Oil leak is getting worse. Now I have oil on the floor in a couple of spots and I can't seem to find the leak. I took it to the car wash but the "degreaser" didn't work at all. I've heard that I can use Easy Off oven cleaner but it might eat some of the aluminum parts on the motor.

Any advice on a good engine cleaner?

 

Castrol Super Clean works wonders!

 

I use marine clean or Simple green on my motors when i have to degrease them. Also, if i plan on scrubbing i will use a green scrubby and dish soap. Believe it or not--all those ingredients are biodegradable (some longer than others)

Anyways it works good--So well i was even able to degrease a 1972 jaguar--talk about oil leaks

 

i use easy off, but not on the aluminum, although, if you get the "Grill cleaner" i imagine it wouldnt damage anything since there is some aluminum on some grills. anyways, superclean works GREAT! my dad uses it for his janitorial business... but he has to special order it now because they stopped selling it in our area...

side not, if you do use the super clean, dont let it sit for too long, and make sure to rinse the engine bay thoroughly... my dad had a punctured bottle, and it actually ate the concrete in out garage overnight!

 

Dawn dishsoap. I believe that's the same stuff that the wildlife rescuers use for oil spills. Cuts oil and bio-friendly.

 

I haven't been able to find the Castrol brand for years but Super Clean (with out castrol) is sold at Walmart and its the same stuff, same purple bottle. And I agree it does work wonders.

 

Two words: Safety Solvent.

It'll make any other kind of degreaser seem like water in comparison. It's like a mix of methylene chloride and and mineral spirits. We used it at my old work to clean out trenchers gear and chain boxes. If it makes 80w90 mixed with industrial strength grease mixed with sludged 15w40 run like water, it'll clean just about anything you got

 

this is old..so it might of changed...but check itout

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98108.html

 

I typed in Safety Solvent on Google and got about a million hits. Can you narrow down the manufacturer and where it's sold?

Thanks again ST.

 

Don't use the degreaser at the car wash. Just use the plain power wash. It will blast the grease right off. I had the nastiest looking engine...but it now looks amazing. I just blasted it with the pressure washer and chunks of grease just came flying off the thing. Also did the undercarriage. It's much cleaner to work on now

 

I've always used the Gunk engine degreaser, never had a problem.

 

+1 for high water pressure. you can strip about anything off with it.

 

Well I can't find the stuff we used to use at work (but I did find the msds for it lol), but this stuff sounds pretty good too.

But just use a pressure washer in the meantime. I'll see if I can't call someone I used to work with and see where they got the Safety Solvent. Cause that stuff is awesome, great for cleaning everything. Cleans your hands of anything and everything, cleans concrete and tools, throw a little in with your laundry. Love that stuff.

 

Okie dokie I got the motor cleaned (sort of) with some elbow grease, Simple Green and a water hose.

Drove it to work this morning and when I got home a few minutes ago I looked under the rig and the front two bolts on the oil pan are damp with oil, a little has run down the pan about 2 inches and the front of the motor is a little damp with oil. It looks to be coming from behind the fan/water pump area. I'll see if I can snap a pic. In the mean time any ideas? Is there a place on the front of the motor where they tend to leak?

Thanks in advance.

 

Timing cover, water pump, oil pan gasket, head gasket?

 

22r/re? Front crankshaft seal would be my first guess. They are some what known for leaking there. Often when you get the old seal out the crankshaft has a bit of a groove in it where the seal was riding. I don't recall part numbers but I remember there being a different part number that put the seal lip in a bit deeper or shallower to keep it out of that groove.

Ron

 

Purple Power sold at Walmart (and auto parts stores) works great and is cheaper than the above mentioned de-greasers.

 

I posted up a pic (on the other thread about this) of where the leak is coming from, although it's not my motor in the pic.

If it is the crankshaft seal how much of a pain is it to replace?

 

What about steam cleaning, like the used car places do to engines? Anybody know what that costs, or if that's bad for anything?

 

I usually just read the hazard label; the higher the numbers the better the cleaner. Plus, if it ate a hole in one of the other containers on the shelf, yeah, I buy it.