cleaning assembled short block

[Charlie30]

probably not r3v approved but i picked up a $20 short block on craigslist that appears to be in great shape but its been sitting on a stand for a few months and has gotten a bit dusty around the crank. I'm just wanting to slap a quick engine together so i can drive my car around town while i finish up my main build. is there a way to lightly clean an assembled block without tearing it down? i'm worried about degreaser drying out the bearings.

[jlevie]

Presumably, the journals were oil before assembly. To avoid removing that oil I'd suggest wiping down everything you can reach. The finish the assembly, run the engine for a hundred miles or so, and change the oil and filter.

[Northern]

You could always wipe/flush it with cheap oil instead of degreaser for any internal areas.

[Supratreo]

You want to run degreaser through your engine? Lol
Just run some cheap oil through it Like the other 2 guys said

[CamE30]

Id hate to see an M20 block get trashed but honestly to do it right and so you wont have any rod knock or premature bearing failures I would disassemble the block clean it thoroughly, this lowers the risk of any damage and make it last because you may never know what could come up in the future and may need to sideline your project and have to run this motor for a couple thousand miles. Plus this will give you some experience when you go to assemble your new motor, it will go quicker knowing how everything goes back together and what tools are needed.

I know this is probably what you dont want to hear because it will suck and take time but trust me, it will work out for the best in the end.

[ForcedFirebird]

Squirt bottle rinse with kerosene after compressed air works fine. As Jim said, change the oil frequently at first, a little dust "usually" won't do much unless it gets into the bearing surfaces. Guessing it's a used bottom end?

[Charlie30]

Id hate to see an M20 block get trashed but honestly to do it right and so you wont have any rod knock or premature bearing failures I would disassemble the block clean it thoroughly, this lowers the risk of any damage and make it last because you may never know what could come up in the future and may need to sideline your project and have to run this motor for a couple thousand miles. Plus this will give you some experience when you go to assemble your new motor, it will go quicker knowing how everything goes back together and what tools are needed.

I know this is probably what you dont want to hear because it will suck and take time but trust me, it will work out for the best in the end.

that was the original thought but its a super budget engine and i decided i would feel worse tearing it down and reusing the bearings & rod bolts then just running it and praying nothing bigger then dust particles managed to hide in a crevice after i attacked it with a air compressor

[packratbimmer]

Bench flush it. Can't you spin up the oil pump via the shaft that comes up to the (323i) distributer hole (behind the intermediate shaft). I would get some cheap thin oil and flush it that way. Then do it again when you put the good oil in.