Best solvent for soaking parts?

RedMF40 · Apr 18, 2019

Right now the drain plug from my stuck 9N is soaking in a small tub of gasoline. It has about a half inch or more of gunk buildup inside the screen. I plan to clean it out it with a small putty knife and/or toothbrush when everything is loosened up. Any better ways to go about this? Might not ever get the engine freed up but at least the drain plug will be clean.

Mark-Ia · Apr 18, 2019

E-85 is a good cleaning solvent.

old · Apr 18, 2019

For things like that I use spray carb cleaner spray. It does a pretty good job of cleaning things up. Do you have the cylinder soaking in ATF??

Kid Shileen · Apr 18, 2019

Another vote for E85

casecollectorsc · Apr 18, 2019

Don't use gasoline for cleaning. I use mineral spirits....just as good and safer.

Dean · Apr 18, 2019

I've never found any parts cleaning solvent better than gasoline.

Of course, one must use common sense.

Dean

jeffcat · Apr 18, 2019

And a third vote for E-85. Just let it soak a little and use a little toothbrush or one of those little stainless steel scrub brushes. Only trouble is 5hat stuff stinks! Not kidding.....if you are working on something delicate try a bottle of Everclear. That stuff is incredibly powerful on organic crud.

Stephen Newell · Apr 18, 2019

Lacquer thinner or acetone work real good but are expensive. Gasoline works nearly as good and is a lot cheaper.

chris401 · Apr 18, 2019

Diesel fuel is a superior solvent AFAIK. Safer than filling your garage with explosive fumes, too.

Oregon Tractor Jack · Apr 18, 2019

Stoddard solvent is what I use. It's like mineral spirits but with out the smell. It could be hard to find, only one service station in my area carries it. Using gas as a solvent just scares the blank out of me. Gas fumes can travel a lot farther that you would think. It's just not worth it...

OTJ

Hobo,NC · Apr 18, 2019

(quoted from post at 04:34:58 04/19/19) I've never found any parts cleaning solvent better than gasoline.

Of course, one must use common sense.

Dean

Its not what I use but Whut Dean said... For one off deals it hard to beat when done put it in a can lite it up and the left over goes up in smoke...

Play safe....

rustred · Apr 18, 2019

brake kleen is also a good cleaner. gasoline is right up there too. diesel is absolutely the worst. even a hot pressure washer is the answer once sprayed with degreaser.

504 · Apr 18, 2019

I am using E 85 too,I keep it covered when done and it is holding good.

Steve@Advance · Apr 18, 2019

Please! Get rid of the gasoline!

I know, I've used it, most of us have, but that was before I realized just how dangerous it is.

If it's inside, the vapors lay on the floor, waiting for any source of ignition, like a static spark, a steel tool dropped on the concrete, a spark from an extension cord...

That takes care of the shop, but what if you are elbow deep in it when it happens!

Odorless mineral spirits is a good cleaner, not as flammable as gas, but it will burn. You can get it at HD or Lowes in the paint dept.

There are several part cleaning solvents to choose from at the auto supply, just have to watch the flammability. The kind that go in part washers are generally safe. The Berrymans solvent is highly flammable.

There are "green" products, water soluble cleaners, I haven't had much success with them.

Purple Power, a caustic concentrated detergent, very good at removing grease, and will strip and discolor paint at full strength.

Aerosol oven cleaner from the Dollar Store, good for softening burned on grease, and cleaning grease stains off concrete.

Lots to choose from, none are cheap. But neither is a fire.

Please think about it!

Stephen Newell · Apr 18, 2019

You have a point about using gas inside. I've never considered doing that, I've always use it outdoors and away from anything that might ignite it. In reality gasoline was invented to be a cleaning solvent before someone got the idea of using it as a fuel. It's like anything else if you use common sense and pay attention to what you are doing you can safely use any chemical.

Mike(NEOhio) · Apr 18, 2019

The wife used to holler when I used gas or diesel in the basement workshop. I clean the heavy gunk off outside with gas then soak overnight in purple power and rinse in hot water. It takes off paint but lately I noticed it doesn't loosen the glyptol from castings. Parts come out so dry they will flash rust as soon as the water evaporates.

RedMF40 · Apr 18, 2019

Thanks, everyone. The little bit of gas I'm using is in a covered plastic container--the kind they serve wonton soup in from the Chinese carry-out. Yes, gas can melt some plastics, but this is heavy-duty stuff and I've put a cover on it.

As someone mentioned, I'll finish up this one-off project and look at alternatives later on. I shy away from sprays like Brakeleen because they spatter and create a holy mess if there is no special area devoted to that kind of activity.

Since this is an ongoing project with no end in sight, I kinda like the idea of letting a part soak and having that action do most of the grime removal--or at least loosen things up.

Old--yes, cylinders are full of mix of ATF and diesel. I know you promote ATF only, and don't want to start an argument, but someone here mentioned a mix of ATF and diesel, so that's what I'm trying. Don't hate me for that.

I've already scraped as much gunk as I can from the oil drain plug I have soaking--and to my untrained eye this looks like a tractor where the oil was never changed. But who knows--maybe all this is normal for a 1941 9N?

old · Apr 18, 2019

By the way did you do a test to make sure the cylinder did not have any water/coolant in them?? If you did not then good chance the ATF/diesel mix will not help since it will cause the mix to float instead of getting to the pistons/rings

RedMF40 · Apr 18, 2019

That's a good question. There may have been a little bit of wet at the top of the pistons, but the engine is opened up with the head off so I can see the mix is dropping equally in all cylinders--about a half-inch now. Except for #2--it drained down completely. Been soaking for about 2 months now.

Steve@Advance · Apr 18, 2019

I was watching a video of a 1920's something Dodge car assembly plant.

There was a scene of a man prepping a body for the paint dip. He had about a 2" air hose with a siphon nozzle blasting the body with gasoline! Or that's what the caption said.

Can you imagine what he would breath in, day after day!

I really doubt it was gasoline, under those conditions it would have certainly found an ignition source. Still, I doubt it was a real healthy job to have!

Married2Allis · Apr 19, 2019

One more solvent, although it is about $20 per can so not practical for soaking ... but amazing stuff to dissolve gunk -- AC Delco Top Engine Cleaner. Used for decarbonizing, but seems to work great on any tough buildup.

Geo-TH,In · Apr 19, 2019

X4 E85

rustyfarmall · Apr 19, 2019

Never underestimate plain old diesel fuel.

RLA · Apr 19, 2019

Something we don't think too much about & you can buy it cheap.. Easy off oven Cleaner, does wonders for parts cleaning.

Stephen Newell · Apr 19, 2019

Gasoline is atomized so quickly I don't know how they could have survived the fumes without an air supplied respirator which probably wasn't invented yet at that time.

What would be harder in that era is to find a non-smoker for that job.

Traditional Farmer · Apr 19, 2019

Brake fluid will eat rust up.

Best solvent for soaking parts?

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