Can I clean engine parts in my garage?

[TdotSubie]

I'm in the process of rebuilding an EJ22T to put in my impreza and I have a couple of questions:

1. Is there any way I can clean engine parts in my garage? I've heard that there is an oven cleaner that removes grease. I'm not rebuilding the heads, so is there some way I can just soak them in something to remove any crap?

2. When I was removing the intake manifold I broke some sort of sensor. It is located on the coolant crossover pipe, on the drivers side, the plug connector is orange. Does anyone know what this sensor is?

[gijonas]

I have a container filled with MEK mixed with kerosene,pretty nasty but cleans parts like you see on tv when they dip old coins in oxy clean.

[Furnace89]

Is there just one wire coming out of that connector you broke?
If so its most likely the coolant temp sensor for the gauge in the dash. Not a big deal, ~20$ im guessing.

As far as cleaners im a big fan of brake cleaner, that shit'll clean anything. You need good ventilation though. If that's not possible id recommend the parts cleaner you can get in the gallon jugs at your local parts stores.

I would not recommend soaking anything with gaskets in any type of cleaner.

[gijonas]

The one with the orange connector should be the temp sensor for the ECU.


What does this mean?

I would not recommend soaking anything with gaskets in any type of cleaner.

[93forestpearl]

To remove carbon deposits and heavy grease in a serious hurry, I use Easy Off oven cleaner. Spray it on, let it site for a minute, hit it with a bristle brush, let it sit for another minute, and spray it off. You have to be very carefull with aluminum because if you leave it on for too long or miss a spot when rinsing, you will pit the aluminum.



Otherwise, you can clean stuff with brake cleaner. I prefer carb cleaner myself since it is more agressive. For removing old silicone, get some straight acetone. Nothing dissolves sured silicone like acetone.

[TdotSubie]

thanks for the responses guys. Brake cleaner worked really well, and then I soaked the parts in a bio-degradeable de-greaser.

I have a water temp gauge that I'm going to install, could I just thread that in where the broken temp sensor was?

[kimokalihi]

Not if it's the sensor that tells your ECU the water temp or you'll mess with your fuel ratio and the car will run like shit.