The affect of degreasers on rubber parts/gaskets/belts
Posted: September 7th, 2012, 9:17 am
My engine is currently out of the car as I’m getting rid of the whole car (I won’t bore you with the detail – and this isn’t a sales plug). I’m going to give it a really nice clean so it looks a little nicer but I’m worried about that the detergents/solvents might damage have on the parts fitted.
When I first started cleaning things the first to come off was my brake callipers and after a good drenching in degreaser I started dismantling them completely. Having arranged everything into nice trays I then left them a couple of days until I could pop back into the garage. When I went back the brake seals – which were being replaced anyway had ballooned up and were massive!. Since then I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid using the parts washer on anything other than metal parts and one with rubber parts/gasket still fitted have been rinsed down in water/brake cleaner straight after. My workbench has also suffered from a few spills and has bubbled up accordingly.
So, I’m a bit wary of using them on my engine. Will it be ok if I apply the degreaser, leave for say 10 minutes and then wash off? I don’t want to dismantle anything as its in perfect working order and I’m only cleaning it so it looks a bit better. The standard Fiat grey engine block paint has protected it very well!
Many Thanks
Chris
When I first started cleaning things the first to come off was my brake callipers and after a good drenching in degreaser I started dismantling them completely. Having arranged everything into nice trays I then left them a couple of days until I could pop back into the garage. When I went back the brake seals – which were being replaced anyway had ballooned up and were massive!. Since then I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid using the parts washer on anything other than metal parts and one with rubber parts/gasket still fitted have been rinsed down in water/brake cleaner straight after. My workbench has also suffered from a few spills and has bubbled up accordingly.
So, I’m a bit wary of using them on my engine. Will it be ok if I apply the degreaser, leave for say 10 minutes and then wash off? I don’t want to dismantle anything as its in perfect working order and I’m only cleaning it so it looks a bit better. The standard Fiat grey engine block paint has protected it very well!
Many Thanks
Chris