So I have to clear off 40 years of oil from the engine (230 six), oil pan and trans pan. I've read up on it and people seem to like the purple stuff. I don't want to do it in my driveway because of the slick I expect to make. But if I drive it to the open bay car wash (2 miles or so) will the block be too hot? I've read you want the engine warm to soften up the goo, but not hot because of the cold water. What gives? Will I crack the block or something if I drive it to the car wash to do it?

Any other pointers are welcome. I know I have to cover up the distributor, carb and coil.

I'm yer huckleberry......:D

I'm yer huckleberry......:D

This doesn't really answer my question. Am I supposed to buy your degreaser product and not use any water?

scrape off as much as you can with a putty knife, spray the engine down with undiluted degreaser, and then drive to the car wash and hose it off. the water coming out of the pressure washer will be pretty hot, and if it's only a couple of miles with no stoplights or anything, nothing under the hood will be too hot to spray.
just make sure to bring along a screwdriver and a can of WD40 just in case you get the points wet.

the product will do the work. Water? rinse it off and it wll be fine. your on point with protecting the dist coil and carb, but mainly just avoid direct spray. The water is not going to crack the block. I've done this for years, with no problems. But now my engines are all clean so I don't have to clean them very often. my 65 had 40 years of grime and grease....I cleaned the whole underbody .....you can crawl under it now...work all day under it and not get very dirty at all.:D :D :D

I recommend using Simple Green. Spray it on and let it sit for about a hour, hose it off.

Take some with you to the car wash. Spray the motor down with it. Let is sit for a few minutes. Blast the h*** out of it. Usually the car wash has a engine degreaser selection that sprays green. That should help also. Blast it down with the rinse option.

Should look good.

Best way is to pull it and do it on a stand.

If your worried about the dist. getting wet just take a plastic grocery bag and place over it and snug it tight. Detailed cars for years and never had any problems.. BUT MAKE SURE THE MOTOR ISN'T TOOOO HOT WHEN YOU SPRAY THE DEGREASER ON IT!!!! The fumes could take the breath out of ya!!! :boring:

I recommend using Simple Green. Spray it on and let it sit for about a hour, hose it off.

Take some with you to the car wash. Spray the motor down with it. Let is sit for a few minutes. Blast the h*** out of it. Usually the car wash has a engine degreaser selection that sprays green. That should help also. Blast it down with the rinse option.

Should look good.

Best way is to pull it and do it on a stand.

I agree. Spray it on before you go. Re apply once you get there. I then "spray" on the soap wash. As the hot water from the car wash seems to cut the grease pretty good, as the high presure helps alot as well. This will help eliminate a lot of the stuff!

Save your $4 a can on degreaser and get some $1 a can oven cleaner. It does the same thing and you can get a whole lot more of it for cheaper.

the best degreaser i've come across is the purple Zep stuff they sell in gallons at Home Depot. spray it on straight out of the jug, drive to the car wash, and hose it off.

I'm yer huckleberry......:D

:confused:

Don't let the car wash owner see you, the EPA has really come down hard on car washes for this reason.

For the real heavy areas, take an old paint brush (or buy a cheap one) and cut the bristles down to stiffen the brush up. Then use good ol' elbow grease.

Don't let the car wash owner see you, the EPA has really come down hard on car washes for this reason.
if there isn't a sign saying that you can't spray the engine off, or if they have the "engine cleaner" selection on the knob, they can't say a word to you.
look at it this way- a little bit of grease and oil is nothing compared to the gallons upon gallons of soap they flush down the drain every day.

if there isn't a sign saying that you can't spray the engine off, or if they have the "engine cleaner" selection on the knob, they can't say a word to you.
look at it this way- a little bit of grease and oil is nothing compared to the gallons upon gallons of soap they flush down the drain every day.

Well I just had to attend a DEQ class that was required and they had about 50 car wash owners in there and they really threaten them with closier becase of the oil spill that come from them.

If they aren't in your area giving everyone hell then just wait it'll be your turn soo enough.

if there isn't a sign saying that you can't spray the engine off, or if they have the "engine cleaner" selection on the knob, they can't say a word to you.
look at it this way- a little bit of grease and oil is nothing compared to the gallons upon gallons of soap they flush down the drain every day.

Well I just had to attend a DEQ class that was required and they had about 50 car wash owners in there and they really threaten them with closier becase of the oil spill that come from them.

If they aren't in your area giving everyone hell then just wait it'll be your turn soo enough.

I agree. Just because people are doing worse things our there, doesnt mean that you can do whatever you want as long as it isnt as bad as them. No matter how much they flush down the drain, its bad if we wash our engine junk down the drain too.

It certainly wouldnt supprise me if car wash owners were getting into trouble for this reason.

Unless your at the local Pay and Spray and its posted not being allowed, or if the proper chemical isnt available in the sprayer. I say, set the spray to engine and go to town after all above precautions with carb and distributor and taken.

My local carwash says "No engine cleaning" and they have cameras in the bays. I guess they sic the EPA on you if they see you cleaning your engine.

Dave

I finally degreased it yesterday. I followed your helpful suggestions above. I liberally applied undiluted Simple Green before I left the house, drove to the car wash and reapplied and let it sit while I covered the carb and taped off the coil. Then I soaked everything with the "engine and tire cleaner" from the wand (had to shop around a bit to find a car wash that still had this option) and blasted it off with the high power rinse. The pictures don't do it justice, it is a ton better. I still have some work to do on the steering box and arms. I'll have to use the brush tip above or a scraper to get the caked on grease.

Thanks for the tips and helping me get the courage to do this. I was worried about starting it afterwards but it fired right up!

Before:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/2653000-2653999/2653024_24_full.jpg

After:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/2653000-2653999/2653024_22_full.jpg

Use Castrol's SuperClean in the purple gallon jug!

$5.00 to $6.00 a jug at Walmart??

It's environmentally safe!!

I have an under the bed storage container w two jugs of it in it w/ a lid out in the garage!! I just stick my stuff in it and come back a couple a days later.

pdq67

PS., the only thing about using SC as well as Easy-Off Oven Cleaner is that they BOTH will remove paint if you leave them on too long!!