I want to give my engine a bit of a clean and paint before it goes into the chassis, are there any good tips on how to do it? In a previous life I would have used Gunk, but I get the impression the new 'environmentally friendly' formula is nowhere near as good as before. I've had a quick go with IPA, and while it is reasonably effective I'm guessing I'll need something more to get to the real muck.

It's an MX5 engine (so predominantly alluminium I think?) still attached to the gearbox, and I would prefer to leave things like that. The muck seems to be general grime with a slightly oily undertone. I suspect I'm in for a long labour job, with all the nooks and crannies I'm thinking spray bottle and a toothbrush rather than anything quick.

[Edited on 22/5/14 by Slimy38]

While on the chain n pully in the air ..
Put cardboard down..
Put a large drip tray under it..
Nice big brush & paraffin
Compressor on - Blow clean .. Job Done ..

Mmm, paraffin... old school but I like it!! Will it need any further cleaning if I want to give it a paint? I'm assuming I can't paint on paraffin.

Some say that Harpic Power Plus toilet cleaner does a good job on ali.
Suggest you try it on a small area first and see how it goes.
Alternatively a mix of petrol and paraffin works well, you can then degrease with Meths (doncha just love the taste?)
Using either method wear protection and avoid naked lights!
Cheers, Pewe10

petrol or parraffin for me to , old school, smelly, dangerous but it works.
Then use a detergent/washing powder and rinse

Thanks for posting this, very timely, I am about to do the same job with my engine over the next couple of weekends, mine is a bit more oily than yours by the sound of it though.

Agree the hoist/crane to get it at waist hight will help the back and the drip tray/cardboard/blanket under it will keep the mess down.

Cleaned up some throttle bodies last weekend with road grime/oil/carbon on them with driveway oil patch remover + wash off with water, seemed to work well and then went over the top with petrol (in a well ventilated area) to degrease and left to air dry. This will be my first route, if that does not work then I will try the parafin/petrol mix.

Thanks

Deisel works well too

I've used this stuff (swarfega oil & grease remover) worked really well and cheap linky

[Edited on 22/5/14 by rotax78]

Morris lubricants Lydian degreaser - excellent stuff, brush well in and pressure wash off.

MX5 engines are iron not ally. I bought some rust de-ox gel and parts cleaner off Mistral http://mistralni.co.uk/

cheap and very effective.

wire brush in a drill to get heavy soiling off, then soak with parts cleaner, a paint brush that has the bristles trimmed to about half an inch long makes light work of it. then jet wash it, then cover with deox gel and leave over night.

then jet wash off again and dry with air then paint asap.

quote:

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Originally posted by ste
MX5 engines are iron not ally.

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yes they are, the only iron part of the setup is the block. I'm part way trhrough cleaning & painting mine as we speak for final fit.

Excellent, thanks. I don't suppose you could post a pic or two when you finish yours? It will give me something to aim for!!

Parrafin or Fairy power spray

That Fairy Power Spray is really difficult to get, my local supermarkets don't keep it on their shelves at all which is a shame as it's good stuff.

Aldi have/had sonic wheel cleaning brushes in recently. They look like a jumbo electric tooth brush with a selection of brush heads. I did wonder what they'd be like for this sort of stuff.

quote:

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Originally posted by rotax78
I've used this stuff (swarfega oil & grease remover) worked really well and cheap linky

[Edited on 22/5/14 by rotax78]

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quote:

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Originally posted by adithorp
Aldi have/had sonic wheel cleaning brushes in recently. They look like a jumbo electric tooth brush with a selection of brush heads. I did wonder what they'd be like for this sort of stuff.

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For the nooks a cranneys ya cant reach use cola! Let it sit in there for a while and it will clean anything off! I use to use that on bike parts on despatch bikes that got really grubby and always came up like new......still drink to which is worrying

[Edited on 23/5/14 by threadbare wallet]

quote:

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Originally posted by threadbare wallet
For the nooks a cranneys ya cant reach use cola! Let it sit in there for a while and it will clean anything off! I use to use that on bike parts on despatch bikes that got really grubby and always came up like new......still drink to which is worrying

[Edited on 23/5/14 by threadbare wallet]

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When I cleaned a very grubby, inside and out rover v8 I used drain cleaner, it fizzles a bit but really gets the job done.

Cillit Bang and a jet wash


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