hello,
I have access to a drum with lye used to clean parts. I was considering using it to clean the pan, hogshead and block. my question is what does lye hurt? will it hurt the babbitt? also, will it clean the rust in the water passages and grease off my block? I know that i need to remove my starter, but anything else? does it hurt yellow metal? I guess i should say that the block does not have the crank or cam or pistons but it does have good babbitt that i want to use.
Also, i have a fragile vin number on the block. what are the chances this thing eats through it?
If you put it in the drum you will have no Babbitt and no lye. Dan
and no aluminum.
It will also eat the seal out of the front dam on the pan. Dan.
And that's no lie! No lye,....yeah,.....no lie!
Lye burns the skin and can blind. If you use it take all the necessary precautions. If you don't have them, look up read the directions, have the proper stuff like gloves, eye protection etc.
This past year I tried a new thing, I cured olives. Basically, there are two choices for curing olives, salt or lye (many variations within each choice). I chose salt because lye scares the heck out of me. I'd steer clear of it and choose a less toxic cleaning agent.
Just my $.02 worth....
I used a lye solution on a block and it got the paint off but not the oil. I still had to clean it up using solvent. The block was a 10 with no babbitt in the main saddles so I wasn't worried.
When I first started collecting over 45 years ago, I soaked a bunch of chassis parts in a 55 gal drum full of lye solution and it took the paint off right down to the metal. I had no sand blaster and it was better than using an electric drill with a wire wheel attached, which is what I used for the frame.
well one of the main reasons i wanted to use it was to get off grease/grime. but i was told the babbitt wouldnt be hurt :/