I use some simple Brake Kleen to degrease engine, then I move on to electrolysis, home hot tanking and I break out the bore brushes. Finally, I give the engine a hot soapy wash.
I have been doing this since the mid 80's when I was 15yo with my first SBC rebuild, a 307. I boiled the block, heads, nuts, bolt, valve covers, anything that would fit in the drum, fired with wood and boiled for about 4-6 hours with a box of arm and hammer laundry detergent, everything was BARE metal when I pulled it out of the water the next day, but must spray with a couple cans of WD 40 when done, it will start rusting immediately when pulled from the drum, depending on weather conditions!!
19:35 - picked up a set of nylon and metal bristle brushes (albeit, most with the shorter handles) from Harbor Freight for just such jobs.... Used a nylon brush to clean out brake caliper pin holes along with spray lubricant that was safe for the rubber boots while slowly spinning the brush in and out of each boot. Just cut off the brush's loop handle and insert into drill chuck and keep the RPMs low while keeping the location wet and cleared with lube spray (paper towel below to catch the mess). 👍 Got things cleaned up quick for fresh grease.
I did the electrolysis trick on an old MG engine that I had picked up. I was shocked at the amount of rust that came out of that block. I may have to try the hot water treatment. Thanks for posting.
Have done both electrolysis and home hot tank, tips that helped me, pre-mixing your detergents in a bucket and sacrifice an old shop vac to suck all the crap off the top of the water from the electrolysis and add some dish soap to the hot mix to help
Thanks for making this video. I'm about to hot tank and descale a 440 that I'm rebuilding, in the next day or two. I hate relying on shops to do stuff for me when I'm perfectly capable and have the equipment at my disposal, to do it myself. Not only that , but, I'll know what I've done and I'm not living by someone else's time schedule.
I've used electrolysis for many old rusty car parts and it works great. The trick is to prevent rust from coming back afterwards. Thanks for a good video..
Great video. Very educational. great project setup. One thing that caught my eye was the pneumatic cherry picker. This best method if seen. Advice and wisdom, pass it along. Thank you
Great video Gearhead.This was a very down to earth how to do it,nothing fancy ,JUST attention to DETAIL.So many pro and home mechanics might just hot tank and paint and the customer is blinded by the GLOSSY Finnish,that they fail to notice the rusty core inside.i under stand time is money to SOME people.BUT when you clean it as you have ,it shows that you as a hobbyist CARE about all the details,and this is what makes a motor not just good but great.For you it's not about money .it's about doing the best you know how.AND THAT'S FUN !!!Thanks for the great vid.and stay safe.
The block is the cathode and the mesh is your anode. Negative goes to your block and positive goes to your anodes. I’m a cathodic protection tech 2. Nonetheless your science it’s correct! Glad to see it in action.
I'm an EE. The Cathode is negative and anode positive. FYI. Great job with the video I've got to clean the cooling passages in a 1917 model T ford block.
During electrolysis, the Anode is the negative or reducing electrode that releases electrons to the external circuit and oxidizes during and electrochemical reaction. The Cathode is the positive or oxidizing electrode that acquires electrons from the external circuit and is reduced during the electrochemical reaction. If a battery is discharging, the cathode is positive and the anode is negative, conversely if the battery is charging, the cathode is negative and the anode is positive according to its greater difference of potential.
A good machine shop will do that when they clean the block. We ran brushes through every hole and passage. We ran it through a cabinet pressure washer Used hot water and Dawn to clean every passage and flushed it out with hot water blew it off with 150psi air pressure. Every block was washed twice. Once when it came in and the last thing before it left and bagged.
I worked in a machine shop. Bake, shot blast, wire wheel,, magneflux was only $60 or so. Baking and shot blasting gets the rust out of most blocks very well
The only trick these days is finding a shop that actually does the work. There's a few areas of the country that still have a few decent engine shops. Most will just quote you the cost for a new or rebuilt short block. Which often times is far more then cost of the machine work, clean, and magna flux. But it's cheaper for the shop. Shameful.
wow, thanks for this video; I was going to replace my block with an old rusty low mileage one that's been sitting a while, this would be essential for sure. I didn't know about electrolysis at all, hope I can pull it off without electrocuting myself!
