I've got a 35 year old car with about 30K miles on it and it vents the crankcase fumes to atmosphere up front of the engine. This has deposited oil vapours and with road dirt and grime it's left a coating on some of the suspension pieces and the block. The car is a very nice driver that I'm trying to keep in original unrestored condition but I want to clean it up a bit. I've tried the chemical treatments before and they can be harsh on rubber and plastic parts. I was wondering if anyone has used something like this to detail an old car engine compartment and chassis? I suppose it could be used to remove undercoating so you'd have to be carefull if that wasn't your goal. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=8823 Thanks Bob S.
I haven't used one on the interior of a car, but have on the exterior for ease of installing a clear bra at one time. I have the (now discontinued?) Eureka Enviro steam cleaner. http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-370A-Enviro-Steamer-Upright-Multi-Steamer/dp/B00005QX43 http://cgi.ebay.com/EUREKA-ENVIRO-STEAMER-MULTI-PURPOSE-STEAM-CLEANER-370A_W0QQitemZ120274918967QQihZ002QQcategoryZ300QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Seems to be cheaper. I think I paid 70 for mine refurbed. Came with a bag of accessories too. So long as it can get into the little nooks and crannies, I don't think all the other stuff matters.
You have to be very careful using a steam cleaner or pressure washer on a car engine. Most car components will withstand an ordinary amount of water, like rain, splashes from puddles, etc. But under pressure, you can force water into places that it shouldn't be. And that can be dangerous and possibly costly. Using on the lower part of the engine block, suspension frames, chassis tubing, fire wall, etc. would probably be okay. But just be careful around electrical things like the alternator, starter motor, wiring harness, electrical connectors, etc. I would not, under any circumstance, use it on top of the engine or in areas close to carburetors, fuel injection, electrical components, ignition wires or other wiring, etc. And if the unit is adjustable, I'd probably set it at the lowest pressure setting possible to minimize the chance of hurting things. Not for nothing, but there are some engine cleaners out there that are citrus based, that are not as caustic as some of them. You may have to do several treatments to get them to work, and let them sit there for a while to cut through, but it's a lot safer than using high pressure and potentially really screwing things up.
Have you tried Lectra-Motive cleaner? Comes in a good size spray can, does a great job cutting through grease and grime, and safe for electronics. Evaporates and doesn't leave residue. I always use at least one can to clean the engine blocks before working under my cars.
Thanks for the replies guys. Some of the build-up is 1/4" thick and it's mostly on the suspension pieces. My hope is that the heat and slight pressure will make the stuff fall off. I can hope can't I? I also have a few spots higher up where some misguided previous owner applied a tar like compound to seal up some entry points in the firewall. Presumeably it was to stop engine fumes from entering. He did a messy job and the stock version of this car does not have this done. So ... I'm hoping to remove that, detail the area and then use a slight amount of black seam sealer where appropriate instead of the brushed and lathered on glop that's on there now. My impression is that this is not high pressure but high temperature like 186F. I'm very familiar with pressure washers and that's not what's intended here. Bob S.
Not sure if you can find anybody to do it, but we got one of our printing presses cleaned a few years ago, the company sprayed liquid nitrogen. It got everything off and was safe for the gaskets, electrical, etc. The nitrogen just evaporates away. You have to clean up the debris it leaves behind.
Yes I actually looked into this a while back but it's a bit of work to get the car (non-op) to the vendor. It's also a $500 minimum. I like the idea though. Bob S.
Could you guys elaborate as to why? There are zero electronics on this car. Infact, at this time the entire ignition system is off the car. I'm actually thinking of cleaning the block from below the headers to the the sump and the front suspension as well. Bob S.
