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pressure washing a short block

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Wings

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has anyone ever pressure washed a short block (bj8) as a cleanup before assembly? is there anything to watch out for
 
wings, the "short block" meaning its got pistons,crank,cam, etc. in it?, after cleaning are you going to rebuild it? will you be reusing any internal parts? what exactly is going on with this engine?
 
except for cam bearings
did not dip mainly because i did that 6000s miles ago
dipping means a machine shop has to get involved
 
My father, who has been maintaining, restoring and rebuilding all manner of engine for 60+ plus years routinely pressure washes stripped-down blocks, before and after machining. Be sure to blow all passages with dry air. Many of the passages will have water in them eventually anyway, but the oil passages should be thoroughly dried. Obviously, the cylinder bores will quickly rust but a quick hone and clean before assembly does the trick.

I think a blast from a pressure washer might be a good way to test the integrity of casting plugs, thin cylinder walls, etc.
 
i'm going for it
"quickly rust" helped.. will have a spray bottle w/30wt close

"integrity of" brought on concerns
 
Hello Wings,

Welcome to the forum if it hasn't been said before.

Where in Marin are you?

Best regards,

bundyrum.
 
Wings said:
oops sorry
short block is totally gutted
Click to expand...
Have you removed the freeze plugs? Might be a good idea, get a better shot at cleaning the water passages. You'll be surprised at whats in there.
 
I was just getting ready to chime in about the freeze plugs. Very important. We found rust, scale, and some glass bead burried in the corners. If we hadn't pulled the plugs it would have been very bad.
 
Wings,
Whenever I rebuild an engine, after it is cooked out at the machine shop and all the machine work has been completed I get a tub of the hotest water I can stand and wash it out with dish soap and the hot water and then rinse with hot water. This will cause it to dry rapidly and not rust. Also use an air hose and blow out all the areas that others have already mentioned. I also like to pump fresh oil through all the oil passages and lube inside the crank case. You may want to repaint the red paint that was original in the block prior to oiling. I didn't do the red paint on mine but kinda wish I would have. As far as the presure washing goes that would not hurt anything. I have even sand blasted the outside of the block before but then you really have to do some serious washing to make sure there is no sand hiding any where.
Bob
 
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