Hot Rods Hot Tanking Engine Blocks - Necessary or Pressure Washer Ok?

I'm building a V8 (AMC 360) and hoping to do all the work myself. Core plugs are out, oil galley plugs out, cam bearings are out, and I've done all the work that I need to on the block -- it doesn't need to be decked (decks are less than .0015" warped) and doesn't need to be bored (.0005" on taper - max - and .001" out of round - max) so I'll just dingle ball hone it and call it good.

I've also done some drilling on the block -- cleaned up oil p***ages from mains to oil galleys with a 12" drill bit and I also added an oil line in the valley, which required drilling two 7/16" holes in the oil galleys. That work created a fair amount of chips in some difficult to get to places.

I'm inclined to dingle ball hone the block then pressure wash it myself (already did it once when I dis***embled it) and finish up with brake cleaner, magnets, and high pressure air just to make sure I got everything.

I don't mind spending $50 or whatever the shop charges to hot tank a block, but it's just a pain in the *** to get the block there and pick it up and unload it by myself.

What do y'all think?

Scott

 

Pressure Washers tend to push crud around, often into tight corners were it is hard to remove.

For what it is worth, The place I work at remanufactures 40 engines a day. We final wash all bare blocks before they are loaded onto the ***embly line. Inline engines go through a final wash machine that functions like a large dishwasher - spray jets (similar to a hand held pressure washer) and a rotating platform wash the blocks down. All V engines go through the dunk tank. We have found, after extensive sediment testing of blocks that have p***ed through the final wash process, that the V blocks come out of the dunk tank much cleaner than they do if they are put in the spray type wash machines. It does not seem to matter on Inline engines. The geometry of the V block makes it difficult to get the spray in all the necessary areas, where as the cleaner flowing through it in the dunk tank seems to work better.

I know that did not answer your question, and is just an anecdotal story, and I will admit to doing a spray can overhaul or two with just a pressure washer. How clean do you want it?

 

Hot tank is my preferred method, like the idea of super hot water and cleaners doing their thing throughout the entire block...

....

 

I'm not too worried about cleanliness or a bit of grime, my main concern is getting all the metal chips out.

Thanks

 

I can't even wrap my arms around this question!

 

If your pressure washer can handle it, run a hose from a laundry tub or washing machine hookup and give your engine a hot water wash.

 

Only benefit I can see to hot tanking is the removal of rust scale inside the coolant p***ages in the block and gunk inside the oil p***ages. If the block isn't too crusted up inside a pressure wash should do a good job of washing everything out. I've had stuff hot tanked and still needed to clean things up and rod out the oil p***ages somehow. A pressure wash sounds like a good thing to me, whether hot tank cleaned , or not.

 

I did just that on my well maintained 95k mile 5.0. No hot tank. Dingle ball honed followed by 220 grit sandpaper taped to a length of PVC pipe to clean up the lifter bores without removing material......







Followed that with a thorough pressure wash while rodding out oil p***ages and water jackets, then a couple of handwashes with hot, hot soapy water, thorough rinses, blowdried and wiped ATF on all machined surfaces.



Put it back together and been driving it for a couple thousand miles with no issues!

 

I pressure washed my last 261 to get the wort of the grease and oil so I could handle it, then had it jet washed and baked to remove all the grime, oil and all the built up in the coolant p***ages.

 

If you have a place that has the shake and bake option, then that’s what I would suggest.

 

If you are worried about crud floating around the cooling system after a pressure clean or hand wash, install a temporary filter in the top hose(es).

That's a nice engine turner on your stand! We need to know where you got the gears from!

 

after your first pressure wash push a rifle cleaning rod and patch through the oil galley until a clean patch comes out clean then pressure wash a second time and blow dry then put a little atf on any machined surface and bag it until ready to work on ( i have poured some CLR into rusty water p***ages before the first power wash and it did remove a lot of the rust and crud with the first wash )do not forget to chase the threads before and after the cleaning good luck

 

If you don't clean every orifice of your engine block after receiving it from the machine shop, you're still at risk anyway.

 

Hot tank and a beer bribe to get someone to help load/unload.

 

If you are certain the oil galley/ lines are clean, skip the hot tank. The oil filter should get out any metal residue .
A large, strong magnet , or two, on the oil pan will not hurt. My 2 cents.

Ben

 

Good point in the magnet.

Thanks

 

Excellent point.

Thanks

 

You could set it on some risers inside a 55 gallon drum and fill the drum with water and soap and whatever else that dissolves grease you might want to throw in............then get one of those small propane stoves and set it under the drum and let it heat to a slow boil. The boiling water should move about and dissolve/dislodge just about everything thats greasy,grimy, or gritty. Then some gun brushes thru the oil galleys followed by air pressure............

