Oil & Fuel Cleaning tractor motor

[robs660]

I would like advice on how I can clean my tractor motor. It's a 1994 Kubota B20 that has never been cleaned and there is a ton of build up on the motor. What is the best way to get 20 years of grease and dirt of the motor without damaging anything?

 

[kebo]

A hot pressure wash will do the trick. Just cover the alternator with a heavy (thick) plastic bag so it wan't get wet inside, and avoid spraying the starter, solenoid, and any electronic boxes with direct high pressure. Also, cover up the air filter intake and any crankcase vents as well.

Before you start, you can spray it down with a degreaser and let that soak for a while, then spray it with high pressure. After you have sprayed it, let it dry for a few hours with a heater blowing warm air on it. If you don't have heater to blow warm air on it, and you can wait till warmer weather, then you might be better off doing it in the spring/summer and park it in the sun to let it dry off.

There's a guy that lives near my parents and he has a high pressure steam wash outfit on a trailer and he has a pretty good side business doing just that with many of the local loggers there. He drives out to the logging site, and steam washes the skidders, feller bunchers, and 18 wheelers. That's pretty much the same technique that he uses, only they just let them dry overnight. If it's going to get below freezing though, he just waits for a warmer day to do it.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

With the temperatures now, I would not do it anytime soon...IMO

 

[DIXIEDOG]

I have no idea....I always felt that dirt and grime buildup was a good thing. It means I haven't had to fix anything lately. :laughing:

 

[Sumpter]

I have no idea....I always felt that dirt and grime buildup was a good thing. It means I haven't had to fix anything lately. :laughing:

I agree. You may find things you have to fix if it is clean. Grime may be holding something together. :laughing:

 

[robs660]

My garage is heated and I have a floor drain. Is there a way to do it without steam. I don't have access to that tool.

Need to clean it so I can find out where the small leak is, and my radiator is pretty clogged with 20 years of gunk

 

[dex3361]

I use a pressure washer and simple green with good results just follow the good recommendations from the earlier posts and do not focus the high pressure on electrical connections and such. Spray with simple green wash and repeat till clean.

 

[Egon]

my radiator is pretty clogged with 20 years of gunk

Air works pretty good for radiators. Be careful not to bend the fins.

Water hose and dish detergent may work on the engine.

 

[flyingcow]

i would start with Dawn dishwashing detergent and a water hose. You'd be amazed how that works. Or just degreaser and a water hose. High pressure washers w/heat are nice, but a water hose does a good job. might take a couple of times to clean.

 

[RalphVa]

Before pressure washers came along (and I have issues with using them, as gaskets, particularly in cooling system, aren't designed for very high pressures), we used to wet, sprinkle with Tide or kerosene, let sit and then hose off. Now we have liquid detergents. I'd wet, spritz with detergent, let soak and then spray off. Would help if you had hot water, but cold will work. We always just used from the hose. You could use Simple Green, Purple or similar in place of the clothes detergent. These weren't around in the old days.

Ralph