Cleaning engine and finding TDC without gearbox

[regcheeseman]

Few simple questions,

Is there a easy way to clean the motor. ideally I'd like the head to be clean without any black marks.

The block will be painted so just needs a good scrub and degrease.

Should I just paint the head silver instead.

I've been using engine degreaser and a variety of stiff nylon/brass brushes and it's hard work to clean even a small section of the head.

Are there any good chemicals or tricks that people out there have used?

Also how do I find TDC without the gearbox attached? Or do I have to drop the sump pan?

Thanks for any advice

[Northboundtrain]

The best way to clean your motor for painting is to have it hot tanked.  But that mean completely dissassembling it.  Otherwise, keep scrubbing.  "Hotter" chemicals like carb cleaner or laquer thinner might work better than degreaser, but protect yourself if you are going to use them.  

The bentley manual explains how to find TDC without the bell housing attatched using a special tool that bolts to the block.  a bar that slides on the bolt extends across the top of the flywheel and points to the TDC mark.  If you can't get this tool, you could make something like it, but you'd have to calibrate it yourself by pulling the head so you could see when the number one piston is at TDC.  There may be a simpler way that I don't know of.

[veeman]

Regcheese...

I've always had pretty good luck with that purple cleaner that they sell.  I use the Auto_zone knock-off, but Castr_l makes the "real" one.  It smells like concentrated Windex, but really does a good job.  Simple Green seems to work well too and is more environmentally friendly from what I hear.

I put the engine on a stand, wheel it out to my driveway, spray on the stuff and go to work while it soaks...  I get a putty knife and parts-cleaning brushes and scrub it all down.  They say to dillute the stuff, but I use it full strength.

When that's all done, I put a large plastic tub underneath it, and turn the hose on it.  Remember to plug all ports and tape bags over open holes in the block.  

You might have to repeat a few times.  This will get the block to "used" clean condition.  You'd probably have to tank the block to get it clean enough to expect paint to stick.   Do NOT paint the head.  The paint won't stick so well and when it flakes off, it doesn't look so good.

One word of caution... the purple stuff WILL damage some aluminum parts if it's left on long enough (longer than a few minutes).  I've never had a problem with VW alu heads, but it will corrode some cad-plated and other coated surfaces.

[regcheeseman]

Anyone know of a uk version of the 'purple stuff'

Would Mr Muscle do it as that stuff is pretty nasty?

[zyewdall]

Some degreaser, combined with the high pressure hot water wand at the carwash, works pretty good.  At least for anything you can hit with the spray directly.  I try to do this to the engine of whatever car I'm working on before I start a job.  If you've got your own high pressure washer you could probably do it in your driveway, but then you're draining the oil and gunk into the storm sewer which is illegal in most areas.  I think the car-washes treat runoff water somehow (or at least I hope they do   :?