Best thing to clean diesel engine parts/sludge with?

[turbosyncrobus]

I haven't ever had to clean any Diesel engine parts before now but holy crap is this stuff hard to wash away. So what is the best, regular, off the shelf cleaning agent for getting rid of diesel junk? I've always used Carb or Brake cleaner on gas engines, and it does work on oil burners but it is a lot of work, does anything work better or do I just need to roll up my sleeves (and cover everything else while I'm at it) and scrub? I really can't take the engine in to get the professional cleaning so it is going to have to be DIY.

[88jetta350]

Love it, and it doesn't stink like normal engine brite.

I also suggest a hi-temp, hi-pressure steam cleaner. Not too expensive, some places may even rent them.

[kaneb]

At work we just use a regular engine degreaser then let it sit a couple minutes and power wash off.  Works fine everytime.

[turbosyncrobus]

how about for the internals, head, inside the block etc.

[Rabbit on Roids]

big red.. its pretty much the ***. it doesnt corrode your aluminum or eat your paint, but it takes every spec of grease off. i used it to clean my engine bay last time my engine was out, and i thought nothing was gonna clean 100k miles of exhaust and oil leaks. but the engine room looks pretty much brand new after i sprayed it a few times and let it soak. and it works wonders on crusty heads and blocks. inside and out. my all time favorite cleaning tool tho, is my solvent tank. great invention.

[arb]

I use the mineral spirits in my parts washer. It cut the crap and then a little brake cleaner (The harsh trichloroethylene, not the new environmentally friendly stuff) takes off the thin film of oily left by the mineral spirits - but do this only when you are ready to paint or assemble with oil as any bare metal will be ready to rust them.

[nogama3]

big red.. its pretty much the ***. it doesnt corrode your aluminum or eat your paint, but it takes every spec of grease off. i used it to clean my engine bay last time my engine was out, and i thought nothing was gonna clean 100k miles of exhaust and oil leaks. but the engine room looks pretty much brand new after i sprayed it a few times and let it soak. and it works wonders on crusty heads and blocks. inside and out. my all time favorite cleaning tool tho, is my solvent tank. great invention.

pic please?

i wonder if its available in the uk?

[turbosyncrobus]

Where do I get Big Red?

[Rabbit on Roids]

see, thats the problem.. i can only get it at one store locally. and ive never seen it for sale anywhere else. im pretty sure its a zep product. it smells like this degreaser i used to use when i worked at kfc. i swear that stuff was so powerful it would take the oxygen out of the air. and it was the same color/consistency. this stuff is more like liquid hand soap, its kinda thick, and it stays where you spray it alot better than other things ive tried. i get my big red from the semi shop. thats what all the logging companys around here use to clean log trucks, so i figured i would give it a whirl..

and i highly doubt you can get it in the uk.. but i may be wrong.

and just a side note.. you can mix this stuff with solvent or water. it actually works with the solvent and doesnt separate. water based stuff too.

[clbanman]

http://www.ices.net/item104.htm

http://mooreballiewoil.thomasnet.com/viewitems/commercial-cleaning-products/mboc-big-red-cleaner-degreaser?&forward=1

[regcheeseman]

Anyone in the UK got any decent products?

Tried all sorts of cleaning products including Mr Muscle and Cillit BANG! , tried the various Gunks and Jizer etc

Nothing gets the staining out of the ally without a LOT of scrubbing.

Any ideas?

[Rabbit on Roids]

oh man, i just remembered something. but.. DO NOT USE ON ALUMINUM OR PAINTED SURFACES. theres this product called Oil Eater.. its what we used at the penzoil shop when i still worked there. we would spill black oil all over the floor, and we would just spalsh some of that on the floor and it would literally.. eat the oil. scrub it a little and its clean.

[Andy@React]

i have been using some stuff from Lidl on my AAZ, its only cheap but seems to work!  :wink:  its a spray can and has a green lid... (Lidl website aint working properly at the moment, but have a look in the "car care" section...)

[turbosyncrobus]

Well, I got the parts clean. I used old gasoline, it worked awesome and made just as much of a mess as anything else I could have used. It was cheap (free) and cut through the diesel sludge like a hot knife through butter, then I used spray carb cleaner to rinse off any residue. I'm done!