Im getting ready to rebuild my 390 ford fe big block and man are those water jackets loaded with rust and corrossion.I know 390 tend to run hot and i wanna get those wjs clean before going to the machine shop.The shop says they cant hot tank no more ( epa ********) and they just "jetwash" them. I dont know what jetwash is but it dont sound like it would clear this stuff up.I think i might try a/c evaporator cleaner that stuff is pretty potent.mike
Hey, I,ve used the high pressure hose at the self- serve car wash before. Remove all of the soft plugs prior to makin the trip, load it in the back of a pick up, bring lots of change, and blast away! take a couple of old coat hangers to dig the **** out from those to get areas.
Take it to one of the places that vat bodies etc to remove rust, the old vat process @ machine shops does not remove rust from water jackets anyway.
Your best bet is to find a machine shop that has a "Thermal Cleaning System" (Ampro). It'll come out looking like a new casting.
would the old moll***es trick work ? instead of filling a bucket with moll***es and putting the part in it , just use the block as the bucket ... stand the block on end, plug all the holes where the Mo' could leak out , and use one of the water pump holes to float one of the 12v leads in, other one could just connect to the block just an idea
I've used a hardware store product called rustaid(approx.$8/gal) on an old aluminum Hudson head that had a bad case of ditchwaterisis plus had seen every stopleak known to man and it came out looking like a fresh casting after a couple of hours soaking. Not positive what it'll do to an iron block, but you can always spot check it. www.rustaid .com
I'd use Muriatic acid,available at most hardware stores and pool supply stores.I used this stuff on my rusty,nasty flatty water jackets;cleaned ALL the crud out in a 24 hr time span.It's a messy procedure,wearing eye and hand protection is manditory!! Use a drip tray to catch the ****,do it outside or have GOOD ventilation.Have a water hose handy,use baking soda to neutalize the acidic water in the block,flush well,dispose of the waste properly,repeat until the water jackets are clean.It really does work well and it's a pretty cheap procedure.I paid $9.00 for a gallon of acid at the hardware store.
How about doing some thing like this on a block that is not being rebuilt? ie:still has the rotating ***embley and heads on it. My 283 is full of rust in the water jackets as well, however ever thing else is in great shape. Or is that just crazy. Woody
I had my flathead block dipped in a big acidtank wich is mostly used for car bodies to get it completely clean for everything else but the metal. The resault amazing!
Using baking soda to neutralize muriatic acid is dangerous!!! The fume is Chlorine!! Lye is much better. cheaper too, and doesn't need to be neutralized, just well flushed. Neither lye or muriatic should be used on anything that has aluminum components. ( They tend to eat aluminum )
Some Machine Shop also have "Airless Shot Machines" When they did my block the inside was as clean as the outside. (Although it wasn't overly corroded inside the water jackets) Looks like the acid dip works really well. Just make sure to wash it super good afterwards. Finding a place that does it might be the biggest problem.
I've used a coathanger and a pressurewasher with good results. Tip the block so one bank is perpendicular to the ground, and blast away. blast out all the holes in the top of the block. Also, you can take an old speedo cable, unwrap a few inches of it, chuck it in a drill and spin it in the water jackets. The frayed ends work great for knocking rust off.
Mike, You might want to consider another machine shop. The 350 that's going into my truck was hot tanked by a NJ machine shop. Ed
Around here the EPA has ****ed up anything useful. I use mol***es when I have the time to wait 1 to 2 weeks. Otherwise I use a modified form of hydrochloric acid sold for hot water boilers. One brand name is Sizzle. Not as dangerous as uninhibited hydrochloric acid such as Muratic nor does it need to be neutralized. Sizzle comes full strength, read the dilution instructions.
The "Airless Shot Machine" that arkracing mentioned is probably just another version of the Thermal cleaning that I mentioned earlier. It's a three step process, that includes an oven, a shot cabinet, and a shaker cabinet. If you'd like a more detailed explanation, PM me.
Woody, I just did the method described below on a 390 that I did not take all the way down. I took the water pump off and then started with the forward most water jacket until water ran clean, then moved on to the middle and so on. Then did the other bank. for the real tight crevaces I used a heavy paper clip. I am happy with the results. I couldn't believe the amount of sediment and rust chunks I got out. I used a small flash light to check my work and it seemed pretty clean once I was done.
I've also successfully used muriatic acid to clean flatty water jackets - one word of advice is to coat all your machined surfaces with grease prior to using the acid as even the fumes will etch the block & cause rust almost instantly once neutralized/flushed... Use old clothes you never plan to use again too...
I was discussing this topic with a local engine builder and he showed me a block cleaned by a shop that has the Ampro Thermal cleaning system...Unbelievable!!! It was as clean as the day it was cast..looking down in the water jackets,bolt holes,nooks& crannies revealed an extremely clean surface...and the bare block had been sitting on his engine stand for 2 wks. with no rust....It is a process of shot ,washing ,heating etc well worth the effort to find a shop that uses the system just my $0.02 worth Stan
Pressure wash is good. If you want it super clean you can soak in a plastic barrel of water with a double handful of washing soda, connected to a battery charger. You need to hang some pieces of rebar or bare steel around the outside. Look up electrolysis cleaning. The antique tractor guys have been doing this for years. http://www.antique-engine.ns.ca/electrolysis.html
i used citric acid in the motor in my present car ...i started with a complete motor that had been sitting for 12 years with no water in it so it was pretty scabby in there. what i did was block all holes except for the filler neck and filled it with a mix of about 10parts water 1 part citric and left it for a while...as i walked past it i would spin the water pump...after a period of time i flushed it out and you seen the **** that came out of it....after i was satisfied it was clean i filled it with a weak mix of machinist's soluble oil until i was ready to use it as my project was not finished....that motor runs cool on the hottest days we have had.
I flushed out an old engine with phosphoric acid. I poured it in an ran it up to temp, then let it sit over the weekend. Then ran it back up to temp again and then drained it. I was amazed at how much crud came out.
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