[Jeester]

Hi,
Today I am going to attempt to remove the years of built up muck and grime off the crankcase and rust of the other parts like heat exchangers and exhaust box.

Has anyone got any tips on how to do this?

I have some stuff called "gunk" and some general "Engine cleaner" which I am assuming is some sort of solvent to degrade the grease and oil. I was going to spread this on with a paint brush and then power wash it off.
I have decided not to open up the crank case.
It currently sits normal, without the trimmings and B+Ps and what not.
How do I clean the inside? I was just going to put some diesel in there and shake it around a bit.

Any hints and tips would be much appreciated.
Al

 

[Bugman]

If you have gone as far as removing the B&P's why not split the case?
It is hardly much more work and if you pressure wash the outside you will get water on the inside so you will start rust on components?

If it were me I would strip it it totally then gunk & pressure clean it the n reassemble

 

[Jeester]

I don't particularly want to open it up, I know if I do this then I will break something or get something wrong.
Currently inside works fine really. And once I have cleaned it I will put it in the airing cupboard to dry so I will try to make sure rust doesn't form.

Have you got any tips on getting the grease off? Or is gunk and pressure okay?

 

[gojira]

i cleaned my crankcase with gunk then washing up liquid & hot water. how are you planning on jetwashing the case without getting water inside it? even with the engine complete a jetwash will still force water into the case.

or if you mean you don't mind if you get water inside as you're going to dry it... you'll still need to strip it & rebuild to re-lubricate all the bits of the engine you've flushed through with water (like bearings), otherwise you'll kill it on startup.

 

[eliotc]

If as the previous guy said you end up cleaning all the lube out from the inside, just remember to make sure you have oil pressure (i.e. oil light goes out) before firing it up.

A good way to do this is to disconnect the ignition system (so plugs will not spark) then turn the key until oil light goes out. That way you know you have oil pressure before firing it up. This should be done following any complete or partial rebuild of the engine.

Gunk, Jizer or any of those degreasers work just fine. But if I were you, I'd put the barrels, heads and rocker covers back on (along with any other ancilliaries that would otherwise leave a big hole into the case) before cleaning. And if you can avoid using a jet wash, that'd be preferrable.

 

[gojira]

If as the previous guy said you end up cleaning all the lube out from the inside, just remember to make sure you have oil pressure (i.e. oil light goes out) before firing it up.

A good way to do this is to disconnect the ignition system (so plugs will not spark) then turn the key until oil light goes out. That way you know you have oil pressure before firing it up. This should be done following any complete or partial rebuild of the engine.

if you do this, i'd also take the plugs out so there's no compression putting pressure on your rod & crank bearings & pull off the fuel line so there's no petrol washing into the unlubricated engine.

try gunk, hot water & a toothbrush first for the outside. imo if you want to clean the inside then you will need to dismantle it otherwise whatever crud you loosen will end up hiding in a corner of the case.

 

[Jeester]

Okay,
Thanks guys.
Will probably open it up and relube it.
Alistair

 

[Jeester]

Also, how should I remove the green oxidation? I've removed a lot of it with a wire brush but there is some in hard to reach places.

Regards

 

[Jeester]

I've just had an idea.
Can I take the sump off and re apply lube that way? Or not? Or soak it in diesel?

Cheers
Jeester

 

[Bugman]

I've just had an idea.
Can I take the sump off and re apply lube that way? Or not? Or soak it in diesel?

Cheers
Jeester

I would say NOT

Also, how should I remove the green oxidation? I've removed a lot of it with a wire brush but there is some in hard to reach places.

Regards

Green?? Usually this would be copper. There is no copper in the crankcase. Could it be paint?

 

[Jeester]

I would say NOT

Green?? Usually this would be copper. There is no copper in the crankcase. Could it be paint?

See I was thinking that.
And now you come to mention it. They did respray the car in green.

I'm such a fking idiot. Never would have guessed I was an engineering student.

Why would you say not to taking the sump off and cleaning out like that?

 

[Bugman]

The "sump" is a small round plate
The oil pick-up and its plate are directly above so this would only give you about 5-10mm access (between the case and the oil pick-up tube plate) - so not enough to "clean it out"
You would get better access into the crank case by removing a gudgeon pin and taking a piston off

 

[64woody]

I agree with Bugmans logic but I still would not try to clean a crankcase while it is together. It would have been better when it was running using flushing oil !There are the two points, one is you can only clean the surfaces inside which are unlikely to be a problem anyway. Two is that you will shift all the oil out of the engine and risk ruining the engine on restart when you have spent loads on putting it together again. Split it !!

 

[Stuart-1302s]

As others have said, get it stripped mate. If your unsure, take shed loads of pictures every step of the way.....you have a reference to go back to if you get stuck on the reassembly then. I used industrial floor cleaning fluid on my engine parts, quick soak then steam clean off followed by a spray of wd40 once dried.

 

[Mr.Whippy]

Firstly check your crank endfloat is within spec.

If it is, and there's nothing else obviously wrong with the bottom end then leave it mucky, rebuild the top end of engine, THEN clean the mucky bits. (so you don't get any water inside)

If the endfloat is too large then your bottom end will need a rebuild & machining anyway, so split the case, then clean it, then do a proper rebuild.

Ideally, you should have cleaned the outside before you stripped it.

Dave.

 

[Jeester]

I'm going to split it open.
Can anyone give me some pointers on what to do? Is there a guide on here?

Do I need to buy any gaskets or anything? What do I need to relube and what sort of lube should I use?
There is currently no end float, how do I keep it that way?

 

[Johnser]

I'm going to split it open.
Can anyone give me some pointers on what to do? Is there a guide on here?

Do I need to buy any gaskets or anything? What do I need to relube and what sort of lube should I use?
There is currently no end float, how do I keep it that way?

I dont mean to be rude, but ^^^ that sounds like you need to do a fair bit of reading. Maybe start with a cheap haynes manual and if you read, understand and think you can competently tackle all that's involved, buy a better and more specific engine rebuild guide. All the questions above should be covered in the most basic of guides.

good luck!

 

[andy198712]

remove tinware, remove sump plate, undo all the bolts holding the case together(all nuts on the case really), remove oil pump, then use a wooden drift and gently start tapping it apart,
when splitting mine the crank doesnt fall out and land on your feet or he cam or lifters

 

[gojira]

i used this to rebuild my engine. read it about 5 times before i even took a spanner to the car.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebuild-Air...55/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357219293&sr=8-1#_

 

[Mr.Whippy]

There is currently no end float, how do I keep it that way?

Well you should have some, but it's about 6 thousanths of an inch approx. So enough to feel a very slight clunk as you push & pull the pulley, but if you can see it moving then that's too much.

If you do have excessive endfloat the usual cause is the front main bearing working loose in the case, which means machining the case out for oversize bearings (line bore or align bore).

As above, get a manual or two, if you get stuck on something specific then by all means ask on here.

You will need a 36mm 3/4 inch drive socket and bar to remove the flywheel, plus basic general metric spanners & sockets. Read the manual 2 or 3 times before you start.

Dave.