Anti Freeze Engine Cleaning

Methanol, basically what model plane fuel is, contains a lubricant that protects the internals of your engine. Antifreeze doesn't. And just how would you detect any damage? With the naked eye? Most of you are likely blind to begin with. Any damage would be microscopic and would require precision instruments to detect which none of you could master.

The crud is on the outside of the engine, so why are you disassembling and soaking it in a crockpot of antifreeze? A simple common degreaser (like 409) applied to the outside of the engine (with carb and exhaust covers) and then a hot bath of water is all that's required to keep it clean.

I consider you people a collection of idiots who wil blindly follow any half-baked advice. You probably got this bit of wisdom from the AMA or RCM

Reply to
Mr Akimoto
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| Methanol, basically what model plane fuel is, contains a lubricant that | protects the internals of your engine.

Huh? Methanol is the fuel itself. Nitro is another fuel, but one that uses less air to burn so it makes tuning easier and gives more power. The oil in your fuel, be it castor or synthetic, _that_ is the lubricant.

| Antifreeze doesn't.

Why would you need lubricant in antifreeze? You aren't _running_ your engine in the crock pot, are you?

| And just how would you detect any damage? With the naked eye? Most | of you are likely blind to begin with. Any damage would be | microscopic and would require precision instruments to detect which | none of you could master.

Damage from what? Running in the antifreeze without oil?

If your engine isn't moving, it doesn't need lubrication. And as soon as it does start running, the fuel provides the needed lubrication.

| The crud is on the outside of the engine

Not all of it. And it's the crud inside the engine that you most want to get out, though getting the crud on the outside will help it look better and run cooler.

| so why are you disassembling and soaking it in a crockpot of | antifreeze?

Because they look and run better afterwards.

| A simple common degreaser (like 409) applied to the | outside of the engine (with carb and exhaust covers) and then a hot | bath of water is all that's required to keep it clean.

If that works for you, then more power to you. But others have found antifreeze cooking to often make old engines look and run like new.

If you're religious about using after-run oil and getting all the fuel out of your engine, this sort of cleaning probably isn't needed so often. And it's probably not needed so often if your fuel has synthetic oil rather than castor oil.

| I consider you people a collection of idiots who wil blindly follow | any half-baked advice.

Advice like yours? (Though in this case, your advice isn't really harmful. But that can't be said of all your advice ...)

Reply to
Doug McLaren

My reference to methanol was in regards to its toxicity. As another pointed out, methanol has little or no lubricating effect. Indeed I'd suggest that antifreeze and methanol would be similarly poor lubricants.

Careful visual examination of the sleeve and piston are what I use to detect any damage - after all, the damage that matters is any removal of metal - this would present itself as pitting or dulling of what should be a shiny surface. If the surfaces are still shiny, then no metal has been removed, then it's all good.

I don't think that's true. If a substance has dissolved or otherwise eaten away material, the surface texture changes.

That isn't true either - the idea of antifreeze is that it can be heated to very high temperatures to the point where the backed-on crud softens and can be easily brushed off. In some respects this is a more gentle approach than trying to use some kind of solvent/detergent like degreaser. Furthermore, engines often have crud in the liner and under the piston. I'm not saying one should put the liner and piston in if there is no need to, but from my experience it doesn't cause any harm.

No, I heard about it somewhere (probably the net) and tried it out on an old engine first. I examined it very carefully, I ran it and concluded that the antifreeze method works remarkably well and doesn't hurt the engine.

Reply to
Poxy

"Mr Akimoto" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Antifreeze most certainly DOES have lubricants. In fact, the three functions of antifreeze are to cool, CLEAN, and LUBRICATE.

Nope, been using it for over 30 years in my automobile. However, I use a RADIATOR instead of a crock pot. Keeps the water jackets, water pump, and engine block nice and clean.....not to mention cool!

Greg S

Reply to
Greg Stephenson

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