franchi

Hi All:

I have a collection of speed and racing engines from the 50's and 60's that are stock solid with dried castor oil residue. How may I remove this residue to get the engines running again? Perhaps the crock pot/antifreeze may work or perhaps I need to resort to using a chemical paint stripper.

Tia,

Franchi

Rodney

The first thing I would do is heat them up. You can do this in an oven (use some good heat resistant gloves) and then try to work the piston up and down. Chances are good that it will free right up. The same for the throttle, heat and gently try to work the throttle; as it heats up it will break free and rotate fine. Now use some fuel or thin oil to lubricate the moving surfaces. I have freed up stuck throttles with just a heat gun on the assembly while gently applying pressure to the moving parts.

raptureboy

Using the anti freeze wll damage the finish on the aluminum and turn it all gray. If you can find it the Dawn power dissolver works great spray it on wait a few minutes then wash off.

1QwkSport2.5r

The Dawn Power Dissolver is good for the outside but not so much for the inside. Engines seized up from castor residue needs heat to free it up, then soak in some glow fuel for a bit. This should allow the engine to get freed up enough to run. When you can run the engines, running a bit richer than normal for a bit would be good to flush out the chunky oil crud that is built up inside.

Cyberwolf

My Feedback: (4)

The only way that the Crockpot Antifreeze cleaning method will turn an engine dark is from over heating things.Low to Med heat is all that's required to get an engine clean and looking new again.

Sport_Pilot

Just soak the engine in fuel. That will get rid of the gunk freezing the engine up. The other posts are for cleaning the burned on castor on the exterior.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

I'm with Sport Pilot. Glow fuel is great for cleaning up the internals and outside, and it does it pretty quick.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Your old engines may be the iron piston / steel sleeve type. I have heard that these run better with castor deposits. I think the castor varnish helps with compression.

If you are interested in displaying your engines then yes, clean them using the methods mentioned. If you are interested in running them then I would just free the piston and carb up with some fuel and see how they run.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

The problem with freeing an engine with fuel is that it's expensive. At $25.00/gal for fuel, enough to immerse an engine is more than I would like to throw away. Anti freeze, on the other hand, is much cheaper, and it will not turn an engine dark gray if the temp is kept at 250 or below. And it can be used over and over. It will do the job and, contrary to what a lot of people say, it doesn't seem to affect rubber seals. Consider that fact that in a car water pump seals are running in hot anti freeze all the time and they are not damaged by it. I keep a pot of anti freeze at all times and when I pick up an old engine with lots of crud both on the inside and the outside, I simply pull the back plate, remove the glow plug and needle valve and dump the entire engine in the anti freeze. I let it heat for several hours, remove it and flush liberally with water, then blow it dry with compressed air. Some of the really crusty engines will require some light brushing with an old tooth brush after the engine comes out of the solution and then flushing with water again, but it gets both the inside and outside of an engine looking like new with very little effort.

Sport_Pilot

You don't want to use antifreeze just to free up the engine. I don't know why people pay $25 a gallon for fuel. If you mix it yourself it costs less than $10 per gallon. In fact you don't even have to use fuel, you can use methanol which is only about 3 to 4 bucks per gallon, cheaper than antifreeze. But to free it up you only need to open the exhaust port and fill it with fuel, let it soak overnight. No need to fill a huge bowl with fuel. This will not remove burnt on varnish but will remove dried stains. However it may soften varnish so it may be a good pretreatment before using Dawn power dissolver or antifreeze.

flybyjohn

My Feedback: (2)

This is my opinion and only an opinion, I always take an unknown engine completely apart and clean it 100% before just loosening it up and starting it. And to do this, most of the time it is the easiest and sometimes required to pull the back plate and dunk the whole thing in the crock pot with antifreeze. I have had liners that wouldn't budge until a few hours in the crock pot, then they just pulled right out.

Ok now for the reasons to pull it all apart and put it back together cleaned.
1. If it is a ringed engine, the ring might be seized tight to the piston
2. Caster chunks in the carb could get stuck in the needle valve and cause all kinds of headaches.
3. You might find a lot more than just dried caster in the engine, I have had what looked like rusty gravel come drizzling out of some engines.
4. You can throw in a set of bearings if it takes them for a few bucks while it is apart and know for sure there wont be a problem with them.
5. You will have a nice brand new looking engine to start up when you get it back together.
6. If the engine was in good shape to begin with, it will run good because there won't be any caster chunks slowing down the bearings or being tossed around inside.
7. You will have peace of mind that there was nothing foreign in the engine and what kind of shape it is in before lighting it up.
8. It gives you something else to add to your list of things to do.

And that's about all I have that I can think of right now.

Cyberwolf

My Feedback: (4)

I am with you 100% everything that you said is a true fact.
I have tried different methods to clean and free up an old engine, but I always come back to the crock pot and antifreeze, So far it has worked the best for me ,others may have had different experience's. Also the way I look at things if the engine is froze chances are the bearings are toast and like you said as cheap as they are I always plan on sticking in a new set just for good measure, also if it is ringed engine I may decide to add a bowman ring too. Just my humble opinion.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

Sport-Pilot, why do you say not to use anti freeze to clean an engine? It works and what possible harm can it do? I don't understand.

