OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Gunk Removal Before Pulldown.

What lengths to you go to ensure minimal ingress of damaging contaminants when you pull a component off to replace it or dismantle the engine itself?
This is one of the frustrating aspects of dismantling anything for me. For instance, when pulling off the carburettor, do you clean off all that thick black greasy gunk or are you just happy to briefly brush it off at the joins before removal and don't worry about a bit of dirt getting in?
Could you share methods how to remove the gunk and how thorough you are? I don't want to have OCD when working on a motor!!

You got to use common sense in my opinion. Some things don't need much and others need a lot.

If I am dismantling the engine of course I clean it up, why risk something getting in. As for carburetors I do like to clean off around that area even on fairly clean engine. Never know something going get missed and fall in cause an even further teardown. A plus side to this is the customers are happier to see a cleaner engine.

Things like oil leaks are a lot easier to find on a clean engine too especially when using a UV tracer dye.

first thing i do with a project is degrease,make's sense to me i use old paint brush to get in to the hard spots..

Degreaser, special hose nozzle and compressed air..... I hate working on dirty engines.
speedy

Have to agree with gml and speedy,

I always give something a full degrease before I will even put a spanner near it. Then you can see what you are working with and your hands and tools are not behaving like a slime ball.

Cheers,
BB.

I used to cleans up as little as possible. For me it's one of those things if I start where do stop then I want to start pulling it apart to get into the nooks and crannies. Recently I borrowed my dads pressure cleaner. It's only a cheapy but works a treat. Sure made short work and came up a treat.

What about water being forced into the engine either via a weak seal for the exhaust or the carburettor.
The Victa G4 and LM strike me as particularly vulnerable to water ingress, especially with a pressure washer.

Mowerfreak,

Again it is the use of common sense as you would not apply full pressure at point blank range. Carburetors and exhaust are usually avoided as well as electrical systems. I have access to 4000 psi washers and they can do some real damage if used incorrectly. What Slashnburn used was probably something in the range of 2400-2700 psi if gas engine powered or 1800 psi if electric motor driven. These are a lot safer to use for engine and equipment clean-ups.

I do use the setup Speedy mentions to clean with 120 psi air except I do use an explosive mix of 50:1 of 2 fuel mix to cut though particular oily buildup on the engine exteriors as I usually in more a hurry due shop time constraints. This is done outside away from any potential ignition source. This is something I don't recommend as it can be very dangerous if precautions are not observed. Smoking is strictly forbidden at my shop.

I have a "household grade" electric pressure washer that I have used on mower decks to get the black gunk off of by physically pre -scraping off some of the excess build up in order for the washer to successfully remove all remaining traces with the water blast alone.
Would this be safe to use on a plastic Victa carb in situ on the engine with snorkel securely on?
I have a feeling the stop plug boot would be one likely entry point for the dreaded H2O to sneak in.
Another device I have is this compressed air gun with a screw on bottle that blasts a mix of air and whatever substance you choose, as a high pressure mist. Is thinking of loading kerosene as it won't harm the internals, being oil based and a natural cleaner.
Only thing is how to contain the splatter out the other side and prevent making a mess!

I just use compressed air around the plastic carb before I remove them, gets rid of all the grass and gunk