

...if you are dumb enough to stick a pressure washer in your engine bay...you deserve what you get. That is just a horrible idea.

I agree with a previous poster - why do you want a 'sparkling' bay? Get one of those smaller brushes, grab some brake cleaner which will get plenty of gunk off and not corrode anything and go to town. If you need to use water to rinse, use a nozzle that you can get a light directional mist to wash stuff down.

I'd recommend having the engine running while your doing it as well - don't let it run and get super hot, but enough heat will evaporate water quickly, keep it from pooling and otherwise mess up some stuff.