Droff Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I was looking at '71 Monte that had been sitting several years and there is a ton of dust all over the engine, as well as several areas that indicate a leak of some kind. The engine starts and runs (a bit rough). Without pulling the motor, how would be the best way to clean the dust and dirt off of it and out of the engine bay? Just wouldn't want to get water into anything that would end with a bad result.... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorDog72 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I use gunk engine degreaser. Just spray it on everything, scrub the bad areas with a brush and hose it off. Put a bag over the distributor and the carb to keep from getting it wet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 maybe a shot of light silicone to keep the dirt down after ?????..or some kind of spray wax like at the carwash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72-CLASSIC_RIDE Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'll take a couple 3 of those plastic grocery bags and place them over Carb & Distributor. I put a few of those bags together as added insurance water stays out of components. Of course, my spray is more deliberate to avoid splashing as much as possible around those particular areas. Depending on just how much grease / grime, I usually use Simple Green to remove the surface stuff. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droff Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Good info, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droff Posted July 25, 2016 Author Share Posted July 25, 2016 Well, the reason for the question arrived at the house this week. http://www.firstgenmc.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16490-its-a-new-car/ The engine runs but I want to get it cleaned up before I start any work on it as I'm sure plugs, wires and whatever else will need to be replaced. Any more suggestions for cleaning after seeing a few pics? I'm thinking engine cleaner/degreaser and many, many towels. I don't have a power washer and nothing really to catch all the run off from a garden hose either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72MC Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Man!!!!!!! you got your work cut out for you. Me personally, I'm pulling her and doing a complete rebuild and clean up in the whole engine bay. My Opinion, don't bother with the degreaser. Either rebuild her and clean her up proper or don't bother with the degreaser cans and water. "Being sarcastic", what are your plans, degrease her, paint bomb her and do what ???? Either enjoy her or Re-Do her !!!!!!!! My 2 pennies. - Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 First off...... spray that mud-dobbers nest and get it out of there. It looks like you have your work cut out for you. There are nooks and crannies you aren't going to be able to get to without doung some part removals first, the grease and gunk is just too extensive. After getting rid of that nesy take as mant pictures (from different angles) of wire, vacuum and linkage connections and routing. Then start removing things. If you don't do what Dave suggested it will be hard to clean everything up.....not impossible but hard. For that much gunk to be present you have to have some leakage that needs to be fixed with new gaskets or cleaning it up and painting it will be a waste of time. Personally, i would make it a winter project. Good luck and keep us updated with pictures. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droff Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Well, the 'plan' would be to get it cleaned up and then get the motor running decent as is. I hadn't considered painting any of it at the moment, but had figured some new gaskets, based on where the gunk is originating from. I'd do something with it - rebuild it or swap it - at some point down the road. I like the idea of it being the original engine, but not sure how far that will get me if I want to drive it on a regular basis. I used some degreaser but not so sure I want to continue that path, it's pretty messy and like mentioned, lots of areas unreachable and plenty of crannies. I started to brush and scrape some of the crap off the engine without a degreaser, it's got a bit of a sandy mix to it so I was able to shop vac up some of it. Both valve covers are still painted mostly orange, some of the paint has come off though. I found 2 or 3 more wasp nests around the engine, got them out of there. Thinking more about this, since the car needs transmission work, I'm leaning toward pulling the engine and transmission out of my '70 and dropping those into the '71, as they both are in driving condition. I can rebuild the '71 engine down the road and not worry about the tranny right now. Both engines are 350's, everything can swap back and forth as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.