Cleaning an Engine

[landonshaw]

I would like to clean my engine, outside surfaces. I have wiped it down with paper towels and now would like to get more of the grease and oil off. What is the best way to do this without causing a bigger mess in the rest of the boat?

[goat]

Spritz bottle engine cleaner. An old toothbrush is great for crevices. Put absorbent pads under the engine for drips. Then wipe with heavy duty paper towels or cloth rags.

[KMD]

Skewers and q tips also work good for crevices with Wd 40

[Cheechako]

If it's really greasy/oily the spray degreaser found in auto parts stores works amazing. In a boat I would put a couple of oil zorb sheets below the engine to catch drips, spray an area and wipe thoroughly. It loosens hard black residue fast. The goo just runs right off...

[David M]

Gunk...from any auto parts store. In most cases all of it washes off with the pressure from a garden hose, after letting the Gunk soak for a while.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by David M

Gunk...from any auto parts store. In most cases all of it washes off with the pressure from a garden hose, after letting the Gunk soak for a while.

Yeah, I would have said that, but I imagine a lot of people would panic spraying their engine with water or dealing with the bilge residue!

[s/v Jedi]

Just mist some degreaser over the engine and let it work for an hour. Then come back and spray a little part again and buff it with a rag. Then on to next little part etc. I would hope there's a fluid catcher/pan under the engine but if there isn't, some absorbing pads would help yes.

When that is finished, I search for damaged paint or rusty spots: sand, prime with naval jelly, clean with moist cloth, dry, spray paint with can.

When I am done with all that, I follow up with Boeshield T9 and clean rags: spray and buff part by part until done.

Yes it is a lot of work and yes it extends the life of the engine and makes mauntaining it a pleasure instead of a chore.

[landonshaw]

Thanks, Jedi.

[JK n Smitty]

I just did this project this winter. I did a post on my blog about it.

Before


After



I used Gunk, as suggested by others, but most of it I did by spraying the Gunk on a microfiber cloth then wiping down the engine part I was working on.

For the hard to reach places I used wooden Q-tips, tooth brushes and other things to get into the crevices. But in the end, I ended up spraying a small amount of the Gunk onto those areas, letting it sit for about an hour and then spraying it down with a garden sprayer filled with water. The garden sprayer helped to control the amount of water used.

I have a seperate engine bilge without a bilge pump so I didn't have to worry about pumping the water overboard. If that was a concern, I would just turn off the bilge and after the washdown, use a shop vac to empty the bilge.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

[Viking Sailor]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

I have a seperate engine bilge without a bilge pump so I didn't have to worry about pumping the water overboard. If that was a concern, I would just turn off the bilge and after the washdown, use a shop vac to empty the bilge.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

Be very careful using a shop vac to suck up petroleum based products. A friend found that not all shop vac's have ignition protected motors. He was pumping out a bilge that had some oil additive floating on the surface. When he sucked the additive into the shop vac it ignited and blew out the side of the vac dumping a lot of bilge water onto the cabin sole. Not dangerous but very messy.

[Rustic Charm]

Hi everyone, is it okay to wash my volvo penta heat exchanger in white vinegar? The inside looks like its made from bronze. .

[Forever Freedom]

Originally Posted by tedsherrin

Hi everyone, is it okay to wash my volvo penta heat exchanger in white vinegar? The inside looks like its made from bronze. .

If you are intending to de-scale the heat exchanger, a proprietary kitchen de-scaling product will attack the lime-scale before the bronze; should be no problem as long as you keep an eye on it and don't leave it soaking more than 12 hours at first attempt. Best to ask a Volvo engineer first though.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by tedsherrin

Hi everyone, is it okay to wash my volvo penta heat exchanger in white vinegar? The inside looks like its made from bronze. .

I used to put mine and a few other bits in a dish washer to start with, just don't let SWMBO catch you.

Absorbent pads are expensive, use disposable nappies.

Pete

[nigel1]

Originally Posted by Pete7

I used to put mine and a few other bits in a dish washer to start with, just don't let SWMBO catch you.

Absorbent pads are expensive, use disposable nappies.

Pete

I got caught, it was not very pleasant

[Rustic Charm]

Thanks Pete, in all seriousness, I value my marriage, so using the dish washer won't be a risk I'm willing to take. Many years ago, gee 30 odd years now, my wife came home to me heating up a bearing in oil on the stove top. It is still raised when ever I bring something inside to clean or do anything with...