Thanks for the vid. Im cleaning an old perkins head in 40 liters of water, noticed i first put in 500grams of sodium carbonate and got 3 amps at 24volts, put in another 500grams and got 6 amps, guessing the amount of sodium carbonate is a about water solubility of the sodium carbonate.. im 2 hours in and looking forward to tomorrow...the carbonate cost me a couple dollars which is great! real cheap solution!!
Pro tip: Paint the lifter valley and all internal unmachined surfaces with Glyptal. It helps with oil drain back and seals in any leftover casting sand or other debris and keeps any additional rust from happening.
If you remove the finger loop on the end of the pipe brush, you can mount it in a drill. In reverse it will clean threads out like nothing else. Chasing is still good, but it always leaves some grit behind.
This process works very good. I did a lot of rusty parts when I restored my Nova. I believe that's a 55 gallon drum. A block is too big to fit a 30 gallon.
whats in that barrel is far better for the world than the shit bubba and company pour into the ground with every oil change,busted rad hose,cracked gas line and automatic trans leak...
This is good if you dont have a shop close by. Most shops dont want to do just a hot tank but at any rate its a better job to let a machine shop do it. What this video doent say is there are oil galley plugs that need to be removed. Especally on an sbc there is one deep in there that gets clogged up. U have to use a 1/4 inch steel dowel about 18 inches long to get to it. hot tank cam bearings, freeze plugs is pretty cheap.
I'm a year and a dollar late to the show but your process isn't bad! In the future you could just drop a couple paper towels on top of the hot tank to soak the oils. Oils will absorb first then water will come in. That's when you know it's clean surface
I was watching that part thinking "you could just use a rag to get all that on the surface. Deal with it the same way you'd deal with any oily, dirty rag."
This method (electrolysis) shouldn't be used if you are going to put the motor back together without boring it. The electrolysis takes metal out of the bores, the lifter bores, and damages the cam bearings to the point that they must be replaced. If you are really concerned about the rust in the water jacket, either use Evapo-rust cooling system cleaner in the motor before you take it out, or after you put it back in. That way the rest of the block isn't subject to the electrolysis.
🔥💥Had no awareness of the adverse effects of electrolysis on the rest of those other parts and surfaces.💥🔥 I was aware of Evapo-Rust but thought given the scale of the work being done on the engine that the process in the video was going to do the same thing without side effects! 🚫 👉 _Thanks!_
Y'all try La Totally Awesome for the first cleaning. I pulled a 351 Windsor from an 86 one ton of a good friend of mine. That engine had never been washed. I first gave it a scraping then a soaking in that stuff. It really made it turn loose. That Totally Awesome isn't an acid , but it cuts like acid. I also use it on boats and itll cut the green crud on upholstery but doesn't hurt it.
Great video gearhead 327, I deburred the block and head to avoid any small cut on the hands. If you have the extra time that is. Not trying to hijack your video.
A thorough job before and after sending it to the machine shop. One less thing to be worried about if someone got careless or half-assed basic cleaning. A bit of a pain in the ass but less than tearing into the engine that you dumped 10k into because oops.
Pretty neat to know,, You can try to go one step further and put some kind of motor inside there that can vibrate and it will be like an ultrasonic cleaner
Yea if he heated the water while doing the electrolysis with a finishing sander bolted to the barrel then he'd get the whole flock of birds with one stone... j
Greatly detailed video. Would you say the order could be changed up a little? Obviously degrease first > Electrolysis > then bore brush passages > hot tank > spritz with coolanst mixture or something to help prevent flash rust > bore brush again with WD40 maybe even Mineral Spirits (that helps keep rust of the the passages). Question is do all the detailed cleaning before or after the machine shop? Also as of today 9/9/22 brake clean has gotten expensive asf, well everything has, but I don't like spraying it as much as I use to, because my wallet doesn't.
