How to clean old hard grease?

[Dan Babb]

Any secrets to cleaning off the old caked on, rock hard grease/dirt deposits that are on the truck. Is something like easy-off strong enough to break that stuff loose ( or is it too strong to use )?

If I ever get the engine out of this thing, I'm going to want to push it out of the garage and clean off some of the old grime that's accumulated on the spindles, steering bars (whatever they are called) and other components.

Just wondering what other guys have done.

[JoelOkie]

A heat gun and a putty knife takes it off pretty fast. I get it knocked down like that then soak it with engine de-greaser ( foam type from Walmart, as it stays on better), let it soak good, then pressure wash it. Small nooks and crannys you can hit with the heat gun and use a screw driver. Joel

[Big50Dodge]

You guys are working too hard - and a heat gun... In this heat..? Are you nuts..?

If you have a little time - head over to your local walmart, target, food lion, bi low, where ever it's cheapest. Pick up about 2 gallons of vinegar. Head to your favorite home store, pick up a 5 gallon pail, put vinegar in pail, put parts in vinegar in pail, put a piece of plywood or something to cover pail. Come back in about 2 days. Grease will be at bottom of pail, parts will be clean, vinegar will be nasty. I've had my master in my pail for 2 days - looks great.

[Plymouthy Adams]

diesel fuel/kerosene is a good degreaser, softens it right up and makes it easy to scrape away the real heavey stuff, stiff brush will get the reisdue and then the solvent is easily cleaned with industrial degreasers like Purple Power/Mean Green/ B52 etc..its a process but will allow you to move about, as one area soaks and softens you can hit another with the mix...alternating back and forth will bring a big job to its knees quickly..use in vertilated space..

[JoelOkie]

You guys are working too hard - and a heat gun... In this heat..? Are you nuts..?

If you have a little time - head over to your local walmart, target, food lion, bi low, where ever it's cheapest. Pick up about 2 gallons of vinegar. Head to your favorite home store, pick up a 5 gallon pail, put vinegar in pail, put parts in vinegar in pail, put a piece of plywood or something to cover pail. Come back in about 2 days. Grease will be at bottom of pail, parts will be clean, vinegar will be nasty. I've had my master in my pail for 2 days - looks great.

I am interested in seeing how he's going to get that engine into that pail of vinegar. Too hot....come on, don't be a wussie

[pflaming]

He can put that engine in the kid's swimming pool!:D

[Dan Babb]

The engine is clean...it's the whole front end of the truck that's grimey. I'd need to just drop it into a swimming pool full of vinegar.

[Dave72dt]

Before you start scraping, get a sheet of plastic under the truck to aid in cleanup

[ggdad1951]

Before you start scraping, get a sheet of plastic under the truck to aid in cleanup

nah, tracking that gunk on your shoes all over your garage, entry, living room, basement, driveway is SOOO much fun!

[JoelOkie]

The engine is clean...it's the whole front end of the truck that's grimey. I'd need to just drop it into a swimming pool full of vinegar.

Kinda like a dog dip for old trucks, huh?

I guess some of us need to read a little slower. I was thinking getting hard grease off an engine. The kind of crud you are talking about usually has a lot of dirt embedded in it also. The hardest things (for me at least) is around tie rod ends, on the draglink, ect. Some of that stuff does take some dedicated scraping to knock it down where a solvent will help. It would be nice to be able to steam. Joel

Edited July 17, 2010 by JoelOkie
spelling

[insaneradio]

I have had great success with a stiff wire wheel in a drill. It makes real quick work of it. I use this first before I use a canned degreaser. The degreaser has a good purpose however it turns it into gooo. After I have removed as much as I can with the wire wheel I then go with the degreaser, hand held wire brush and a rag.

This is one of those things you ask ten people and get ten different answers. No matter how you go with it it is not pretty! Good Luck with it!

Dave

[41/53dodges]

just chuck as many parts as possible in the dish washer! just remember to take them out before the wife gets home.

[KJ's Dodge]

Both a wire wheel on a drill and sandblasting were my route I took last week on the harden grease and dirt. It worked pretty well for me.

KJ

[Dan Babb]

I'm finding that most of the caked on stuff on my truck is dirt & clay with a bit of grease & grime to hold it all together.

I bought a cheap set of wire wheels from Northern Tool on Saturday and they've really done a good job of getting the stuff cleaned off.

[SteveMelchiorre]

I had pretty good luck using my power washer & simple green. It took off a lot of the surface stuff and my kids had a blast hosing down the truck with it.

Steve....

[JBNeal]

Remove as much of the crud with a screwdriver, gasket scraper, steel brush, etc. as ya can so ya can use the least amount of chemicals possible. Heating up old caked-on gummy grease will get it more fluid to scrape. I've soaked parts in vinegar with success, then poured the waste on the gravel driveway weeds to knock them down too. Diesel, an old stiff nylon paintbrush & a bucket were good also...place the bucket under your work area so you can brush the diesel on the parts and it'll drip back into the bucket...if you're really good at it, none of the diesel will miss the bucket. Once all those heavy deposits are off, any of those degreasing chemicals will work great at attacking the crud that's in the 'pores' of the metal.

[Terry in Bozrah]

I would use a putty knife first and than use Oven cleaner.

OK I said the same thing YEAH RIGHT but that stuff really cuts the grease and IF you don't watch out it'll take the paint.

The wire wheel will just make a mess of your shirt, pants and face.

[ggdad1951]

I found out the media blaster at work does wonders! Plastic bits so it doesn't etch the metal but cleans it really well!