50's vintage wringer washer. Gear box/transmission is filled with "oil" (according to the factory tag hanging on the go lever).

27 years of sitting idle in the shore house has magically transformed the oil into goo far more viscous than black strap molasses in January.

Tried cleaning it out with what I had on hand.... gasoline. Got through some of it and seriously terrified Darling Wife ("I could smell it from the street!!!!!!") thanks in no small part to her well founded fear of all things flammable (row house with spark throwing fuse box, multiple houses in her childhood neighborhood going down in flames, etc.).

So... two questions for all y'all:

1) gasoline, outside, while smelly and not overly effective for what I was doing..... not entirely foolhardy and End Of The World Dangerous, right?

2) what suggestions have y'all got for effective/non-atomic-fireball inducing chemicals for cleaning out the remaining decades old sludge?

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1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife