BAD job!!!

[tiger9297]

Got the engine out of my '90 K5 last weekend so I thought I'd spend this long weekend cleaning the engine bay, frame, etc. to get ready for paint so everything would look like new when it all goes back together. I can honestly say that I underestimated this task. Even with degreaser and a pressure washer it is still very difficult to get everything clean. Clean enough for paint that is. I have been under my truck with degreaser, a scrub brush, and a water hose NOT fun.

Has anyone done this without doing a "frame off"? I will gladly accept any advice, tips, towards making this job easier.

 

[ryoken]

Steam is the best.... Try hooking a pressure washer to your hot spicket for the washing machine.... or at least the hose... hot makes a world of difference..

Spray 9 makes a couple awesome degreasers... scrub it all with a red scuff pad.. You can even use E-Z Off if your careful...

We used to hate going to the car show and seeing some clown that dumped a 10 g motor into some greasy compartment... 1/2 the cars there where like that...

 

[NoReGrEtS]

how nasty is it? might try easy-off oven cleaner

 

[tiger9297]

It's not nasty at all compared to most 16 year old trucks w/ 250K+ miles. I have always kept the engine very clean. Everything on the firewall looks like new, BUT it does have some grease on the frame under where the engine sits. Of course the axles and frame are dirty. Not really greasy but they need to be cleaned well to accept paint. My washing machine is on the bottom floor and that may be a good option as far as getting hot water to my pressure washer.

There are just so many lines, hoses, brackets, bolts, crevices, etc. that it seems no matter how much you wash it is never clean enough to paint. Just wondered if someone has a good method to cleaning all of this.

 

[dontoe]

Let it soak over night..................

 

[tiger9297]

 

[3 on the tree]

Oven cleaner works well. However, it will also take the paint off, so watch where you spray it.

 

[nutsthename]

I've always had good luck with purple stuff and a pressure washer.

 

[dontoe]

I've always had good luck with purple stuff and a pressure washer.

I mix kerosene and purple power...........it works good!

 

[4xcrazy]

yup, it's called elbow grease,,,you HAVE to rub down the dirty areas with the cleaner and rinse it off, i have tried several times with different vehicles with just the high pressure deal,,,doesn't work.

 

[diesel4me]

steam jenny..

I used a thing called a "Steam Jenny" at a diesel truck repair place that worked good--same thing as a steam cleaner,with a fancy name really..a good detergent is critical--I like the Castrol "Super Clean" stuff best..it takes paint right off of aluminum!..be aware!..

They also had another device they used to de-grease the engines and engine bay when doing "in chassis" engine rebuilds...it sprayed warm kerosene under high pressure much like a pressure washer..that stuff worked best--the motors were clean enough to eat off,and so was the engine compartment--nothing melts caked on sludge off faster or better in my opinion...their unit had a setup with metal grates in the floor,that caught and recycled the kerosene after filtering it..you still had to wash the kerosene off before you could paint it though...twice the work in a way!..body work is NEVER easy!

 

[1976Blazer76]

Probably more work than you're looking for, but my frame off consisted of getting a wire wheel on the end of my 4 1/2 in grinder...then the spots I couldn't reach got shot with my sandblaster. Finally used cleaner degreaser, and painted it up. Hope it helps.