Best way to clean inside engine after dropping oil pan

[Bob Senti]

Hello,

I dropped the oil pan on my Ferguson TO-30. I was pleased to see there was not too much sludge. The innards look good, but there is some goop, and maybe a 1/16 inch or less buildup of stuff here and there, on the crank shaft, that you can scratch off with a finger nail. I wouldnt call it varnish - almost like dried grease.

Is there any recommended way of cleaning that out, or at least taking a stab at it? Im not going to go any further than the pan removal. I went after what I could reach with rags, but I guess I thought about spraying some carb cleaner in there a few times, or maybe degreaser, to help break that down.

Thoughts?

B

 

[Raspy]

Why bother? By the time you finish scraping or brushing or spraying around in the crankcase, you might do more harm than good. Just clean the pan and re-install it. Why are you worried about "1/16 inch buildup of stuff here and there" Sounds normal and unimportant to me.

Make sure your engine gets fully warmed up each time you use it, and gets regular oil changes with quality oil. The places where the sludge would be the biggest problem would be in the ring lands and in the oil passages to and from the head. A little coating on the crankcase walls means nothing.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If I was trying to clean gunk from the engine, I would look at the valve covers and valve train. That seems to be where a lot of gunk gathers. Pull the valve cover and wash out the gunk from in there with small brushs and diesel. I wouldnt think anything other than oil pan would need to be cleaned in the lower half of the engine.

 

[moored4]

I would clean off what I could and then reassemble it. Then use Royal Purple in it, RP will clean all of that gunk out, run it for about 40hrs and change the filter. Run for another 40hrs and then do an oil and filter change, The sludge will be gone!:thumbsup:

 

[Army grunt]

Only clean off the easy stuff. If its that hard you could dislodge a small piece say the size of pepper it could go into system an take out a bearing. I had a transmission flush done an the trans. went out less than a mouth. King Richards in Torrington Ct. told me I must have loosened up some grit. an it may have clogged a return line or took out a plate. Just Saying..
Army Grunt

 

[DEWFPO]

On gasoline engines I have found switching to synthetic oil has really cleaned up an engine, even the ring lands. Oil consumption goes down as a side benefit.

DEWFPO

 

[GPintheMitten]

I knew a guy in the Army that said the best thing to clean with was prop wash.

 

[Raspy]

I knew a guy in the Army that said the best thing to clean with was prop wash.

Hee hee hee. Yeah, but it makes it kinda windy and turbulent in there. :laughing:

 

[Johnp33]

What I do, and I have done hundreds of class eight engines is add a quart or two of ATF to the oil, a gallon for a 36 liter fill, and run it for a while before you take it apart.
I do most of my own engines once a year with a quart, run it for a 1/2 hour, and drain it.
Solvent will work to spray it on and rub it add 20% ATF and it works better.
Any of you skeptics next time your hands are black and cracked after washing up, rub in a little ATF and then rewash I use DEX3 as a mechanic I save oil from a transmission job let it settle, filter threw a shop towel, and use that.

 

[PoorMansCat]

Hello,

I dropped the oil pan on my Ferguson TO-30. I was pleased to see there was not too much sludge. The innards look good, but there is some goop, and maybe a 1/16 inch or less buildup of stuff here and there, on the crank shaft, that you can scratch off with a finger nail. I wouldnt call it varnish - almost like dried grease.

Is there any recommended way of cleaning that out, or at least taking a stab at it? Im not going to go any further than the pan removal. I went after what I could reach with rags, but I guess I thought about spraying some carb cleaner in there a few times, or maybe degreaser, to help break that down.

Thoughts?

B

If you have an air compressor, get a 5 gallon bucket of mineral spirits and a wash-down gun...