Dawn dishwashing liquid does good also. I have heard of putting CLR cleaner in the water passage without removing the freeze plugs. Just poured in water pump inlet.
Great video, i have tried most methods now and they all have pros and cons its really a money and what your after. The only thing i wouldn't do is use scotch brite i would by proper emery cloth (know its pretty similar) but one wrong move and it can be costly.....though nothing beats experience from cost hahaha
I feel like you could also have done the bottle brushes with a soap before the hot tank? then just let it dry hot and then oil the engine while it's still warm? I suppose you don't oil the coolant passages, I'm not really a mechanic, but I did stay at a holiday inn express lastnight
I made a hot tank with a barrel an the hot water heater electric elements wire it up plug it end over night an the block heads was clean a cleaning solution from the aito store work good one element will do it
Cut the top off that drum u got setting there fill with water use engine hoist lower the block in add 1/2 gallon of simple green and 2 bottles of drano gel concentrate and fire wood around the base light fire bring to boil hold 5 to 6 hrs remove engine will be spotless rinse with water to remove lye (drano)
Have you ever derusted with Muriatic acid followed with washing soda to neutralize? That stuff eats the grease too. Just my preference since cleaning a rusted motorcycle tank.
On the heat barrel, try running a small metal line down to bottom. You can use a single hole or more to send low air pressure. This will make air bubbles that will help agitate unwanted junk.
I have the SAME charger, bought 20+ years ago at an auction....old farm house....but when I do electrolysis, the needle does not move at all...hmmm I still get the reaction.... Got the same hat too !! My first car was a 1973 Monte Carlo, with a 350.
Good stuff there. I’d much rather do it myself before it even goes to them then do it again when comes back. Like he mentioned they get metal shavings all over it and if there not assembling they don’t care
What amps did you set the battery charger on? So the block is negative and the 2 wire mesh were your positive? Thanks for sharing. Take care, be safe, and have fun regardless.
I've done the electrolysis cleaning on my engine block as well , but I'm wondering now if doing a hot tank rust electrolysis might boil out rust better than room temp water.?
If you're putting new bearings in I think it's better to leave the old ones in so less critically dimensioned holes/bores is subject to material loss from the electrolysis. I think if you could just pump water through the water jackets only, maybe with an old set of heads attached or something it would mean you're only exposing those corroded water jackets to the electrolysis which would leave all those import surfaces unchanged.
You have how much invested in all this equipment? What are you going to do with all the contaminated water? I keep taking my blocks and heads to my local machine shop.
I invested a free battery charger and a couple dollars of soap, washing soda, propane. The "contaminated" water was not contaminated with anything except rust/scale and some laundry detergent. The oil/grease was removed as shown) and thusly poured down the drain. You just keep taking your engines to the machine shop and waiting weeks for them to clean them for you and I will keep cleaning my own in just a fraction of the time and for a whole lot less $$.
Do you know if its safe to assemble an engine after electrolysis, without reboring piston cylinders (i.e, will electrolysis ruin cylinders?). I want to de-rust coolant passages by cleaning entire engine w/ electrolysis, and then re-assemble right away. Good idea?
ua-cam.com/video/46zesqJ_rxg/v-deo.html If you fast forward to 5:30 you can see this very same engine running that was in this video. I did not bore this engine and I reused the old pistons but, I did replace the cam bearings. I have had good success using chrome moly rings on old worn out cylinder bores. If you are going to use cast piston rings, I would strongly recommend honing the cylinders. The only thing I would imagine that would not do well after electrolysis is the cam bearings. They are usually made of an aluminum alloy that electrolysis(and acid hot tanking) wrecks havoc on(laundry soap hot tanking is ok for them if no electrolysis is used). So I would recommend replacing them after electrolysis. So, is it a good idea? Knowing that I have a good rebuildable core with no cracks has worked for me many times.
