preparation_h

My dad crashed his plane and I'm curious as to the best method to clean an engine. The carb is pretty dirty as well as pretty much everything else. I believe you can clean them by putting them into fuel and letting them sit overnight.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

badguy

if the carb is dirty I would definitely disassemble the engine and clean all the parts one by one.

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

Personally I avoid a complete disassembly if possible.

To begin with DO NOT TURN THE ENGINE OVER.

I would remove the engine from the plane and get as much dirt off as I could. Then remove the carb, the backplate prop and prop driver. Use a toothbrush in a can of kero dunk the engine and get the dirt off and out of the engine. Find something to squirt kero through everything. I use my fuel pump but check if yours tolerates kero.

NOW you can turn the engine over. If it still feels gritty then repeat the above. If it STILL feels grittty then a full dismantle is called for.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Indeed most of the time full disassembly is not needed and the precedure spelled out by j.dunker works just fine.

Advice often given suggesting one close the throttle before crashing is a very good idea not just because it may minimise damage to the engine and/or the airframe but also it wll close off the throttle barrel and keep dirt ingestion to a minimum.

John