Engine Cleaning
 

I have a cupple of motors i need to rebuild and was wondering what the best way to clean all that burn't on fuel is.

RE: Engine Cleaning
 

if your planning on changing all the rubber seals and gaskets then I would use aceitone. If i find any rust inthe motor I submerge it in diesel fuel for a week or two. Diesel eats rust. If your just replacing rings then I would use 99% rubbing alcohol.

RE: Engine Cleaning
 

A little secret...shhh....but try some TSP. If you can still get it. Its Tri Sodium Phosphate and is used as a chemical degreaser and de-glossing for painting prep work. Works great on the stainless stove too.

I have used it in small areas though so I can't recommend that you soak your engine in it.

Also, the name escapes me but you will find a bottle of engine cleaner on the Tower website. Its stuff made specifically for what you are asking. I have had mixed results with that stuff.

Tom

RE: Engine Cleaning
 

In my younger days I used to work on car engines and used carb cleaner for many of the parts and especially carbs. You can buy a gallon from the auto parts store with a small basket and soak your engine parts overnight in it and then wash with water and air dry and looks like factory new. Always break the engine all the way down before cleaning.

For the extra hard to clean you can use stronger chemicals, but carb cleaner will clean most anything on the RC engines. Sometimes I will use a paint stripper on the hard to clean parts then once that is removed I will drop it in the carb cleaner overnight.

Also, you can polish the componants with 3M ScotchBrite and make that puppy shineola sparkly and you will need sunglasses just to look at it! [8D] Just keep in mind when using automotive carb cleaner to remove any rubber o rings, plastics, and gasket material because the carb cleaner will soften or eat those materials up.

RE: Engine Cleaning
 

Are we talkin' 'glo engines'?

I've had great success with a crock pot & anti-freeze.. to remove the caked-on burnt oil & nitro..

Break the engine donw to the basic componenets. Go buy a crappy crock pot at value village or what ever '2nd hand store' you have. Get a metal strainer too! And buy a jug of Prestone / Ethyl Glycol on the way home.

Put the parts in the strainer, and fill the crock pot with the ethyl glycol. "Simmer" the parts in the crock pot, on low, for a few hours, like a day.. And you should have nice shiny engine parts. Drain, oil, and re-assembled..

Oh, a do it in your garage!