Nice idea! Looking at offering engine cleaning as a small business to help fund my projects. Somewhere between 2-500 for a completely machine shop prepped block. Hot tank, then electrolysis in white vinegar. I feel that is the better order to do things in. Agitated the entire time with fish tank bubblers. Washed with a powerwasher mixed with baking soda to clear all the vinegar, and immediately fogged with WD40, and vacuum bagged while inhaling WD40 fog.
I have been doing this since the mid 80's when I was 15yo with my first SBC rebuild, a 307. I boiled the block, heads, nuts, bolt, valve covers, anything that would fit in the drum, fired with wood and boiled for about 4-6 hours with a box of arm and hammer laundry detergent, everything was BARE metal when I pulled it out of the water the next day, but must spray with a couple cans of WD 40 when done, it will start rusting immediately when pulled from the drum, depending on weather conditions!!
That 80 bucks for a machine shop hot tank is lookin better and better.
Epic comment this going straight to the hall of fame
18:28 - 🤔 A coffee filter supported inside a handled mesh strainer (~from the kitchen goods aisle at the store) to shorten up the chore of skimming?
19:35 - picked up a set of nylon and metal bristle brushes (albeit, most with the shorter handles) from Harbor Freight for just such jobs.... Used a nylon brush to clean out brake caliper pin holes along with spray lubricant that was safe for the rubber boots while slowly spinning the brush in and out of each boot. Just cut off the brush's loop handle and insert into drill chuck and keep the RPMs low while keeping the location wet and cleared with lube spray (paper towel below to catch the mess). 👍 Got things cleaned up quick for fresh grease.
A hot tank is just going to remove the grease and oil. Not going to do anything to the rust, carbon or mill scale
There's an additional, electrolysis step shown for the chemical removal of rust along with a Hearted comment for the before and after timestamps.
I did the electrolysis trick on an old MG engine that I had picked up. I was shocked at the amount of rust that came out of that block. I may have to try the hot water treatment. Thanks for posting.
Have done both electrolysis and home hot tank, tips that helped me, pre-mixing your detergents in a bucket and sacrifice an old shop vac to suck all the crap off the top of the water from the electrolysis and add some dish soap to the hot mix to help
Thanks for making this video. I'm about to hot tank and descale a 440 that I'm rebuilding, in the next day or two. I hate relying on shops to do stuff for me when I'm perfectly capable and have the equipment at my disposal, to do it myself. Not only that , but, I'll know what I've done and I'm not living by someone else's time schedule.
I've used electrolysis for many old rusty car parts and it works great. The trick is to prevent rust from coming back afterwards. Thanks for a good video..
Great video. Very educational. great project setup. One thing that caught my eye was the pneumatic cherry picker. This best method if seen. Advice and wisdom, pass it along. Thank you
Hi there, this worked realy well on my 1936 Rolls Royce barrels - thanks and its so simple.
Drill a hole in a 3 inch suction cup and slide it on you blowgun. It makes a deflection shield so the stuff in the bolt holes dont blow all over you.
[notes taken]
John Ballard, You can use the rubber bottom of a toilet plunger too! LOL!
@@danieltaylor9761 That might be a little overkill.
Nice video, thanks for posting.
I’ve found it’s better to always pre mix powder with water before adding. Just a pedantic thing.
Thanks! Awesome idea
This has to be the BEST VIDEO I've seen on the process
Great video Gearhead.This was a very down to earth how to do it,nothing fancy ,JUST attention to DETAIL.So many pro and home mechanics might just hot tank and paint and the customer is blinded by the GLOSSY Finnish,that they fail to notice the rusty core inside.i under stand time is money to SOME people.BUT when you clean it as you have ,it shows that you as a hobbyist CARE about all the details,and this is what makes a motor not just good but great.For you it's not about money .it's about doing the best you know how.AND THAT'S FUN !!!Thanks for the great vid.and stay safe.
Thanks.
