Hot tanking aluminum parts?

[Jhurt]

I?d like to hot tank my cylinder head and jugs to help remove 40 years of crap, grease, oils and whatever else..does anyone know of a common aluminum-safe degreaser that will work well but not cost a fortune? I see a few different products advertised as safe for aluminum but it?s so expensive. I see youtooob videos of people using up all manner of stuff but i really don?t want anything that will attack the mounting surfaces or cam bearing surfaces. Has anyone done this themselves at home with good (safe) results?

 

[posplayr]

I?d like to hot tank my cylinder head and jugs to help remove 40 years of crap, grease, oils and whatever else..does anyone know of a common aluminum-safe degreaser that will work well but not cost a fortune? I see a few different products advertised as safe for aluminum but it?s so expensive. I see youtooob videos of people using up all manner of stuff but i really don?t want anything that will attack the mounting surfaces or cam bearing surfaces. Has anyone done this themselves at home with good (safe) results?

You can cut the majority of the gunk with a plastic brush and WD-40. This does nothing to the metal.

Most people do soda blasting for a very clean surface or walnut shells work reasonably well.

 

[Nessism]

Simple Green Pro is supposedly safe for aluminum. You could build a fire and boil the parts. A guy on KZ Rider did it anyway.

 

[Grimly]

I used a couple of dishwasher tablets dissolved in a gallon of hot water to leave the head in overnight. It softened up the muck wonderfully well, and a subsequent bath in kerosene with paintbrush got it all out.
The shortcut is simply put the head in the dishwasher - preferably one that's old and beaten up and lives in the workshop, thereby avoiding domestic strife.

 

[GregT]

I have a couple of cold baths set up for parts soaking.
I go to a local cleaners supply house and ask what the current automotive parts soaker is that they supply and use that.
In most places now - certainly most outside the US -local regulations mean you can't now use the old highly toxic cleaners.

I use the soaker baths as a preparation for any final vapourblast or beadblast finishing.

If I need something hot tanked - rare now but it does happen - I go to a local engine reconditioning shop and pay a modest fee.

Try your local yellow pages and see what the cleaners supply houses have available in your area.

 

[Jhurt]

Interesting about the simple green pro, i wasn?t aware of that stuff as I?ve only seen the normal simple green cleaner, ill look into that. I?m set up at home for bead and soda blasting but i was hoping to try the tanking route just so i can do something else while it soaks. I may end up doing both to get it ready for paint actually.

 

[hannibal]

I used Simple Green Pro (it's purple) when I took my motor apart. Put the cleaner in a spray bottle and went to work with a nylon brush. Don't remember how much I diluted it, but it took a lot of elbow. Most of the motor came clean with the exception of the piston tops.

I didn't even consider soaking the head in the cleaner lol.

 

[Jhurt]

Alright I’m giving it the yeoman’s....don’t know why photos aren’t embedding now. Simple green pro diluted in water 5/1 ratio

https://imgur.com/gallery/UoNZQVD

 

[Jhurt]

So all the crap either cooked off or wiped off after tanking, came out alright. Including the clear coat that seemed to be on the valve cover (decided to do that first as a test run. Much less expensive to replace if its damaged).

 

[Nessism]

5:1 seems strong. I use SGP in an ultrasonic cleaner and just use a few oz for each gallon. At any rate, glad it worked out.