Engine Cleaning

yup79

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Hey all, I am at the point of splitting the case for my 1980 xs. Before I do that is there an easier way to just clean the crap out of it, meaning get the old sludge out and clean the outside to the point of ready for paint.

What are your thoughts...

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u do what u gotta do,stui kid. what i likeke to do while it is still in the bike and running, is put a few oz of safoam, and run it for 50 miles or so, but since thats out of the question, grab a case of brake cleen, and start spraying
 
Hi yup and welcome,
angus' brake cleen will work, or I got a spraycan of "heavy duty engine and tool cleaner" from Canadian Tire that worked OK. Same price as brake cleen but the can was twice as big.
What I'd do first though is put a bigger catchbowl under your engine stand and scrub off the worst of the crud with squirt bottle of kerosene and an old paintbrush.
 
My method may be a little old school, but it works. Ever heard of GUNK? It's been around forever, it's a product that when mixed with either kerosene (which no one can afford anymore) or diesel (which is very cheap these days) makes a solution that dissolves oil and grease and then washes away with water. I keep a five gal. pail filled about 2/3 around for dunking parts and a spray bottle on hand. Parts like case halves can be left in the bucket for several days to dissolve caked on deposit. It's best to scrap off all the thick stuff first. One thing to remember is that although most neoprene type items or plastics will not be affected rubber will swell and soften if left in too long.
I last bought it online as 1 gal. concentrate, look for; Gunk S-C super concentrate degreaser. Also a parts cleaning brush helps.
 
Thanks for all the suggestion guys...would all these options be good if I left it as is and didn't split the case meaning would it damage the inners? I've thought about sealing off the open areas and bead blasting it...
 
Thanks for all the suggestion guys...would all these options be good if I left it as is and didn't split the case meaning would it damage the inners? I've thought about sealing off the open areas and bead blasting it...

Hi yup,
If you use petroleum based solvents I'd advise leaving everything open so the wash fluid can drain out.
If you go with non-foaming detergent and water seal it up good and unseal it right away after to make sure there's no water left inside.
I doubt that it's possible to seal it up good enough to bead blast, that blasting media gets EVERYWHERE!
 
do NOT bead blast it. you will have glass grit inside your cases. that only works for completely disassembled parts without bearings etc that can be thoroughly washed in hot soapy water afterwards.
 
I have a can of that engine brite stuff, but I prefere brake kleen because it evaporates, where as the engine bright is just kerosene and diesel. I have live stock, and would rather not spill shit all over the ground. It does work good though.
HF sells a soda blaster that works quite well.
its more of a pinpoint application. I would go that route after reassembly..
 
I'm going to assume you meant the location of that little wire loop. It looks to be out of place, not in the little case notch provided for it. Yes, that was changed on the later models. A new heavier wire clip was installed and it wouldn't fit where the old skinny one did, so it was placed next to the case notch. According to the Tech Bulletin, the change took place on the '76 model.
 
Yup you're right...another question...I got all the bolts and nuts off but can't seem to get it split...any suggestions?
 
Use a heat gun and heat up where the cases meet together. Once it's warm tap the cases apart.....it takes a little bit of persuasion
 
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