I got a rusty pile of 383 covered in baby blue gloss that came with a 65 Plymouth.
Hey..whats the gizmo on your engine hoist that is using air.. I want one.. Thanks..
It is an air over hydraulic 8 ton ram from Harbor Freight. It sure make life a lot easier and faster too! I will do a video about it in the future.
Ahhhh..Good ole butt kiss comments...
Very informative. One day I must give your process a try for myself
The block is the cathode and the mesh is your anode. Negative goes to your block and positive goes to your anodes. I’m a cathodic protection tech 2. Nonetheless your science it’s correct! Glad to see it in action.
PANIC ?
Miss your videos like this. The yard lift was a cool project years ago. And the log splitter
Very interesting. First time I've actually seen that done. Thanks for sharing.
I'm an EE. The Cathode is negative and anode positive. FYI. Great job with the video I've got to clean the cooling passages in a 1917 model T ford block.
During electrolysis, the Anode is the negative or reducing electrode that releases electrons to the external circuit and oxidizes during and electrochemical reaction. The Cathode is the positive or oxidizing electrode that acquires electrons from the external circuit and is reduced during the electrochemical reaction. If a battery is discharging, the cathode is positive and the anode is negative, conversely if the battery is charging, the cathode is negative and the anode is positive according to its greater difference of potential.
This takes rebuilding a motor to a whole other level.
A good machine shop will do that when they clean the block. We ran brushes through every hole and passage. We ran it through a cabinet pressure washer Used hot water and Dawn to clean every passage and flushed it out with hot water blew it off with 150psi air pressure. Every block was washed twice. Once when it came in and the last thing before it left and bagged.
I worked in a machine shop. Bake, shot blast, wire wheel,, magneflux was only $60 or so. Baking and shot blasting gets the rust out of most blocks very well
The only trick these days is finding a shop that actually does the work. There's a few areas of the country that still have a few decent engine shops. Most will just quote you the cost for a new or rebuilt short block. Which often times is far more then cost of the machine work, clean, and magna flux. But it's cheaper for the shop. Shameful.
wow, thanks for this video; I was going to replace my block with an old rusty low mileage one that's been sitting a while, this would be essential for sure. I didn't know about electrolysis at all, hope I can pull it off without electrocuting myself!
Thanks for the vid. Im cleaning an old perkins head in 40 liters of water, noticed i first put in 500grams of sodium carbonate and got 3 amps at 24volts, put in another 500grams and got 6 amps, guessing the amount of sodium carbonate is a about water solubility of the sodium carbonate.. im 2 hours in and looking forward to tomorrow...the carbonate cost me a couple dollars which is great! real cheap solution!!
This has to be one of the best satisfying videos out there. Nice job
im 16, finally got around to rebuilding a 72 block 302 (i know, a ford, the wrong brand) and im gonna have to try this!
Peaceful video. Stuck through the whole thing not a problem!
Pro tip: Paint the lifter valley and all internal unmachined surfaces with Glyptal. It helps with oil drain back and seals in any leftover casting sand or other debris and keeps any additional rust from happening.
@@restopesto9448 Glyptal is a wonder, and good, and delicious. You may be thinking rustoleum. Rustoleum will clog an oil pump.
If you remove the finger loop on the end of the pipe brush, you can mount it in a drill. In reverse it will clean threads out like nothing else. Chasing is still good, but it always leaves some grit behind.
Thanks for the idea, im guna have to try that
Seems like pipe cleaner before and after chasing would be the way to go if you want your torque readings spot-on.
That is the first 010 block I have seen that is not a 4 bolt . Nice job .
Best way to clean inside a block. Fill it with vinegar. Works very well dissolves all rust.
How would that compare to electrolysis?
This process works very good. I did a lot of rusty parts when I restored my Nova. I believe that's a 55 gallon drum. A block is too big to fit a 30 gallon.