Agreed! Some chemicals, like Simple Green, can etch aluminum alloy. Steam cleaners, especially pressure washers, are pretty rough on painted surfaces and can destroy labels as well. I wouldn't want my engine to look like this one. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It's hard on painted surfaces, peels paint off, and will find its way into anything, no matter how hard you try to seal it up with a plastic bag or whatever, so if you drive it into the steam cleaner, I'll bet you a buck that will be the last time you drive it for a while. Everything will have moisture and condensation in it. You'll also want to be prepared to repaint everything under the hood, and replace all the decals. The wires are pretty tough, although you may lose the harness wrapping. Earlier cloth covered wire will disintegrate to bare copper and shreds of cloth wrapping. Even the better pressure washers (say over 1500 PSI, heated 200 degree water with detergent) will produce some of the same problems.
1500 PSI? What type of machine are thinking about? This is a small scale more gentle steam cloud type device not a blasting high pressure device. Yes, I do understand about water and electrical systems. I think you guys might have the wrong idea about what is being contemplated here. That's understandable since you can't see the actual project. Go back and read my description again. I'm not cleaning the entire engine compartment, that's already been done. Zero electrical items. Certainly there will be a steam cloud and some water will plate out on other surfaces. I don't think that's a big deal. Am I wrong about that? I've cleaned engine compartments with chemicals and water rinses before. If you know how to do it it's fine. I've even used simple green very effectively but you do have to dillute it and rinse it quickly. I'm trying to clean the block and sump from below the exhaust headers as well as the front suspension. Maybe the dry-ice blasting would be a better route? Bob S.
Bob, I agree with you, that's a pretty gentle steam cleaner. I suspect it's steam jet doesn't have more than 5-10 psi as the pressure is created by heating up the water in the reservoir, not by a pump. It's not likely to cause problems when used as you describe. It's a pretty small unit tho, there's a risk that it can't produce enough heat to create the steam volume needed to heat high mass things like the engine/tranny, & sump hot enough to clean them. I'd have a container of nearly boiling water standing by to replenish the reservoir as you exhaust it's 1.5 quart internal tank. I'm sure you'd keep it well clear of all seals & bearings to be on the safe side. If you try it, let us know how it worked out.
Verell, I'm going to try it out today. I also have a hair drier and a heat gun on hand. I've got some poorly applied tar like sealer that was lathered on in a few locations in an attempt to seal the firewall from fumes. That's fine on a roof job 40 ft off the ground but not in a exotic's engine compartment! I'll have some chemical engine cleaners on hand as well so this experimentation day. Once again, this is not the entire engine compartment. 90 percent of that has been done. This involves those stubburn areas some of which have a 1/8 - 1/4 " thick coating of 35 year old oil/grease/dirt&sand. I've used the siphon feed liquid sprayer that runs off of an air compressor before and for cars which have the finishes in good condition that's pretty effective for detailing things if you know what you're doing and don't go crazy. That's already been done on this car but there's now the more serious stuff to deal with. I always start with a warm not hot car, blow it dry with compressed air when done then drive for a 1/2 hour right away to get it very warm. Leave the hood open. In 30 years I've never had a problem. I'll report back on what's what.
I think you've got the bases covered. Was going to suggest the compressed air siphon gun, but you've already tried it. I agree with cleaning with things warm, & a good run afterwards to cook the water ot of various nooks & crannies. Better than finding out months later that water stayed on something like a cam seal lip & has rusted a groove in the cam just where the lip needs to do it's stuff...
Well it worked OK and didn't do anything drastic or unexpected. It's a rather gentle tool for what I was doing. I used this in combination with a brush and some chemicals to clean the front suspension & wheel wells where dirt not grease had accumulated on the undercoating. I didn't get anything so warm as to melt the undercoating. I did have to re-fill it frequently and since I was at a remote location hot water was not available. If the engine and tranny had been warm I think it may have worked better on those areas but I didn't have a ton of caked on grease all over the engine anyway. One side of the suspension where the crankcase breaths was messy. I used on limited spots in the engine compartment as well. It was helpful but not terrific and I had to use multiple things to get the job done which I did! Bob S.
