cleaning engine without all going bang

[andyhudson 10]

Ive had a oil and water leak for a while now and decided it needs to get done before winter roles in. ino that the water leak was from elbow on top of the rad but im replacing crack pipe and thermostat housing with geniune ones. looks like im replacing radiator as well now as 2 rows on the core have inflated and twisted the frame, whilst it may not be there that is leaking seems silly not to replace now seeing as its a ball ache of a job.

 

so i've got all the slam and bumper off and radiator now and its a proper mess with oil everywhere. with it being so bad i havn't been able to say for sure where the leak is from so i have decided to replace the oil cooler o rings and the 2 pipes and if i clean the engine up then any more leaks will be visible.

 

whats the best way of cleaning it with out everything going tits up when i try and start it? i do have a full tin of gunk, is it good enough to brush that on and hose pipe it off?

 

 

Edited October 28, 2013 by andyhudson

[VWVW 1]

Cover up any vunerable electrical parts with plastic bag as best as you can then spray some Autoglym engine cleaner/degreaser on the oil. Then host it down in manageable sections with a trough to collect the oil and water.

 

Do you still need the 2x oil cooler pipes I have some for sale for the vr6.

[Jim 2]

I guess there's multiple different ways of tackling it - wrap all electrical connectors, spray with something like Gunk, and hose off would probably work reasonably well. Just going at it with something like brake cleaner and some good quality blue-roll would be more time consuming but probably less likely to get water into places you don't want it though :)