"Dispose of properly" = Front kick followed by the sound of another job well done..
hahahaha made me laugh
😂😂
😂😂😂😂
This is SPARTA !
whats in that barrel is far better for the world than the shit bubba and company pour into the ground with every oil change,busted rad hose,cracked gas line and automatic trans leak...
Nice job cleaning those water ports
Very informative! Can’ t wait to get started on my own engine!
wow this is a pretty high tech setup for what you have
Thanks for sharing your knowledge & letting us All know how we can save our dollars when playing with our engines
This works great for restoring cast iron pans.
This is good if you dont have a shop close by. Most shops dont want to do just a hot tank but at any rate its a better job to let a machine shop do it. What this video doent say is there are oil galley plugs that need to be removed. Especally on an sbc there is one deep in there that gets clogged up. U have to use a 1/4 inch steel dowel about 18 inches long to get to it. hot tank cam bearings, freeze plugs is pretty cheap.
I suggest a non-conductive link between your hoist and the engine chain. It is providing an alternative path for current to ground.
The needle is pegged because there is no resistance in the circuit. You might consider a high wattage resistor in series with one of your clamps.
Less bicarb soda
I boil my blocks in all most the same way but with no turkey fryer. I just blast a torpedo heater set right next to the barrel until it’s plenty hot.
I wonder how that would turn out if you have it another dip in a clean tank. That was some amazing results!
I'm a year and a dollar late to the show but your process isn't bad! In the future you could just drop a couple paper towels on top of the hot tank to soak the oils. Oils will absorb first then water will come in. That's when you know it's clean surface
I was watching that part thinking "you could just use a rag to get all that on the surface. Deal with it the same way you'd deal with any oily, dirty rag."
This method (electrolysis) shouldn't be used if you are going to put the motor back together without boring it. The electrolysis takes metal out of the bores, the lifter bores, and damages the cam bearings to the point that they must be replaced. If you are really concerned about the rust in the water jacket, either use Evapo-rust cooling system cleaner in the motor before you take it out, or after you put it back in. That way the rest of the block isn't subject to the electrolysis.
🔥💥Had no awareness of the adverse effects of electrolysis on the rest of those other parts and surfaces.💥🔥
I was aware of Evapo-Rust but thought given the scale of the work being done on the engine that the process in the video was going to do the same thing without side effects! 🚫
👉 _Thanks!_
@Cam montreuil engines let me know what you find out! Wanting to do this on my 6.0
@Cam montreuil engines do you have a report for us? I’m curious to know myself. Thanks
Well?
I found Zep's BBQ spray on cleaner from home depot works great and is bio degradable. Easy Off works just as well.
Nothing...works better than oven cleaner. That zep purple is pretty good too....
@@Chuffin_ell Zep Purple is great but a bit toxic and will burn the crap out of you without gloves.
We use a water hose right off the water heater; it evaporates quickly
Y'all try La Totally Awesome for the first cleaning. I pulled a 351 Windsor from an 86 one ton of a good friend of mine. That engine had never been washed. I first gave it a scraping then a soaking in that stuff. It really made it turn loose. That Totally Awesome isn't an acid , but it cuts like acid. I also use it on boats and itll cut the green crud on upholstery but doesn't hurt it.
Great video! There's no such thing as "too clean".
Great video gearhead 327, I deburred the block and head to avoid any small cut on the hands. If you have the extra time that is.
Not trying to hijack your video.
A thorough job before and after sending it to the machine shop. One less thing to be worried about if someone got careless or half-assed basic cleaning. A bit of a pain in the ass but less than tearing into the engine that you dumped 10k into because oops.
Pretty neat to know,,
You can try to go one step further and put some kind of motor inside there that can vibrate and it will be like an ultrasonic cleaner
Yea if he heated the water while doing the electrolysis with a finishing sander bolted to the barrel then he'd get the whole flock of birds with one stone... j
@@Z-Ack 😄
Greatly detailed video.
