[SEL] Best method for cleaning engine crud?

[Judge Tommy Turner]

Curt,
    Hey, a little grease and grim gives it the "original" look.  
Seriously, I use oven cleaner quite a bit with good results.  Its cheap 
as well.  I wouldn't recommend the dip tank as it will remove everything 
(at least the chemicals that I have had used on some stuff of mine).  
Those nice "pores" in the cast iron that now have some grease, paint, 
etc that give it the original look will be cleaned out and it will look 
like a new piece of cast with the dip tank.  I don't think thats the 
look you want.  I'd suggest the oven cleaner and a stiff brush to rub on 
the extra heavy stuff.  Watch the oven cleaner though as it will burn ya 
if it gets on your skin.  Especially make sure none of it splashes in 
the eyes.

Tommy Turner
Magnolia, Ky


> Guys,
> The 5HP Alamo is all stripped down to just its' base. For now I intend 
> to just leave this engine "as is" in its work clothes, which is 85% 
> brown rust colored, no rust scale. The rest is a hard black material 
> that I guess was a filler to slick the castings when it was built. You 
> can strike it with a putty knife and it breaks up, so I am guessing 
> filler instead of years old accumulations of oil/dirt.....dunno.
> I am planning on the boiled linseed oil treatment.  However, there are 
> some areas that are still darned grimy.  I've scraped off a lot of 
> this crud, but would like to clean it even more before starting on the 
> linseed oil treatment. The area under the cylinder and in the valley 
> under the conn rod are especially nasty.
> The other complication is the built in cast fuel tank. From what I can 
> tell inside it looks fairly rusty.
> So I am looking for cleaning methods for both the outside and the inside.
> What about those large vats for cleaning engine blocks? Do they remove 
> the crud only, leaving the desirable rust patina?
> Or how about putting a large round wire brush on a side grinder?
> Seems like someone mentioned oven cleaner (Tommy?) for getting rid of 
> stubborn crud on the outside.
> This base is roughly 4' in length and HEAVY so it won't be easy 
> maneuvering around.
> Here is a picture of just the base.  
> <http://www.oldengine.org/members/holland/images/Alamo/AlamoBase.JPG>
> Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
> Curt Holland
> Gastonia, NC
> P.S. Devin had a blast melting the babbitt out on Sunday. Here he is:
> <http://www.oldengine.org/members/holland/images/Alamo/P1010044.jpg>
>
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