Bushings goo clean up

[RicanBeemer]

Hello All, 

Rookie question here, did some search and nothing came up.

 

Last night I started the process of changing my alternator bushings, what a mess! 

 

The old bushings were just floating on the melted bushing goo.

 

How do I get the goo left over bushings of the alternator, tools, hands and everything else it touch?

 

I tried gas, acetone, mineral spirits, carburator cleaner, brake cleaner and the best result I got was with Dawn liquid dish soap but still like thick tar stocked on everything. 

 

When I get to the suspension bushing is it going to be the same melting bushings?

 

Thanks.

[PaulTWinterton]

Something is not right.  There shouldn't be any goo, anywhere.  It would be good to understand why they "melted" or if someone applied some adhesive for some reason.  Presuming the bushings are rubber vs. urethane, the best clean up solvent would be Xylene/Toluene, available at your favorite hardware store.  Acetone and most other cleaners will just push around the goo.  The solvents above will dilute the rubber/adhesive so you can wipe it off.

 

Is there a chance that there is an overheating issue or a grounding issue that would cause the alternator (bracket) to get extremely hot and melt the rubber?  Smarter minds are required to answer that question. ☺️   Good luck!

[RicanBeemer]

Thank you  Paul, 

 

Am going to Lowes to see if they carry it. I got the car couple weeks ago, so I dont know the history.  The alternator was twisting on the mount when accelerating and the belt was squeaking.

 

Yes the bushing were not dried they were like melted rubber, like sticky tar. 

 

My hands still black after trying to work on them last night. I used gloves but the rubber glove just stuck to the melted rubber and torn down.

[Son of Marty]

The goo is common in alternator bushings from a mix of oil, vibration and heat along with old bushings and is is messy be sure to ventilate well and use gloves with toluene it's bad for the bod and the effects are cumulative.

[Mike Self]

Just went through this with the alternator bushings on my '69, which I swear I had changed to urethane decades ago.  I hadn't.

 

Since I was doing the job poolside at a motel I was a little short of solvents, so used WD-40, paper towels--and a lot of elbow grease.  The WD40 did a pretty good job of cleaning up the alternator housing after I scraped the worst of the goo off.  It also helped me clean the goo off my hands, after transferring it from the alternator to my epidermis.

 

mike 

[PaulTWinterton]

On 5/20/2020 at 9:59 AM, Son of Marty said:

ventilate well and use gloves with toluene it's bad for the bod and the effects are cumulative.

 

"Like sniffing glue".  But good ventilation (or respirator) and gloves make it a great cleaner of rubber goo.  Absolutely great for cleaning the underside of the hood where decades old glue is all that is left of the insulation.  Won't harm cured paint.

 

Contact Cement thinner is the same stuff.

Edited May 21, 2020 by PaulTWinterton