Would you say the order could be changed up a little? Obviously degrease first > Electrolysis > then bore brush passages > hot tank > spritz with coolanst mixture or something to help prevent flash rust > bore brush again with WD40 maybe even Mineral Spirits (that helps keep rust of the the passages).
Question is do all the detailed cleaning before or after the machine shop?
Also as of today 9/9/22 brake clean has gotten expensive asf, well everything has, but I don't like spraying it as much as I use to, because my wallet doesn't.
Very nice video. I learned a lot. In my case it will go to the shop
I use Jet Lube 12/34 it keep clean metal parts from any rust forming, many other things it can be used for.
No way that bin hold 30 g I think you forgot about the block.but really well done mate . Thanks
Dawn dishwashing liquid does good also. I have heard of putting CLR cleaner in the water passage without removing the freeze plugs. Just poured in water pump inlet.
Nice result from this and previous electrolysis. Where did you get the air motor for air powered hydraulic cylinder ?.
Thanks. I got it from Harbor Freight.
Great video, i have tried most methods now and they all have pros and cons its really a money and what your after.
The only thing i wouldn't do is use scotch brite i would by proper emery cloth (know its pretty similar) but one wrong move and it can be costly.....though nothing beats experience from cost hahaha
I just picked up an old dishwasher which I’m gonna use as a parts washer
I too have done some electrolysis work, and the hair still hasn’t grown back around my crank.
This was a really great informative video thank you
Good joke with the peanut oil. You had me going for a minute there!! Good job.
Purple power cleaner in water then heat and let soak.. works good too
Really liked what u had 2 show but got a bit lost when it came to the electrolysis set up...
I feel like you could also have done the bottle brushes with a soap before the hot tank? then just let it dry hot and then oil the engine while it's still warm? I suppose you don't oil the coolant passages, I'm not really a mechanic, but I did stay at a holiday inn express lastnight
can u use anything but expandable metal for the electrode? is that hard to find?
CLR works better then washing soda and for degreasing Easy-OFF oven cleaner & pressure washer works great .
I made a hot tank with a barrel an the hot water heater electric elements wire it up plug it end over night an the block heads was clean a cleaning solution from the aito store work good one element will do it
Cut the top off that drum u got setting there fill with water use engine hoist lower the block in add 1/2 gallon of simple green and 2 bottles of drano gel concentrate and fire wood around the base light fire bring to boil hold 5 to 6 hrs remove engine will be spotless rinse with water to remove lye (drano)
@Cam montreuil engines super clean will work but drain cleaner is better its what is in machine shop hot tank
@Cam montreuil engines should work awesome the drain cleaner just Destroies greases its what its designed to do
Now you just jammed the dip stick tube into the table
Be careful the bubbling you see is hydrogen, so you were right to use that process outside.
Have you ever derusted with Muriatic acid followed with washing soda to neutralize? That stuff eats the grease too. Just my preference since cleaning a rusted motorcycle tank.
Long ago, I tried to derust a 300 Ford 6 cylinder valve cover and screwed it all up. I didn't know about the acid neutralizing back then.
Let's talk about those 'off-road' casters on your cherry picker. I need those!
They're cheap and I got them from Harbor Freight.
Great video, thanks! I see some EPA prevention going on too just in the event they are watching?!
A car will leak more oil in the driveway than that in the barrel. Dont sweat the small stuff in this world, your stress is killin the nerves.
On the heat barrel, try running a small metal line down to bottom. You can use a single hole or more to send low air pressure. This will make air bubbles that will help agitate unwanted junk.
I have the SAME charger, bought 20+ years ago at an auction....old farm house....but when I do electrolysis, the needle does not move at all...hmmm I still get the reaction.... Got the same hat too !! My first car was a 1973 Monte Carlo, with a 350.
I'm going to Warsh mine the same way!
Before - 1:10
and 👇
After - 8:38 👌👍
Niiice!
Should of pulled the cam bearings out before the electrolysis.
