Help with Engine cleaning?

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brewil

brewil

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Hi all,

I have a very dirty '72 360 LA block and wanted to know a few things.

What is the best way to clean the block inside and out?

My dad has a high pressure hose and high pressure air hose on his farm and I don't want to pay a shop to do what I can. It will go to check everything is straight eventually.

Also should I clean the rust in the water jackets? If so, how?

I will be doing some oiling mods, can I use a normal steel drill bit at the right dimensions?

Thanks,

B
 
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You can do what you can with Easy Off but you'll never get it anywhere close to as clean as an engine shops hot tank will do.
 
A hot tanking should take care of rusty water jackets, unless the hot tank that is used does not hace a caustic solution....
 
Simple green, a wire brush and powerwasher.
Makes short work of it. Also makes a big stain in the driveway to clean afterwards. lol
 
If you dont want to hot tank it that gunk works wonders. spray that on it and let it sit for a few hours then pressure wash it. Then i've always used dish soap and hot water and really scrub EVERYTHING blocking off ports into the motor of course. Also for the water jackets put a hose in the jackets and run water through it while adjusting the engine on the stand to different angles if its chunks of rust. Then using an air hose, blow everything off until it all seams dry then blow for another 10 minutes. Then i use a prepsall type degreaser to take all the oils off before painting and let her bake in the sun for a bit. Then mask her off and maker shine! :cheers:
 
brewil said:
Ok cool so it has t be hot tank. What about rust in the water jackets?
Click to expand...

Rust in the water jackets can be stubborn sometimes but a good hot tank with caustic acid should take most of it out. I had a block that was super bad in the water jackets and my machinist sent it to a place that he said could "wheel-a-brate" it (I think that's how you say it). It came out near perfect. The Wheel-A-brate job only cost $25 extra.
 
Wow ok I will clean it myself first and then when I send it off for alignment etc I will ask them just to check it. unfortunately they don't magnaflux or anything here in South Africa, luckily that and sonic testing was done in Australia although my engine was so dirty I was very dubious about the job performed to spec. Thanks for all the help guys. Scrubbing the hell out of it this weekend! Yahoo!
 
Just to get this clear, block off the oil holes when soapy washing the block?
 
beside jet wash....soap and water, brake cleaner for the galleys and compressed air.
wipe the cylinders with white paper towels till no more gray comes off the surface.

then WD-40 it all.
 
Cool thanks guys! Will let you know how it turns out. Maybe even a photo of a 360 block you've probably seen a million times. Time to get cleaning!
 
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