finally cleaned the Benz engine!

C

chris0626

New member
Now that Jag concours season is over, I'm finally taking time to work on the sadly-neglected '93 Benz. I know the engine hasn't been cleaned in 4 years, and I strongly suspect it's been much, much longer than that. :(



So I tackled the engine this weekend. This was the condition when I started -- you'll see that it's just grey from all the filth, age, and neglect.

3936fullview-before-med.jpg




I began by vacuuming-out the leaves and loose dirt. Then worked on one little component at a time. I started out using Simple Green full-strength. But wasn't impressed at its cleaning ability, and frankly the licorice-like smell just makes me gag! So I switched over to Orange Blast, which I had used successfully on the Jag before. Tackled each individual component with Orange Blast -- spritzed it on the component, then wiped/rubbed away, reapplied and rubbed/wiped, ad infinitum. In addition to using half a box of shop towels and several toothbrushes, many q-tips gave their life in this project.



When it was clean enough (and I gotta confess I was not "Autopianly anal" on this project), I conditioned the rubber components with Mothers Preserve and polished much of the metal with Mothers Mag/Aluminum Poilish. Here's how she looked by 6 pm.

3936fullview-after.jpg




Overall, I found this project a "snap" compared to the 28-yr-old Jags. This engine has SO MUCH MORE maneuvering room! -- plus the effect of being only 11 years old.



And here are a couple of pix taken a little closer. Before ...

3936rtside-before.jpg


... and after ...

3936rtside-after.jpg




It's still not up to the standards of Luster, MBZ500E, and many others, but it sure makes me feel lots happier about her.



One problem I still have: There's some sort of remnant on the breather cover and some of the distributor wires. It looks like yellowed, dried waxy residue, but nothing I tried (including 3M Adhesive, Tar, & Wax Remover) would remove it. It looks yellowed and crackly -- almost like a sunburn that's starting to peel. I certainly haven't applied anything to the engine, but I've only owned the car for 4 years. If it were only on the breather cover, I would guess maybe I was actually seeing the degradation of some shellac-type coating. But why would that be on the wires too? :nixweiss I'm hoping maybe one of you Benz gurus can tip me off about what this is and how to fix it.
 
Great job, Lynn!! :up :up



I know that was a project you wanted to tackle but were reluctant to as it was quite daunting. But I'm glad to see you went at it and got great results. Excellent work.
 
Thanks, Bret. Yeah, I was so completely embarassed at the StL get-together when I accidentally exposed this filthy engine, that it finally pushed me into tackling this job. But going at it slowly -- expecting it take a couple of days (when it actually only took one) -- and dealing with just one little piece at a time made it not too bad.
 
"There's some sort of remnant on the breather cover and some of the distributor wires. It looks like yellowed, dried waxy residue, but nothing I tried (including 3M Adhesive, Tar, & Wax Remover) would remove it. It looks yellowed and crackly -- almost like a sunburn that's starting to peel. I certainly haven't applied anything to the engine, but I've only owned the car for 4 years. If it were only on the breather cover, I would guess maybe I was actually seeing the degradation of some shellac-type coating."



I have the same problem and would appreciate help from an MB guru.



(Nice choice of autos Lynn)



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect
 
Lynn- Nice Job :xyxthumbs





Lynn said:
..One problem I still have: There's some sort of remnant on the breather cover and some of the distributor wires. It looks like yellowed, dried waxy residue, but nothing I tried (including 3M Adhesive, Tar, & Wax Remover) would remove it. It looks yellowed and crackly -- almost like a sunburn that's starting to peel. I certainly haven't applied anything to the engine, but I've only owned the car for 4 years. If it were only on the breather cover, I would guess maybe I was actually seeing the degradation of some shellac-type coating. But why would that be on the wires too? :nixweiss I'm hoping maybe one of you Benz gurus can tip me off about what this is and how to fix it.
Click to expand...



I'm pretty sure the remaining stuff is baked on cosmoline/wax-based rust inhibitor. When first applied it gets everywhere and the combination of time, oily engine compartment vaors, and heat can really bake it on.



