Have you some special kind of cleaner that you use for degreasing the engine bay on the diesels? I was looking for something that is eco-friendly, and isn't detrimental to the electrical wiring or the metals. Also, like to use something that is ok with rinsing with cold water.

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Rebe

I use Gunk ( or similar) spray on foam degreaser and a high pressure washer. If you do it often enough you can keep things pretty clean. If you let it go, it can get pretty nasty.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

I spray it down with a can of generic degreaser from the auto parts store and then drive over to the manual car wash and blast it. The degreaser smells amonia-based so it should be OK for the environment but I really don't know since it is not a big concern to me. It is supposed to be safe for paint, wires and rubber but I wouldn't leave it overnight.

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1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

I just acquired a W123 Wagon and attacked the engine bay with Simple Green straight out of the bottle. It's biodegradable too!

Home Depot sells a knock off simple green under their HDX brand for around 1.98 whereas name brand simple green is almost double @ $4.50

Lots of shop towels and rags and some water should do the trick.

Good Luck!

Castrol "Super Clean works pretty good, but do not leave it on for a long time.

Gunk, mixed with kerosene and later Simple Green. Hard to beat.

It is possible to get an Eco friendly degreaser but the crud that comes off of the Engine is not Eco friendly

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

simple green is eco friendly and works well. if you use the purple color don't leave it on for a very long time as it can etch metal. it's also best to do this at a carwash as they have traps in the drains to keep the crud from getting out into the environment.

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1981 NA 300D 310k miles

I swear by LA's Totally Awesome degreaser, available at Dollar Tree. That stuff, a hose, and and old toothbrush transformed this:



into THIS:




Really wasn't too bad a task or too much work. This is a powerful degreaser, cheap, and pretty much no fumes.

What kind of oil cooler is that? Where do the lines connect?

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Mike Frederick
1986 300SDL, 240K+ miles
1985 300D KaliKar, 270K+ miles

@MagicBus: WOW. How much time did that take?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Jooseppi, I got similar results while the engine was out of the white car with some purple power and a pressure washer, got most of the grease off. Didn't do the engine itself though


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Couldn't tell you much about it. I assumed it was stock for an '83 240D.

Given how dirty it was when I started, not too long. I don't recall, though. This was done a year and a half ago. Maybe an hour or two?

I use Oil Eater, some Costco and Sam's club stores carry it and it's on Amazon. I does an amazing job...just wear gloves it will desiccate your hands. It's biodegradable, but like other's have pointed out the crap it takes off is not. Be careful with car washes too, around they have video monitoring, if you clog their filters with the gunk you could be seeing a nice bill. Also, they check the gutters here for oil residue, if chased back to your house...more trouble. It costs more money, but in the long run I feel good about doing it right. Buy oil absorbent pads lay them under the car to catch the gunk, spray, brush, wipe, till it's all clean, then roll everything up and take to the hazardous waste disposal.

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1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.