Sport_Pilot

Because it is messy, smelly, and poisonous. Also you have to find a crockpot, and make sure nobody uses it. A lot of production and risk just to free up an engine.

flybyjohn

My Feedback: (2)

Methanol is also poisonous and dangerous.

I have an old crock pot I purchased at the good will store for about $3.00 and drained my 64 chevelle engine of it's antifreeze one winter into the pot. Been using it for about 4 years now. It sits in the corner of the shop bench with the lid on it. I throw the parts in it and plug it in. Come back after several hours or even a day and pull the parts, rinse and blow dry or just wipe them down with some Corrosion X. Assemble the parts and you have what looks like a brand new engine. There is no scrubbing, rubbing, or working of the parts to get them free or clean. They just wipe clean. There is only one small production of acquiring the pot and it can be used for years on literally hundreds of engines. Put the lid on when not putting in or pulling out parts and there is no danger of little critters sipping the Koolaid. When the liquid level drops, add water or more antifreeze (it is usually the water that evaporates out)

I am sure that most of us have dangerous or poisonous stuff all around the shop just sitting there that we use from time to time and we continue to keep those things around for use at a later time. If it really is a concern, a hazardous warning sticker can be placed on the crock pot for safety's sake.

Sport_Pilot

Not nearly so much. Don't need a crock pot neither.

Sport_Pilot

With fuel or methanol you just pour some in, wait, flip the engine. A lot simpler and no worry about discoloring the finish.

If you are referring to the congealed castor then the same is true for methanol. If you are talking about varnish then this is not true of either. But when I used antifreeze it took less effort for the varnish. But again a lot more trouble just to free up an otherwise clean engine.

Cyberwolf

My Feedback: (4)

If you couldn't get Antifreeze and a crock pot to cut off old varnish and have issues with discoloring an engine your doing something wrong.
As far as antifreeze being more poisonous than Methanol, does one make ya deader than the other??? I don't follow.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

I think Sport is referring to the fumes inside of a house and that animals love the taste of antifreeze. I use fuel or Dawn PD when in a hurry, and I fill crankcases with glow fuel. I think the all around most thorough way is the old crockpot that has antifreeze in it in a cabinet. Just put it out by the shop door, plug it in, let it sit for 6-10 hours on low heat. Fish out the parts with a dowel, or whatever and clean off the parts and put the crockpot back in the cabinet. All of the methods require a little effort and cleaning, imo.

Sport_Pilot

The time is another thing. Yes I said to soak it in fuel overnight, but most times I can free it up in a few minutes with a bit of fuel. But when really stubborn I fill up the crankcase and cylinder and let it soak. If gunky on the outside I put it in a bowl of fuel. I prefer fuel because the oil will protect it from corrosion. I don't think leaving it in methanol overnight is an issue, but I have forgotten to pull it out for days on end. The oil neutralizes that problem. Methanol is corrosive to aluminum and its not just the moisture trapped in it.

For me the crockpot is for really messy engines with burnt castor. Good point on the antifreeze fumes. I believe methanol fumes to be not so poisonous, God knows I have inhaled a lot of methanol fumes and OK so far. Hmm wonder if it causes some minor insanity? Might be why some of these threads are so wacky. I have inhaled a bit of antifreeze fumes as well but heating it intensifies the amount of fumes, the cover seems to let some escape.

BTW I have accidently gotten a small amount of antifreeze in my mouth and it tastes better than it smells, like a candy syrup.

1QwkSport2.5r

That's how you can tell if antifreeze is still good (for its intended purpose). If it's sweet, it's good to go. If it's bitter, it's bad. At least according to my high school auto shop teacher. I personally do not use that method, but I have gotten an accidental taste of antifreeze once or twice.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

Whatever kind I've got in the shop seems to do a good job maybe 3 times before I toss it out. Never thought to taste it.

1QwkSport2.5r

Varmints and pests like the taste of antifreeze. If you have pests nearby, a bowl of AF works good to be rid of them too.

gcb

One item I did not see mentioned is to make sure the connecting rod is free to pivot on the wrist pin. If not, the wrist pin will rotate with the connecting rod and the wrist pin holes on the piston will wear.

George

Zobaco

just last weekend I received two trucks with stuck engines due to years of storage with fuel residue. The engines were completely stuck as were the carbs. I wish I had found this post earlier but my only solution was using a typical carburetor cleaner and spraying it through the exhaust and through the carburetor into the engine then letting it soak. Within the hour the engine was moving. The piston ring took a little more to free and required me to remove the glow plug and throw some cleaner in there.
These are fairly modern engines (Traxxas and Team associated) but they now run normally without issue. Based on what I am reading here, I could have damaged something, I guess I am lucky.

regards