block cleaning question

[Guest Anonymous]

Have just picked up my block from the machine shop and want to prepare it for assembly. How do you clean it? Soap and water? Cotton? Paper towels? TIA

By the way I searched archives and came up empty

No innocent kittens were harmed in the composition of this question.

[Guest Anonymous]

If it just came from the machine shop, it should be clean as a whistle. If you find that it's loaded with grit and crud from machining and honing, bring it back to the machine shop and have them clean it right. All passages should be blown out with compressed air to make sure there is no more machining residue.

If it's just got a coating of rust preventative on it, you can remove it with enviro-friendly degreaser. Simple green and water works just fine, or you could even use Dawn, and once it's rinsed and dried you should be able to paint it. Keep a coating of light grease,motor oil, or even WD-40, on machined surfaces to keep them fresh.

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

The block will come back from the machine shop hot tanked once or twice and solvent washed after machining but both these primarily remove oil and greese but don't do enough flushing to remove all the grit and chips from the machining. To get the block as clean as possable it should be washed with water as hot as you can stand it and detergent (not soap) as a detergent picks up the little bits of crap and floats it away, scrub all oil passages and head bolt holes with nylon test tube brushes leave the cyl bores alone for now, then flush the block repeatedly with very hot water followed with WD 40 over everthing and blow off with compressed air. When dry run your fingers over the entire block and if you find any discoloration or grit on you fingers at all repeat untill clean. For the bores soak a white paper towel or 100% cotton rag with atf and scrub each cylinder untill there is nothing on the rag wipe the cylinders dry with a fresh towel and look for any traces of crap on the towel, repeat as untill clean this is important for long ring life and the best possable ring seal. you only get one chance to get your block clean per rebuild you might as well do it the best you can....Marty....

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't know many people who still run a hot tank... that name has now become a euphamisism for spray cabinet... enviromental guys hate that huge tank of chemicals... needless.. take greasy nasty crap customer block.... throw it in spray cabinet.. talking 150psi of really hot caustic acid mixture sprayed on the block... removes most grease... grime.. and paint... wipe it down with a towel or blow it off.. most of the time the block is so hot it steams the water off after it is removed and drys itself.. machine work is then done... and then the block is taken to a spray area... where a super sized pressure washer that heats the water shoots the block... it's just water though... not another trip to the hot tank (spray cabinet) as you will end up with the chemicals drying in the oil passages of the block.. not something you want touching your rear main seal... trust me.. now you shoot that pressurized water though every hole in that block.. cleaning all the areas... those little brushes are a joke as they can't reach all the areas you need them to and they take forever causing your fresh machined area to rust quite fast.. if you can't see the brush come out the other side of the oil passage then you just pushed the chips deeper.. while a super concentrated water blast will remove any chips left in there.. then you apply a cosmoline/wd-40 to the block as you dry it with compressed metric air.. I use vintage 1970's metric air for my bmw blocks needless if the block has a cosmoline/wd-40ish coat on it.... carb cleaner and a rag will take it right off... then assemble... party on

[Guest Anonymous]

If I bring parts to a machine shop and they still require lots of cleaning when they send them back, I'll find another machine shop.

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

You can get it cleaner though. As for the brushes not working in the oil passages you'll have to point out the one in the m10 engine that dead ends because I don't recall which one it is off the top of my head.