Cleaning valve covers

[texadelphia]

I'm about to replace my valve cover gaskets and I was wondering what people typically use to clean all the old oil residue off their valve covers. I wanted to use something waterless like brakekleen so I don't have to wait very long for them to dry but I don't want to discolor or stain the aluminum. Maybe brakekleen is safe but I feel like I've heard it can cause weird staining on bare aluminum. Thoughts?

 

[connorms]

I did mine recently and I just took some generic degreaser and a green scotchbrite pad and scrubbed the shit out of it. I wasn’t worried about any discoloration since I was painting it anyways, but after I was done scrubbing it didn’t look scratched up or anything so might be a good option depending how dirty they are. Mine were covered in dirt and grease after a few years of having leaky valve covers, so if they’re not too dirty I’d imagine brakleen would work fine.


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[brillo_76]

I'm about to replace my valve cover gaskets and I was wondering what people typically use to clean all the old oil residue off their valve covers. I wanted to use something waterless like brakekleen so I don't have to wait very long for them to dry but I don't want to discolor or stain the aluminum. Maybe brakekleen is safe but I feel like I've heard it can cause weird staining on bare aluminum. Thoughts?

I used brakecleaner to clean my valve covers off.

 

[Devbot]

I just use brake clean and maybe a steel brush, and if it doesn't come off easily then i don't worry about it. You could probably soak them in diesel or something and get them looking awesome if you wanted to spend the time

 

[RandyBobandy]

Grease and wax remover from your local automotive paint store is pretty good stuff that won’t discolor aluminum and is designed to not leave a residue if that’s something you’re after, it’s not cheap though at $50+ a gallon.

I used brake cleaner and various degreasers on mine, but I painted them before and it’s all flaking off so I don’t really care how they look

 

[19963.4lsr5]

I have access to a bead blaster and a parts washer. They preformed great. I bead blasted the intake also while I was at it.

You could get a plastic tray with a lid and soak them in mineral spirits after you degrease them to try and soften up the carbon in the PCV baffles.


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[sbag91]

agree on all these methods

If your not in a huge hurry I would suggest regular dawn dish soap with a scotch bright pad like others have mentioned. Then throw it infront of a fan while you go get food and beer.

If you do use brake/carb clean... got o wallmart. its $1.97 a can there instead of $7.49 a can at the auto parts stores near me (also tx)

 

[texadelphia]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[spartacus]

Purple power degreaser.

 

[WARunner]

Non-chlorinated brake cleaner or degreaser and water off the car for me