Cleaning engine with hot water

[dmksails]

My Yanmar 3GM30 engine hasn't been cleaned in a very long time. I"ve read in the forum about using a pump-up sprayer loaded with some bilge cleaner and boiling water and spray the engine clean.

I'm going to give this a try. My plan it to wash down the engine, put oil pads in the bilge to absorb any oil/grease flushed out, then use wet/dry vac to remove water and dispose of it at waste facility.

I'm planning to use a cleaner that is safe for wires and hoses.

Are there any areas of the engine that I shouldn't spray?

[DeepFrz]

Alternator and any electrical systems mounted on the engine. Just tape them off as well as taping off the air intake. If you spray the solenoid and all those connections you may have trouble later unless you disconnect and clean and dry the connections. A hair dryer/heat gun on low can help dry things off after cleaning.

[UNCIVILIZED]

DeepFrz's advice is excellent (as usual). And it's also worth doing a search on engine cleaning, as in the threads which I recall, there were/are a lot of good "little things" mentioned on the subject which are definetly worth knowing & following. I think they were posted sometime between Christmas & early Springtime, though I could be off on this.
Here's one of them, but there are others which are excellent as well --> http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ne-175137.html

[Lepke]

There's a product called Super Clean, at most autoparts stores. It's basically a strong soap. Comes in spray bottle or bulk. Not cheap. Really good loosening baked on dirt/grease. Oil absorbing pads will take care of any oil if left soaking. Then the waste water can be pumped out with your bilge pump. No sheen.

[hellosailor]

I'd use heavy duty aluminum foil instead of tape. Makes it simple to wrap anything electrical, and your air intake, and peel if off with no goo afterwards. You can actually do a damn fine job using plain live steam, no chemicals needed, if you can rent a steam jenny for 1/2 day in your area. (Try a construction rental place.) Second best is scalding hot water, if it won't melt your sprayer, and Liquid Tide detergent. Liquid Tide and scalding water will literally clean off old hard Cosmoline, which doesn't let go easily.

And the tool of last resort is a can of brake cleaner. (There are 50-state versions legal in Cali, and the older perc fluid versions as well.) That will strip off EVERYTHING but should be kept away from painted or plastic or rubber parts, or used with care on them. The advantage there is that it evaporates completely (ventilate and follow cautions) and doesn't leave the problem of bare damp iron, which rusts.

Whichever you use, you may want to fire it up so the engine warms up and dries, and then shut it back down and promptly spray it sparingly with a rust inhibitor, or else you'll find all sorts of rusty bolts and parts after any good degreasing.

[dmksails]

Thanks for all the good info. Just got back from doing the first clean. Used a biodegradable orange product with hot water sprayed from a pump sprayer. Worked pretty well. Then I sucked the water out with a shop vac. I've 3 gallons sitting in the garage - I want to see if any oil separates out.

I let the boat with a few gallons of water/cleaner in the bottom of the bilge. I'm going to let that soak overnight then vacuum it out tomorrow.

Lots of trash down there. Looks like it was the previous owners preferred spot for loose screws and cut tie wraps. Even had a joker valve down there.

Next step is to spray a rust inhibitor in a few places that need it.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

I'd use heavy duty aluminum foil instead of tape. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If your alternator output goes directly to the house bank, make sure you either pull the fuse at the battery end (or use your serviuce disconnect switch, if you have one).

If connected directly to the house bank, that circuit is LIVE.

Be careful. Very careful, because your original question indicates to me a certain naiveté about the electrical "stuff" that is associated with inboard diesel engines.

Good luck.