What's a good engine degreaser?

[bigalpha]

Anyone have any favorites or a good homebrew recipe?

 

[Shorty]

the cheapest of the cheap Dollar Store oven cleaner-- no need for the good stuff, the "el cheapo" stuff will take care of anything you've got and generally
doesn't harm anything else as long as you don't let it dry on there.

 

[mudderx]

Simple Clean @ Walmart. Spray, brush, rinse. Worked great degreasing my block when I replaced my exhaust manifold and was $8 a gallon I think.

 

[SeeingSpots]

the cheapest of the cheap Dollar Store oven cleaner-- no need for the good stuff, the "el cheapo" stuff will take care of anything you've got and generally
doesn't harm anything else as long as you don't let it dry on there.

X2

Just be sure to wear gloves and eye protection when using it. Had some ricochet off a notch in a SBC intake manifold and temporariliy blinded me in my right eye. That was not fun at all.

Jim

 

[Shorty]

... blinded me in my right eye.
Jim

still seeing spots from that??

great advice, though-- I've started buying a cheapo set of swimmers goggles at the same Dollar Store to keep my eyes free of drips and splatters.

 

[xjtrailrider]

I like the cheap Oriellys brand engine de greaser, not the foamy stuff. I use a combo of this and Purple Power cleaner(not at the same time) to clean the engine bay.

 

[SeeingSpots]

still seeing spots from that??

great advice, though-- I've started buying a cheapo set of swimmers goggles at the same Dollar Store to keep my eyes free of drips and splatters.

Bazinga! lol

 

[bigalpha]

Thanks guys.

 

[GSequoia]

Simple green, spray it on full strength. You should be able to get it by the gallon at Lowes/Home Depot.

Also the best thing to do is then hit it with *hot* water. There is a hose tap on your water heater you can use. When at Lowes/HD get a spray gun that has a plastic cover.

That will clean things up nicely without having to deal with chemicals.

 

[Lowrange2]

It's not really cheap but this stuff works AMAZINGLY.

Everytime I do any work on an engine I spray it down with the engine running, hot and let it sit for a few minutes then hose it off.

I'm serious, this stuff is awesome!

http://www.hollandercorporation.com/index.php/product-lines-1/b52.html?mode=list

I buy it at O'Reilly's. You'll want to dilute the gallon stuff a little. If you breathe it in you won't be able to breathe correctly for a while.

This was right after I'd hosed down the ole' ladies engine with it.

Sorry, no before picture but it was nasty. No elbow work.

 

[bigalpha]

We hit the motor with some cheap degreaser, but we still need another pass at it.

Simple green, spray it on full strength. You should be able to get it by the gallon at Lowes/Home Depot.

Also the best thing to do is then hit it with *hot* water. There is a hose tap on your water heater you can use. When at Lowes/HD get a spray gun that has a plastic cover.

That will clean things up nicely without having to deal with chemicals.

I was under the impression that SG wasn't the best to use for engine cleaning.

It's not really cheap but this stuff works AMAZINGLY.

Everytime I do any work on an engine I spray it down with the engine running, hot and let it sit for a few minutes then hose it off.

I'm serious, this stuff is awesome!

http://www.hollandercorporation.com/index.php/product-lines-1/b52.html?mode=list

I buy it at O'Reilly's. You'll want to dilute the gallon stuff a little. If you breathe it in you won't be able to breathe correctly for a while.

This was right after I'd hosed down the ole' ladies engine with it.

Sorry, no before picture but it was nasty. No elbow work.

That looks good.

 

[bulrid8]

Yes, B52 is some great stuff. Had my doubts. Wanted to clean oil and grime off underside of hood. Sprayed some on a rag and wiped to clean surface with no effort.

You mix it like 70/30 with water. Gallon will last a long time. It is amazing!

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Simple Green is amazing! When my uncle gets vehicles from his local auction, one of the first things he does is spray down under hood with SG, let it sit, and rinse.

I also use Purple Power. I believe GUNK makes an engine "Foamy" and different strengths of cleaner/degreaser.

 

[bigalpha]

Might need to try some SG for the tough stuff that's left.

 

[Jeepguy03]

I use Simple Green. I've used it in engine bays, on antique tractors, etc, and it works great. Sometimes you need to wash twice or use it full strength instead of diluted with water, but its non-toxic and biodegradable.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

I use Simple Green. I've used it in engine bays, on antique tractors, etc, and it works great. Sometimes you need to wash twice or use it full strength instead of diluted with water, but its non-toxic and biodegradable.

When doing an initial degrease/cleaning I always use full strength to start.

 

[Talyn]

I used two really good engine degreasers once. However I can't for the life of me remember what they were. They sprayed on with a heavy foam, but it was their smell that made them stand out. They didn't smell like citrus, didn't smell like oil or kero or diesel, nor brake cleaner. You sprayed them on and rinsed off. Left a clean non oily surface. I'll have to remember to check at Advance the next time I am there as I would be able to identify it by its smell.

 

[rockclimber]

when you guys do the rinse, are you just hosing your engine bay down? anything to cover the battery or alternator? anything else to cover... I've got power steering fluid all over my engine bay from a blown hose...

 

[Talyn]

throttle body, battery, pdc.

 

[souske]

I just dot aim at anything electronic
If it cant handle.stray mist, how can it handle heavy rain with hood vents?