Saving Old Seagulls

Hi All, I've been trolling through past threads looking for advice re clearing choked block waterways and came across an old thread that mentioned a product called Corro-dip from down under. Took an apparently good 40+ apart last night and there is considerable evidence of serious overheating and the waterways are hard to find. Need to get into ALL of the nooks and crannies as it is solid (dynamite might work but is unavailable)

http://www.liquideng.com.au/corrodip.html

I don't suppose anyone knows if there is a UK equivalent?

Ken

I do think that the only way to remove the rust is by mechanical means.

Using a small electrical screwdriver and a hammer works best for me.

Just keep chipping away and you will soon have a nice heap of rust.

I did try the rust remover that Hammerite sell, the stuff you need to dilute with ten parts water. I used it neat and left it for a few days. It removed some but I do find chipping away more effective.

There is merit in using rust remover for surface corrosion, but the rusted waterways can be 6mm solid rust which is a total different story.

H-A

thanks H-A, I'll just have to set to, was hoping for an easy out but realised having read so many threads that it was probably unlikely. Would you think that having done a job with the screwdriver that there is any merit in using something like descaler to just clean and 'polish' up the waterways so that they are smooth? I have seen pictures of cleaned up blocks on this site and they look so far removed from what I have on my bench its hard to see how I could get my blocks that polished.
Ken

I would just stick to getting the blockages out of the way so the water can circulate.

I can see that descaler or rust remover may get at some of the hard to reach places, but from what I have seen it will only remove a small amount of rust. There is no need to polish the water passages, just clean them out and help prevent further build up by thorough flushing after use in salt water.

H-A

I've mentioned before that I've used a slow-cooker (a.k.a "crock-pot") obtained via my local thrift store to hot-soak a nasty cylinder block with good results. Stick the cylinder in the pot - fill with a decent all-purpose heavy-duty non-sudsing cleaner, set it on high and let it go for a couple days. The ones I've done come out looking like new and stripped of their paint all the way down to bare metal.

This likley isn't a good way to go if you're doing just one cylinder - but if you fool with small motors to any extent it can be worthwhile to have around.

....and don't use that cooker for food aymore

Did it clean out the clogged waterways to your satisfaction?

the last cylinder i cleaned had a good amount of rust and crud in the water passages. it wasn't running when i got it so i don't know if it was totally clogged, but if not it was darn close. after cooking for a couple days in some cleaner called "purple power" it came out with the water passages looking like new.

i measured the temp of the cylinder when it came out of the cooker and it was 325*F

got the cleaner at walmart for 6.00/gallon.

i have a sieve i stole from the kitchen that i put small parts in for cleaning

The thing about the mechanical method is that you can see the amount to be removed, you can judge accurately when it's gone, and you can do it quite quickly. Even the worst clagged up Century or Forty block can be cleared out quite rapidly. As an added bonus you get to see the state of the head, piston, gasket,rings etc.

[quote="Jerry In Maine"] ... after cooking for a couple days in some cleaner called "purple power" it came out with the water passages looking like new.

Jerry, this is good. Did it leave the cylinder bore undamaged?

Hi Guys

With this post and another on the go similar, it got me thinking maybe since I have my two spare engines stripped it wouldn't hurt to clean out the blocks. First I find one of the blocks is with screw heads, so I decided to leave well alone, however the other had bolts and they came off ok. God what a build-up of rust in the waterways. One thing I found though is the copper gasket. Should it be made up of three layers? My gasket is made up of like three veneers. It will go back on this way, I was just wondering if this was how they are.

Gerard

Todd wrote:
Jerry, this is good. Did it leave the cylinder bore undamaged?

no damage to the bore whatsoever. block was squeeky clean and looked like it did when it left the factory - minus the paint. cleaners like "purple power" and "simple green" won't cause rust.

do prime/paint the exterior and oil the bore afterwards else it will get some surface rust. the cleaning removes all oil that might have been protecting it.

good on you jerry....looks like you may have solved an age old seagull problem. would the same method work for a stuck drive shaft do you think? (with the pot lid off of course)

billy:
i recently used the cooker to loosen a stuck piston. instead of the cleaner solution i used a mix of the lightest motor oil i could find, which was 5w20, and "marvel mystery oil" which has been a "cure all" motor additive here in the states for years. the marvel oil contains oil of camphor, which (in addition to making it smell nice) is good for loosening stuck metal parts. it took a couple days, but it loosened the piston. the oil will take on a bit of a burnt smell after awhile but it still seems to work. when done funnel the oil out into a jug, wipe out the cooker and its ready again for the cleaner solution.

i used to play with model airplane engines and had friends who swore by using auto antifreeze in a slow cooker to remove gunk. these 2-cycle motors run very hot and the lube oil would bake on hard to the internals. if you try this make sure you use the older ethylene glycol mix and not the newer pet-safe, earth-friendly propylene glycol stuff.

to clean up a really rusted up cylinder you might soak in the oil for a while to take advantage of the penetrating qualities. once it loosens up switch to the cleaner solution.

you can get cookers that are longer than they are deep - like for holding a bird laying on its breast. these are easier to get longer items in. i've yet to find a church thrift shop, goodwill or salvation army store than didn't have a good selection of these cookers - usually for a couple bucks or so - so you might get one dedicated for cleaning and another for oil soaking stuck parts.

if you want to get fancy take a length of metal tubing, bend into an 'L' shape with holes in the botton of the 'L' then squeeze the end closed and connect to a aquarium air pump. stick the tube in the pot and the bubbles will agitate the solution and help the cleaning process. stick a straight undrilled, uncapped tube up into the water jacket to help bubble out the rust directly. make a small box out of screen wire for small parts or steal the wifes sieve from the kitchen.

once the piston is clean-as-new its really easy to see any defects like cracks. afterwards just add salt, garnish and be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

Is this the stuff Jerry?

http://www.clean-rite.com/purplepower_i ... easer.html

Is it just a strong detergent.

H-A

h/a

that's the stuff i'm using for cleaning. it did pretty good for rust as well. there's also a cleaner called "simple green" that works good to. i think that any similar cleaner would work for the typical petro-based gunk you might find on an engine. also think that its the heat over time that really does most of the work.

for loosening up stuck parts use a mix of light oil and penetrant. this'll also help get rust so for clogged water passages you might go with the oil/penetrant for a while then finish up with the cleaner.