Good stuff there. I’d much rather do it myself before it even goes to them then do it again when comes back. Like he mentioned they get metal shavings all over it and if there not assembling they don’t care
good job mate
Any reason why you didn't remove the cam bearings before cleaning it?
I should have but, didn't.
A media blaster probably would do just as good as that and less headache.
Tremendous video Gearhead. Instant sub from me.
What amps did you set the battery charger on? So the block is negative and the 2 wire mesh were your positive? Thanks for sharing. Take care, be safe, and have fun regardless.
Why dodn't you take the cam bearings out?
I've done the electrolysis cleaning on my engine block as well , but I'm wondering now if doing a hot tank rust electrolysis might boil out rust better than room temp water.?
I think that the added heat would make it better and faster.
This got me thinking too. Might try it soon
use cascade powderd dishwasher soap for aluminum engines you can thank me later
Like the intro. I got it.
You need to remove the cam bearings before you do the electrolysis.
If you're replacing them anyways...
If you're putting new bearings in I think it's better to leave the old ones in so less critically dimensioned holes/bores is subject to material loss from the electrolysis. I think if you could just pump water through the water jackets only, maybe with an old set of heads attached or something it would mean you're only exposing those corroded water jackets to the electrolysis which would leave all those import surfaces unchanged.
Good stuff
You have how much invested in all this equipment? What are you going to do with all the contaminated water? I keep taking my blocks and heads to my local machine shop.
I invested a free battery charger and a couple dollars of soap, washing soda, propane. The "contaminated" water was not contaminated with anything except rust/scale and some laundry detergent. The oil/grease was removed as shown) and thusly poured down the drain. You just keep taking your engines to the machine shop and waiting weeks for them to clean them for you and I will keep cleaning my own in just a fraction of the time and for a whole lot less $$.
Do you know if its safe to assemble an engine after electrolysis, without reboring piston cylinders (i.e, will electrolysis ruin cylinders?). I want to de-rust coolant passages by cleaning entire engine w/ electrolysis, and then re-assemble right away. Good idea?
ua-cam.com/video/46zesqJ_rxg/v-deo.html
If you fast forward to 5:30 you can see this very same engine running that was in this video. I did not bore this engine and I reused the old pistons but, I did replace the cam bearings. I have had good success using chrome moly rings on old worn out cylinder bores. If you are going to use cast piston rings, I would strongly recommend honing the cylinders. The only thing I would imagine that would not do well after electrolysis is the cam bearings. They are usually made of an aluminum alloy that electrolysis(and acid hot tanking) wrecks havoc on(laundry soap hot tanking is ok for them if no electrolysis is used). So I would recommend replacing them after electrolysis. So, is it a good idea? Knowing that I have a good rebuildable core with no cracks has worked for me many times.
Very good video and explaination thank you
Good stuff, thanks for the upload
Wish I knew this back in 80’s 🤣😂
So, If I hooked up my 200 Amp boost battery charger, would that block be dancing around in the trashcan as the rust was jumping off the block?
Thats a good one! Maybe try that at Halloween :)
What kind of wheels did you use on your motor puller an what is the pump system you use to lift it like that
did you take the cam bearings out
I should have but, I did not for the cleaning. I did replace the cam bearing after the engine was cleaned.
THe electrolysis doesn't mess with any clearances or the bores?
Degrease at carwash on a trailer, in and out no worries
Nice idea! Looking at offering engine cleaning as a small business to help fund my projects. Somewhere between 2-500 for a completely machine shop prepped block. Hot tank, then electrolysis in white vinegar. I feel that is the better order to do things in. Agitated the entire time with fish tank bubblers. Washed with a powerwasher mixed with baking soda to clear all the vinegar, and immediately fogged with WD40, and vacuum bagged while inhaling WD40 fog.
While the bag inhales wd40 not me lol
Nice job! Would that eat the cam bearings?
Yes it will nees new cam bearings
Cam bearings should be replaced anyways
Strong turkey Fryer holding all that weight
You are correct. The block weights @170lbs. and @30 gallons of water is over 400lbs.