Recommended cleaning agent

Any suggestions on what to use or how to clean oil from the fins of the engine? I'm curious as to what most use.

It's tedious work. You can try a toothbrush and Simple Green. A green scotchbrite pad might work well too.

Savedrider has the right advice.
Trick is to get them clean once, then to clean them routinely. I use simple green and a parts brush. It's a stiff bristle brush that gets between the fins. Then just rinse with water.
Mmmmm...cleeeaaan.

Gunk engine degreaser. Surprisingly effective, no brush required.

Just don't use it on a hot engine. The heat will dissolve the foam, so you have to keep spraying more on. That's too much work!

Try it once, and you won't regret it.



And after you buy it and are amazed by how well it works, post back here. Everyone needs to use this stuff!

Post edited by: GargantuChet, at: 2005/11/14 22:10

GargantuChet wrote:

Gunk engine degreaser. Surprisingly effective, no brush required.

Just don't use it on a hot engine. The heat will dissolve the foam, so you have to keep spraying more on. That's too much work!

Try it once, and you won't regret it.

And after you buy it and are amazed by how well it works, post back here. Everyone needs to use this stuff!<br><br>Post edited by: GargantuChet, at: 2005/11/14 22:10

Hmmm, I've been disappointed with similar products in the past. I'll have to give it another shot. Thanks

I was really surprised by how well the Gunk foam cut the caked-on stuff. If my experience was somehow unique, at least having someone else try it and report their experiences with it. It worked really well for me, though.

Yes, I've tried Gunk and had mixed results. Will try Simple Green with a stiff brush and compare the results. Thanks!

Make sure you spray the Simple Green off any polished parts FAST!!! As I had it s-l-i-g-h-t-l-y discolor some polished parts:( But Mothers and Semi-chrome took care of it:)
Come to think of it , the engine might have been warm when I did it. So it might have been me not following directions :whistle: :whistle:
Pat

Post edited by: patmann, at: 2005/11/15 14:43

I'll make a note to keep Simple Green off of the polished stuff. That "was" one of my many next winter projects until a valve guide started leaking. Thanks!

Just cleaned my bike with some Gunk degreaser..WOW!! We have some degreaser here at work that I thought was the best you could find..but that Gunk took the gummy oil on my engine right off, just sprayed it on, let it sit for a few minutes, hit it with the pressure washer and no more oil.

DasTeufel wrote:

Just cleaned my bike with some Gunk degreaser..WOW!! We have some degreaser here at work that I thought was the best you could find..but that Gunk took the gummy oil on my engine right off, just sprayed it on, let it sit for a few minutes, hit it with the pressure washer and no more oil.

That's what I'm talking about! Worked really well for cleaning off the road grit and caked-on petroleum junk.

I'm glad it isn't just me. It didn't seem to hurt the metal either -- no etching that I could see. For $3 a can, you can't go wrong!

I am with Chet.
I have used Gunk for years on our equipment and have always had good results. It does not seem to bother the rubber parts and is easy to wash off.