OT - Engine Degreaser / Synthetic Oil

2 questions for you guys that know a lot of stuff.

I'm within a few hours of work of trying to start the 1953 IH R-112 that had sat for 35 years. So far everything I've done is a necessity to get this truck to operate. There will obviously be a lot of tweaking going forward but one thing I want to get done is cleaning the engine up. It has a lot of caked on hard grease/dirt/etc. I am going to scrape what I can easily get to but was wondering if there is a product that I can spray on the engine to help after I scrape the big stuff off. Something that will not damage anything else under the hood if it gets on it. Never had to use anything like this before.

For my 2012 Chevy Cruze I had always used synthetic BLEND oil. This past oil change I used FULL synthetic because it was convenient at the time. I'd like to go back to using the cheaper synthetic blend again. I've read that you can't keep switching back and forth between conventional and synthetic but for this one time can I switch back to the blend or is this definitely a no-no?

Thanks.

I?ve always used ?Engine Brite? by Permatex. Cover your carb, distributor, and generator with plastic grocery bags and spray the product on. Work it in
with a stiff bristled brush and rinse with a garden hose. Mind where you do this so you don?t create a big mess on your driveway or shed floor. Good
Luck.

I would concentrate on getting it running first. No need to spend hours detailing the engine only to find out it will have to come out and be gone through.

That said, cheap oven cleaner will soften the caked on grease. Followed by pressure washing. Repeat...

The oil question, I don't see any problem switching oils on a well maintained, fresh engine.

Where you run into problems is putting different oil in an old sludged up engine. Even that won't hurt as long as the oil is changed several times to remove anything that may be dislodged. Chances are though, if the engine is sludged, the damage is already done.

You can go back to the blend, the important thing is to keep it changed and always use a new quality filter.

The spray on degreaser's work well if you have most of the crud off,I use them and then power wash my tractors,just make sure you wrap the dist. with plastic or
something that keeps the water out. As for the oil,it will not hurt to go back to a syn. blend,I think most of the information put out there was done by the syn.
company's,you probably also heard that your engine would leak oil if you changed to syn. I've used it on my older Harley for years and believe it or not it still
doesn't leak.Make sure on your flat tappet cam Int. to put a zinc additive in the oil or your cam and lifters will go out.

After you scrape, brush, etc., the worst of the caked on dirt and grease, heavily spray it with your favorite chemical engine cleaner (I use Gunk). Allow things to soak for some time. Follow the can directions.

It will work better if you rinse with the hottest water that you have available and at the highest pressure that you have. I usually connect my hose as close to the water heater as possible and turn up my water pressure regulator to 60-70 Lbs.

It will also help if you spray the degreaser onto a warm engine if you can.

Dean

you can switch between any compatible modern oil as many times as you want. You will not hurt your cruz's engine by switching between sythetic blend and full synthetic.

Expect the bottom of the crankcase to be caked with deposits that at one time "were" in suspension in the oil. Removing the oil pan and thoroughly
cleaning it would be the right way to do it. If you don't your oil changes will be black within the first 100 miles where your new detergent oil's (whatever
kind you choose and it doesn't matter they all are compatible...per directions on the containers), detergents will start dissolving the deposits and picking
them up in suspension.

Back in the days of non-detergent oil, or detergent oil used in urban vehicles that spent their lives on short trips (couple of miles max type thing) when
the crud stayed in the engine (BTDT) if you went to detergent oil, or with detergent oil, changed your driving habits such that the engine had time to get
to operating temperature for a time, the crud would do just as I said above and not only would dirty the oil, but COULD remove caked on oil from worn
out parts causing the engine to burn oil. However, non-detergent oil has been out for 60 or so years...remembering back in the mid 1950's the local
Texaco station coming out with Havoline HD 30W that my parents used in their vehicles during the summer. It was Havoline HD 20W in the winters in S.
Texas.

I recently bought a 1988 tractor with 900 orig hours and upon draining the oil (upon purchase), running my finger in the drain plug hole, across the
bottom of the oil pan, picked up about a ?" of sludge. I did a double drain/filter change and the first one added a full a can of Sea Foam to the
crankcase and I ran it for about an hour to clean up the bottom which it did.

What you don't know is if the PO used non-detergent the whole time or not and if now, should you expect what I mentioned above. Good luck!

there is some question on older seals (pre-1960ish) that are not necessarily compatible with synthetic oils.

call the AMSOIL Tech help number at 715-399-8324. they'd be happy to answer your question. they may ask for an account number. just tell them you're considering buying and want to know compatibility before purchase.

My favorite degreaser is Gunk Super Concentrate. Comes in a gallon can and is mixed with either diesel, kerosene or one of the other lighter petroleum solvents. You can use a garden sprayer to apply. When using diesel, it doesn't evaporate any you can leave it on to soak for hours. The longer the better. Pressure wash if you have it. Once the grease, oil and dirt has gone there will be a film left by the Gunk that needs to be removed. Cheap oven cleaner, purple power, simple green etc all work for the final cleaning.

I would use the foaming engine cleaner. Gunk pollutes thousands of gallons of water. Don't use gunk if you have a well.

Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner.
Works good and is not corrosive.

Simple Green.

Thanks for all the input.

Good to hear I can save a few bucks and go back to the synthetic blend.

As for the old binder.

I am going to make sure it runs good first but the cleaning will need done. And I will cover the parts mentioned. Didn't really think about it getting into my well. Good call.

I have already tore some of the engine apart and cleaned. The head has been completely rebuilt. When I drained the oil, it took a good 30 seconds to start coming out and there was so much sludge it came out in the shape of a shot glass until it broke through and started draining. I pulled the pan and there was easily about 2" of sludge that was caked on the bottom. So I've seen both the top end and the bottom end of the motor and both look clean and good. I have also filled the block up with water and it didn't leak a drop over the coarse of a day. Then drained it out. I am going to put a can of seafoam in the first startup and let it idle for some time and then immediately do another oil change. Temporarily I have mechanical oil pressure and water temp gauges hooked up to it to make sure that's all good.

After trying all the degreasers
and having none work well I used
oven cleaner on my 1030. It took
off decades of old cooked on
gease and dirt. Just pray it on
and rinse off. Had to do it tree
time on the bad stuff. It will
fade the paint tho.

You know, "synthetic blend " can be only 5% synthetic oil and 95% conventional? I use only 100% synthetic.

What oil does chebby recommend...

Super Clean. It comes in a purple gallon jug - I use it full strength. It is supposedly biodegradable
but I?m not too sure about that. I find it works the best (as good as oven cleaner).

Any degreaser will clean the grease. The best bang for your buck is cheap dollar store oven cleaner. If you look at the MSDS sheets you will see the similarity between them. If you like expensive you can use the Gunk without worrying about your groundwater because they took the Chlorinated Hydrocarbon out of it probably 35 years ago.

Sounds like a plan. Sea Foam has been around for probably 50 years and is available in every parts store I ever entered including the chemicals section
of the Automotive section of WW. It's about $6.25 for a pt. can.

You sure that Cruze isn't supposed to have synthetic in it? Worn out timing chain tensioners and guides get expensive.