Cleaning engine/drivetrain

Most everything from the valve covers down is caked with oil/dirt including the trans/t-case.
What is the best/easiest meathod to get it clean.
I'm thinking of using a pressure washer with degreaser and running the water out of the water heater through it.......probably crank up the temp on the water heater couple hours before I do it.

If I use the pressure washer, what areas would I need to watch.
Is there a better way?

 

I crawled under mine, scraped what I could off with a putty knife then went after it with a pressure washer. Still a non fun job. Maybe a few applications of pressure washer and a good detergent might do it. I wouldn't recommend spraying high pressure water near engine, gearboxes and differentials without changing the oils afterwards. And don't forget to repack the wheel bearings if you spray them. Might not get any water in these areas, but why take a chance?

 

Borrow or rent a Hotsy (steam cleaner). It's basically a pressure washer that uses a kerosene or diesel burner to heat the water super hot. They'll cut through 30 years of grease almost instantly. Be careful though...it'll cut through your fan belt and wire harness too . Seriously...call your local equipment rental places and see if anyone has one. Cleaning everything will take 20 minutes, not 20 hours .

 

I use brake cleaner on most degreasing jobs ( diffs, bearings, etc.) I've also heard of using oven cleaner and have personally used castrol degreaser. Either way you go, I'd avoid a pressure washer around sensitive engine parts.

 

Simple Green Engine Degreaser is the best commercial product I've found. Oven cleaner works very well also.

 

I got an "Engine Cleaner" from Northern Tool. It's basically an air gun with a tube that let's you siphon up and spray any fluid. I use it with Simple Green , it works better than anything I've ever used.

 

Keep in mind that all that spooge you wash off will make a helluva mess on your driveway! BTDT, an unpleasant surprise.

 

Not sure where you live but my companies one subsidiary (The Restaurant Store) has a natural degreaser called "Orange Peel" I used this on mine straight up, it's a concentrate, and let it sit for 20 minutes and watched the crap dropping off the engine underneath. Then hosed it down with cold water and it stripped ALL the crud off! naturally the little crevices had alittle gunk but it worked better than that "Gunk" spray.

 

we used to use that "orange peel" to clean aircraft wheels. stuff worked great.