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#1
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Degrease those engines
this may seem like a "no S**T" thing but keeping your diesel engine clean is the best way to spot problems early. I have found that heavy duty degreaser like "Purple Stuff" and a pressure washer (little 1200 psi electric) works great. It has no nasty smell like the solvent based stuff and I think it works better. Doing this allowed me to find a power steering front seal leak before it became bad enough to become obvious. Also was able to see exactly where the oil seep from my oil filter stand was and discovered the bolt at that location was not tight. I got a good 1/2 turn on it before it started to get tight. Leak seems to be gone now, will need a good highway run to know for sure.
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#2
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This something I absolutely HAVE TO DO. I am concerned about what few electricals I have - starter, alternator, wiring. (85 300TDT) What precautions/preparations did you do?
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#3
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You should do this when the engine is cold. The IP has a lot of delicate machined parts and they can warp if sprayed with cold water white they are hot.
Keeping under hood clean is a great idea though. I keep a one gallon garden sprayer around full of cleaner mix. Just rinse the engine area off once a month and spray it down with a hose. Keeps is clean. I have been using that Orange cleaner. Cheap at Home Depot. |
#4
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I don't spray the electrial relay boxes on the fenders and fuse box on the firewall with high pressure. As for the starter and alternator I figure they get soaked all the time when driving in the rain so I don't worry about them. Never had a problem. I forgot to say that I always do it when the car has sat overnight and is stone cold.
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#5
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After I do this to any car/truck I always take it for a drive to dry things out.... I figure the less time water gets to sit in the wrong places the better.
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1985 300D Turbo ~225k 2000 F350 (Powerstroke) 4X4, SWB, CC, SRW, 6spd ~148k 1999 International 4900, DT466e (250hp/660 ft/lbs), Allison MD3060 ~73k |
#6
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I recently used the coin-op car wash nozzle. It is accurate enough to make carefull choices on where to spray. The engine was warm so I didn't want to get crazy but I was able to clean of the fender walls as well as spray off the underside of the oil pan. It looks alot cleaner under there now!
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1982 300D Turbo "Helga" 380,000 miles |
#7
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3M and Castrol Super Clean always have worked well for me. The 3M has a pretty strong chemical odor but the super clean is easy to deal with.
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Regards, Aaron |
#8
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"Orange Cleaner" - Better than Simple Green?
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#9
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I have had good results with either. I still like the "purple stuff" that you can find very cheap in discount stores. Many times I find a generic store label of heavy duty degreaser that is purple in color and works just fine. With any of them I soak everything I want clean with a good wet soaking. let it sit for 20 minutes or so and hit with the pressure cleaner.
And after a 100 mile highway run last night I see no leak from my oil filter stand, glad I tried to tighten it up before just replacing the gasket |
#10
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I cleaned the motor off in my 84, but I guess I need to do a better job this next time. It is very hard to clean off the back of the motor, but I have oil leaking from there somewhere and would really like to find it. Thing is I have no idea what could be leaking back there other than the valve cover and the rear main seal. What else is there?! The valve cover has a new seal on it now too, the leak almost appears a few inches below this.... Any ideas?
Jeff M.
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Jeff M. Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here. 1983 / 1984 300D Sold 2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold 2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k |
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