I'm a little surprised the 3M A,T&W Remover didn't get it. SOME solvent should get it, perhaps with the added application of heat. But be careful with solvents around the car's ignition system! I don't remember if a) you can disconnect the battery without ramifications or b) if your ignition holds a residual charge even with the battery disconnected :confused:
 
Hey, Accumulator! That's a good tip. I'll do a search here, for I know there have been lots of discussions about removal of Cosmoline.



And, speaking of trying solvents ... remember my last engine-cleaning adventure? Should I just try some brake cleaner and immediately start the engine? :lol
 
Lynn, very nice job getting that engine bay clean. Nice to see that you're finally getting around to the MB, it's only a matter of time before you're showing it!;)



A little more attention and I think you'll be surprised just how well an older MB can look. The materials are very resilient and a little care goes a long ways with these cars.



The yellowish baked on stuff as accumulator said is cosmoline and yes it is the biggest pain to remove. I had it on many of my zinc plated fittings and majority of my A/C metal tubing. The only way I've been able to remove it from these harder surfaces is a brass brush as mentioned from my thread in the concours section. You need to be gentle when brushing it off. The breather cover is another story. Obviously a brass brush will remove the paint so that is out of the question. A boars hair and nylon brush won't put a dent in it either but combined with chemical cleaners it may do the job. I remember reading about a chemical which can be used to remove cosmoline and I'll do a search and post it, I'm not sure how safe it is for paint though. Last resort may be to have the breather cover sand blasted and resprayed. Eastwood sells a matching paint that would work well if need be. The yellow sticker can be purchased from the MB dealer using the small part numbers usually listed at the bottom top or side of the sticker.



The cosmoline should crack off of rubber surfaces such as the distributor wires if worked enough. Plastic surfaces present a different problem and in most cases I've just replaced these pieces. Smaller parts are cheap and much easier to replace vs trying to find chemicals to safely remove the cosmoline. A nylon brush may brake the cosmoline loose on certain plastics but I can assure you it's a long and tedious process.



As soon as I dig up more info I'll post it here.
 
That is an amazing improvement, Lynn! I know it feels a lot better now when you open the hood and if you do any mechanical repairs, you will actually be able to see what you are working on!



That Greased Lightning Orange Blast is an excellent product and it looks like you got real good results also. It is fast becoming one of my favorite cleaner/degreasers.
 
Nice job Lynn.../



You've motivated me to detail my MB (not sure that I'll get as good a result as you did though)



What I've used to remove cosmoline before was Zymol Strik (but that was on new cars) I'll let you know how it works. I'm also going to try Greased Lightning Orange Blast (thanks 'Scottwax')



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect
 
I'm surprised that you didn't like Simply Green's cleaning ability.



I just bought a 95 Integra GSR and the motor was just filthy. I doused it with simply green and it worked wonders. . .



before



1.jpg




after



4.jpg




That was letting SG soak for about a minute, scrubbing the nasty areas and hitting them again and rinsing. I know the guy that I bought the car from has had it for 3 years, and the interior/exterior look like they haven't been really cleaned in those 3 years, so I'm imgining that the motor was also neglected for those 3 years (and approx 60K miles in that 3 years)



david
 
Lynn said:
Hey, Accumulator! ...And, speaking of trying solvents ... remember my last engine-cleaning adventure? Should I just try some brake cleaner and immediately start the engine? :lol
Click to expand...



Heh heh, I WAS gonna mention something along those lines ;)



Blue-Sun- Nice job. Probably looks as good as your previous car's engine compartment did! Have FUN doing the rest of the car, don't let it be a pain :xyxthumbs
 
Hey Lynn......



Excellent job on the BENZ!!!



Concerning SG's cleaning ability, I usually let it soak for about 2 minutes, then scrub with a tire brush, then repeat before rinsing.



The Benz looks fantastic!
 
yah,



I let the engine run for about 2-3 minutes before I sprayed on SG (actually, I drove down the street from my apartment to the coin op in 2-3 mins-it's close) and then soaked the motor.



The paint on this car is in pretty bad shape. It's got a little rust, but I'll be taking care of that problem either this weekend or next weekend. . .



david
 
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