Want to pass this by the grey-hairs that live here. There are some really good tricks buried on this site so really appreciate the knowledge here. (Thanks to whomever posted about chaining the flywheel to the engine stand when wielding that mighty Racing Beats 24 inch long wrench!).


Rebuilding an engine, ran very well with good compression but oil /coolant leaks. Engine is now out and taken apart. Starting in on the cleaning of irons, housings and rotors. Did a bunch of research on cleaning materials, and if you factor in that I have no access to cleaning technology such as blasting/sonic/solvent tanks and have a limited budget... I think it comes down to something very simple.


Take irons, housings and rotors to the self service car wash and blast them with the high pressure wand.

Once home, go at all three with mineral spirits, brass wire brush on a rechargeable drill, box of Scotch Brite pads and dental picks / old seals for the seal and gasket grooves. (Spend a loooong time at this).

Rinse everything off, dry with a hair dryer, then spray WD40 on the irons to keep back the rust.


Let me know if there is a mortal sin in here that a newbie like me would not know about (warnings about Simple Green on aluminum prompted this post). From the notes I took, I believe I can use everything listed above on irons, housing and rotors.


Engine is a stock 1981 12A, everything original. Have a Atkins rebuild kit C in hand with replacement seals, gaskets and springs.

 

Fell back into the rabbit hole. Now thinking Simple Green Pro HD rather than Mineral Spirits. Worried about fumes and flammable rags. The internet has taken all the fun out of guesswork!

 

To clean up the the rotors, I soaked them in a tub of Super Clean (or similar product). This did an excellent job of pre-cleaning and reduced the amount of elbow grease required.

To clean up the face of the irons, I used some Permatex Valve Grinding Compound. This is ideal for 1st gen irons (and Renesis irons) without the water jacket grooves. You will need to get the irons professionally lapped if the irons are out of spec and/or have excessive step wear.

 

i have used this stuff with fairly good results. granted, it is usually when i'm washing away the solvent that i had used before it, but it might help you if you're trying to stay away from solvents.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gall...ser-42998.html

 

i take a razor blade (or putty knife or whatever) and scrape off the big stuff as step one. other than that it doesn't seem like there are any shortcuts