Steam cleaning my engine
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Steam cleaning my engine
Hi Guys,
Owning a TD, my engine bay is rather oily and sooty. I'd like to tidy it up and also track down exactly where the oil is escaping from. I was thinking of buying a karcher steam cleaner and giving the engine and engine bay a blast of steam.
Has anyone else done this? Will the Karcher be up to the job?
Thanks
Tim
Owning a TD, my engine bay is rather oily and sooty. I'd like to tidy it up and also track down exactly where the oil is escaping from. I was thinking of buying a karcher steam cleaner and giving the engine and engine bay a blast of steam.
Has anyone else done this? Will the Karcher be up to the job?
Thanks
Tim
1990 LHD Hi-top JX 5Speed.
3:16 cx
3:16 cx
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
errr i think you mean a pressure washer ?? steam cleaner £k+++
Id go to a jet wash place at a garage, jizer it all and then jet but it dont half make a mess inside
mm
Id go to a jet wash place at a garage, jizer it all and then jet but it dont half make a mess inside
mm
Re: Steam cleaning my engine
metalmick8y wrote:errr i think you mean a pressure washer ?? steam cleaner £k+++
Id go to a jet wash place at a garage, jizer it all and then jet but it dont half make a mess inside
mm
http://www.tesco.com/direct/karcher-sc1 ... 8-0057.prd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Still get a bit of change from "£K+++" !
1990 LHD Hi-top JX 5Speed.
3:16 cx
3:16 cx
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
thats a bliddy hoover and a crap one at that,
mm
mm
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/prod ... re-cleaner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and this is not a particularly good one
your better calling at a local wagon place and asking nicely with a case or two of beers
mm
and this is not a particularly good one
your better calling at a local wagon place and asking nicely with a case or two of beers
mm
Re: Steam cleaning my engine
Not planning on starting up my own business, just tidying up my van!
1990 LHD Hi-top JX 5Speed.
3:16 cx
3:16 cx
- itchyfeet
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
Remember , all that old oily crap is stopping the salt and warer corroding stuff, looks good for 6 months then you wish you hadn't.
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
ah look, we'll start again,
the item you linked to is a hoover with a steam attachment for upholstery etc,how good or bad that is is another matter.
you said you wanted to clean the oily engine and engine bay ? so i said that that is not a steam cleaner as in one that garages use to clean engines and stuff
pressure washers are good for some things but not much good on oil etc as there is no detergent, also think of the mess as it splatters about your van cos it really does trust me there
now if you went and bought say 5ltrs of jizer or equivalent, then soak the engine with it, and boil a kettle or 5 and if you fill a watering can with water as hot as you can (add shower water as you need volume) with a good dollop of squeezy in it ,you will find this will shift the jizer laden grime with little mess to surrounding upholstery, ok you will have to do it a few times if its bad but its cheap clean.....ish and works
mm
the item you linked to is a hoover with a steam attachment for upholstery etc,how good or bad that is is another matter.
you said you wanted to clean the oily engine and engine bay ? so i said that that is not a steam cleaner as in one that garages use to clean engines and stuff
pressure washers are good for some things but not much good on oil etc as there is no detergent, also think of the mess as it splatters about your van cos it really does trust me there
now if you went and bought say 5ltrs of jizer or equivalent, then soak the engine with it, and boil a kettle or 5 and if you fill a watering can with water as hot as you can (add shower water as you need volume) with a good dollop of squeezy in it ,you will find this will shift the jizer laden grime with little mess to surrounding upholstery, ok you will have to do it a few times if its bad but its cheap clean.....ish and works
mm
Re: Steam cleaning my engine
Hahaha!
No worries!
Just wondering if it'd work, that's all. Guess there's not really a quick alternative to good ol' fashioned hot water, detergent and elbow grease.
No worries!
Just wondering if it'd work, that's all. Guess there's not really a quick alternative to good ol' fashioned hot water, detergent and elbow grease.
1990 LHD Hi-top JX 5Speed.
3:16 cx
3:16 cx
- Wychall
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
I have a similar steam generator which just about copes with the vinyl flooring in the cooking room at home. It achieves nothing on the engine, and mine is a reasonably clean lpg unit.
For downright dirty cleaning I recommend Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Just as good as Jizer for shifting the muck but hoses off beautifully with cold water, leaves no mess on the drive and doesn't smell afterwards. Use neat for thick gungy stuff, 10% dilution for oily mess and 100% dilution for general cleaning.
I love the stuff.
http://www.bilthamber.com/surfex-hd
For downright dirty cleaning I recommend Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Just as good as Jizer for shifting the muck but hoses off beautifully with cold water, leaves no mess on the drive and doesn't smell afterwards. Use neat for thick gungy stuff, 10% dilution for oily mess and 100% dilution for general cleaning.
I love the stuff.
http://www.bilthamber.com/surfex-hd
.
South African 1991 2.5i Microbus - now sadly rehomed to pay for a Melco EMT16X Embroidery Machine.
South African 1991 2.5i Microbus - now sadly rehomed to pay for a Melco EMT16X Embroidery Machine.
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
The splattering onto the interior is why I never went the [garage] steam cleaner route.
The [right] mess on the driveway is why I never went the Jizer route.
So Wychalls stuff seems a good idea
I wonder what happens to the oil it washes off? I suppose it must stay in solution and rinse away to somewhere.
The [right] mess on the driveway is why I never went the Jizer route.
So Wychalls stuff seems a good idea
Wychall wrote:For downright dirty cleaning I recommend Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Just as good as Jizer for shifting the muck but hoses off beautifully with cold water, leaves no mess on the drive and doesn't smell afterwards. http://www.bilthamber.com/surfex-hd
I wonder what happens to the oil it washes off? I suppose it must stay in solution and rinse away to somewhere.
Got a new van, but it's a 165bhp T4 [shock horror] Accurate LPG Station map here
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
I use Gunk 'green' and I'm impressed with the results. Wash it off with a garden hose or a few kettles of water and Robs ya mothers bro'. No residue on the tarmac taboot.
1990 Westy HiTop 1.6 JX
Time is precious, waste it wisely folks.
Time is precious, waste it wisely folks.
Re: Steam cleaning my engine
£1 paint brush, jam jar and TFR and a hose is my weapon of choice now. Work TFR in and rinse with hose. Couple of times needed. With engine lid on I do as much as I can with the steam cleaner ( huge karcher on four wheels) from underneath.
Have only cleaned an engine once with the steam cleaner and it's a ball ache TBH. By the time you tent off the engine bay so the interior doesn't get trashed - plastic sheeting from the sides and top of rear apperture to around engine bay then bag up tailgate , you can be done using a brush.
Have only cleaned an engine once with the steam cleaner and it's a ball ache TBH. By the time you tent off the engine bay so the interior doesn't get trashed - plastic sheeting from the sides and top of rear apperture to around engine bay then bag up tailgate , you can be done using a brush.
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
18 month old post reopened by a Canadian spammer!
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Re: Steam cleaning my engine
metalmick8y wrote:https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/prod ... cleanerand this is not a particularly good one
mm
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