power washing engine block

[TexasTerp]

So I'm ready to do a full refresh on the "new" engine I picked up. For now I've decided against doing a full rebuild (i.e. no machine shop for now) as I'm buying a digital piano and just spent on a mint on new opera scores.

The engine has 150k and was driven by a Female in an auto tragic e30 and came with a freshly rebuilt cylinder head (still has the markings on the rocker arms!) so I'm not too worried about it. Now I need to power wash the block to I can clean it up and ready it for paint.

How are y'all cleaning these blocks? Most importantly how are you sealing off the top of the block to avoid water leaking in to the cylinders? Any particular tips on things I should avoid/look out for?

[Car Addict]

scratch that over shot the entire "against" word. my bad

[1mz]

someone is lacking reading skills...

[nando]

I would use some purple power and a brush, and a garden hose at the most. I wouldn't spray it with high pressure anything.

[bimmerteck]

I would use some purple power and a brush, and a garden hose at the most. I wouldn't spray it with high pressure anything.

^This

I sprayed mine with purple power straight up, and let it soak in for about 20 min. then hit it with a garden sprayer filled with the hottest water my hands could stand and scrubbed, repeat 2 or 3 times and block will look factory fresh in no time.

[ZM Blue Devil]

spray 9. works wonders.

[Cabriolet]

better than purple power, get "Simple green max" and hot water, its smells like wet dog and is 10x better than any nontoxic degreaser I've ever used.
this is how i washed my block.

[TexasTerp]

Hmm, Spray 9 and Simple Green Max are probably by best bets. I'm going to be using a wire brush on my angle grinder to strip away as much as possible before paint. I'm mostly concerned about the effect of solvents on the piston rings. Pistons have absolutely no side-to-side play in them at all and I don't want anything that would affect the integrity of the rings (and thus compression).

I'll probably use Simple Green max to clean the piston heads since I've used it before and I'm happy with it.

[750]

I use a sandblaster and baking soda. Blasters are cheap, and can be handy with other projects. Baking soda environmentally friendly. My 2cents.

[Jand3rson]

I used mineral spirits and an assortment of different sized brushes, worked just fine. Got all the big stuff off with putty knives and screwdrivers, then just brushed everything with mineral spirits, and wiped it down a few times with rags soaked in it, came out fine.

[TexasTerp]

^ damn the spam

[F34R]

Stiff brush and I use a stripper that we use at the shop. Mixture of kerosene and grease stripper product. It will break down any large build up you can throw at it. Use chemical gloves when it is handled. Then we use purple power cleaning spray and a wire brush.

[nando]

^ damn the spam

yeah, wow, they're getting good..

[flyboyx]

easy off oven cleaner is also great. don't bother with the non toxic one.

[AndrewBird]

GUNK brand engine degreaser also works very well.

As far as pressure washing it, just make sure the intake and exhaust is plugged and you will be fine. Those are the only ways for water to get in (unless you take the oil cap off). Just spray cautiously and you will be fine.