Re: Old engine question

Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge:
I have an old O.S. Max .20 FP engine that has set up for probably 10 years or more in a non temperature controlled storage shed. I have finally got the thing disassembled and there is a load of varnish build up all over the place. I am thinking of replacing the piston and sleeve, but as I said all the other parts have varnish build up on them and I thought of soaking in some sort of solvent to remove it. My question is what type of solvent should I use to do this.

Also, might anyone out there have the original instructions for this engine?


The easiest (and most effective) way to clean the engine is the crock pot method.

Take a crock pot you WILL NEVER USE FOR FOOD AGAIN (The anti freeze poisons the pot and you will never be able to get it out of the pores of the pot). Put the pot in a sheltered OUTDOOR area. (The fumes WILL GET TO YOU otherwise ) Use PERMANENT type antifreeze in the pot. Disassemble the engine as far as possible. Make sure to mark the top of the piston, top of the sleeve and the con rod with a mark to indicate the rear of the engine. (I scratch a mark in them with a scribe.)

Put the engine and parts in the crackpot. Make sure they are covered by the antifreeze, turn the pot on low and come back in 8 - 10 hours. Remove everything from the crock pot and flush well with water, then dry well (I also put them in a 175 - 200 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes ). The parts will come out sparkling clean and like new. Lightly lubricate with some afterrun oil (Marvel Mystery oil or air tool oil ) and reassemble the engine. Replace the gaskets in the engine.

Extremely stubborn areas/parts (mufflers) may need a second treatment.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Good day with Petter M
    ... I did drain the pot when the engine was hot the other ... Leave the exhaust pipe in place, and aim the propane torch into the exhaust ... pot through the port opening. ... distant jet engine, and the flames and smoke will be very impressive. ...
    (uk.rec.engines.stationary)
  • Re: temperature gauge
    ... A handy tool for working on these things is a 250 ohm potentiometer. ... the center of the pot and sweep it each way to watch the gauge move. ... Found this for the Corvette 350 engine, which is the same engine, I ...
    (rec.boats)
  • Re: Deep frying a turkey
    ... Remove turkey and water, then put in oil to that mark. ... in the pot, which means a lot more oil, much closer to the top of the ...
    (rec.boats)
  • Re: Deep frying a turkey
    ... Remove turkey and water, then put in oil to that mark. ... in the pot, which means a lot more oil, much closer to the top of the ...
    (rec.boats)
  • How To Cook Hot Oil Fondue
    ... Hot Oil Fondue or Fondue Bourguignon consists of cooking meat in a pot ... then you could choose teriyaki sauce, satay sauce, spicy buffalo sauce ...
    (rec.food.cooking)