Heres one.

If you have something thats very flat and ridgid, you might want to glue some emory paper to it and lightly drag it across the tops of the cylinders. Maybe an old piece of gl*** or some left over piece of steel plate just to give the surface something to bite into the gasket.

 

A DIY hot tank is a bit more than I want to tackle at this point.

I have a smaller surface plate that I can drag across the deck with some 80 grit glued to it. That's how I'm going to surface the cylinder heads, which are .0025" and .004" warped.

 

Hot tank the block and let a shop machine it for you. There will be crud that'll be backed up someplace with a pressure washer that you can't get out.
I don't know what your skill set is.
Don't cut corners.

 

Picked 'em up at Harbor Freight. Here's a tech article I wrote on building it........
https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/...-rotator.523367/?post_id=4700367#post-4700367

 

Agree. I had to do a LOT of cleaning on mine. The best part was NO GREASY RESIDUE.

Ben

 

The last block I got hot tanked was a waste of money, got it back and the oil p***age going up to the heads was still completely blocked. I used a rifle cleaning kit to clean it out after running a long drill bit through, main galley also. This was a Y block engine. I went through a flathead Ford motor a few months ago and used oven cleaner and pressure washer, cleaning out all oil p***ages with the rifle cleaning rod then spraying out with gasoline. I'm now working on a flathead Cadillac motor and doing the same thing, I don't know if the problem with cleaning the Y block was because it was so very dirty (draft tube only motor) or just poor workmanship.

 

Pressure wash it using the RED nozzle tip, my 3500psi John Deere washer will remove paint with the red pin point tip. It will blow through the p***age ways with no problems. I use Simple Green or Purple Power before washing. To clean the bores, I use a degreaser and home made brush. Where I work, the janitors scrub and polish the floors with 24" diameter scotch bite looking pads about 1" thick, I take all the old ones and cut 4" circles then stack them on a threaded rod. A couple nuts holds them tight and a 1/2" drill motor to spin it. The scrubby pads won't remove metal but really do a great job of deep cleaning the bores. For lifter bores I use red scotch brite rolled around a small rod with more degreaser and then water. The pin point tip is great for cleaning out bolt holes, but be prepared for getting dirty and wet! For long holes, use 1/8" rod with a piece of scotch brite pinched on the end, a drill motor, and spray bottle of degreaser. Shops around me quite using hot takes years ago, now it's spray washing, I can do that and use the money somewhere else.

 

Well, it's a budget build, and I've built numerous engines - gas and diesel - and it doesn't need to be bored (taper is .0005" and only .0005" to .001" out of round ) or decked (less than .0015" warped), so I'd rather do the dingle ball hone and shoestring and sandpaper on the crank and skip the trip to the machine shop if I can help it.

 

I still need to dingle ball hone the cylinders, so I don't think they need to be cleaned, but I like your tip on using scotch brite on the lifter bores.

Thanks

 

You might buy some of the spray on ****m blue. It puts a thinner and more even coating on surfaces than the brush on type. I buy it on Amazin Amazon. You might look for the " Seymour 620-1558 Toolmakers Blue Layout Ink" or "Sprayon " thats the brand name. Both of those are quite a bit cheaper than the "****m" brand name.

 

You seem to be an above average dude, so I bet it is going to be plenty good enough under your cleaning.
Along with everyone else's suggestions, I'll add a couple more.
I really hate slicing my hands any time, but especially when ***embling an engine. Chamfer all sharp edges and grind any casting blobs before cleaning. Same with chasing all threads, scotchbriting and inspecting freeze plug holes, and any sealing surfaces (oil pan, front cover, china walls, oil pump/dist. surfaces).
The old adage Clean, then clean again isn't a bad thing. Doing the check after with a white towel with ATF or oil to confirm isn't a bad idea either. Peace of mind is just a bit of time and effort.

 

I have already hit the block once with a grinder to clean up some casting flash, but I need to go over it again.

Sealing surfaces typically get a wire wheel followed by a carbide s****er to remove every little bit of gasket residue and carbon.

I have spent a lot of time cleaning out threaded holes but I still need to do a fair bit more. I typically hit them with a rifle brush and call it good.

And yes, I'll pressure wash it extensively with Simple Green, wire brush in galleys and oil p***ages, and then hit it with the vacuum, air gun, rifle brush, and brake cleaner.

Thanks

 

For surfaces that I'm going to sand, I'm not a big fan of ****m or similar. I just find that it clogs up the sandpaper. Frankly, you can get a really good idea of what's been sanded just by looking at the surface or using a sharpie to draw some lines.

Thanks