Other Ultrasonic Cleaner Xmas Present (plus E-Type hijack)

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pwood999

pwood999

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Today I tried cleaning some old P38 spark plugs with my new ultrasonic cleaner. Bit short on cleaning fluids at the moment, so I tried a few available in my garage.
  • At the beginning all 8 plugs looked same as the four in the first picture.
  • First I tried 4 plugs in 10% Sainsbury Pink Grapefruit grease & grime cleaner. This stuff works really well degreasing kitchen stuff like oven & cooker hood, so worth a try.
  • Then the other 4 plugs in 10% Screwfix Heavy Duty Degreaser.
  • In both cases, 10 mins certainly started to get the carbon deposits off, but the screwfix stuff seems to clean deeper down the electrode insulator.
  • So finally did 25 mins with all 8 plugs still in the Screwfix degreaser. You can't see easily in the photos but 95% of the carbon is gone right down inside the plug.
I then dried them & blasted any fluids out with airline, and swapped them into my P38. wow does it run better even while still cold. Before this it was stuttering a bit occasionally, but now revs cleanly.

Yes I know I could just buy new plugs, but still redundant and looking for a job, so small savings help !!


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Glad you posted the P.S., I found a very old spark plug sand blaster in the garage a few months ago,the older members on here will remember them. Another plus for the diesel :D its gone back in the dark depths of the garage,totally redundant for me. Good luck on the job search.;)
 
tomcat59alan said:
Glad you posted the P.S., I found a very old spark plug sand blaster in the garage a few months ago,the older members on here will remember them. Another plus for the diesel :D its gone back in the dark depths of the garage,totally redundant for me. Good luck on the job search.;)
Click to expand...

but what about the plugs in the E type they may need cleaning:D
 
tomcat59alan said:
Don't think its done 500 miles since March, the cleaner isn't costing anything to keep in a cupboard for when its needed.:D
Click to expand...

my Cortina did 0 miles last year:( i am going to have to whip the box out to unsieze the clutch hence rebuilding the spare box to fit, hummm 50mph first gear:p
 
In gear, foot on the clutch and a quick snatch tow usually breaks the clutch free.a couple of slippy gear changes cleans it.:D least it did to my son's neighbours Capri when he phoned for advice. ;) take a wire off the coil beforehand
 
tomcat59alan said:
In gear, foot on the clutch and a quick snatch tow usually breaks the clutch free.a couple of slippy gear changes cleans it.:D least it did to my son's neighbours Capri when he phoned for advice. ;) take a wire off the coil beforehand
Click to expand...

I have tryed all that before to no avail:( its got a rather heavy duty compitition clutch fitted and i want to play with the other box as well:D
 
I have looked at ultrasonic cleaners but keep stopping myself.

Now ;);):D
Might have to look again. Have some carbs to clean:D might be useful.

Wot 1 do you have @pwood999

Size?

J
 
@brianp38dse , no problem on the hijack . . . . bit like finding the tool you've been looking for an hour later in the wrong drawer. Probably why newbies can't find answers - - they're in the wrong thread !!

@kermit_rr not sure, but I suspect due to the dodgy O2 sensor connector I found a few weeks back. Probably need to check air filter, MAF, etc.

@tomcat59alan job opportunities looking better. I got a call tonight about 6 months contract so things looking up.

@marjon The machine is a "6 litre" my lads bought (probably Amazon), although I reckon it can't hold that much when running & bubbling. Like most of them it runs at 400Hz rather than true "ultrasonic" which in my head should be 25khz-40khz. As long as the fluid is agitated the frequency probably doesn't matter. Was planning to buy myself a 30 litre machine, but this came first. There's a real danger that i will buy the bigger one when I get employed !!

The Screwfix degreaser worked well on the champion plugs, but turned some NKG BPR6ES plugs a funny colour. They still came up as clean, but I think they require different fluid due to different metals. Will see if the wire brush helps tomorrow. Bottom line always try it with an old spare part first !!

I have some of this Allendale cleaner for rust & oxidation, but not tried it yet. Gonna test on old brake callipers not spark plugs. There's stuff out there that's specific for removing carbon on engine parts so probably need to try that as well.

Unless you have a detached garage/workshop, do NOT use the Wintergreen & Isopropyl Alcohol Mix suggested on various YouTube videos. It stinks the whole house out for several days.
 
I love my ultrasonic cleaner. It's perfect for things like carburettors (rare these days), throttle bodies and pretty much anything else that fits in it.
I must admit, that I just used water and Fairy liquid, which is safe, smell free, cheap and still works OK.
 
pwood999 said:
@brianp38dse , no problem on the hijack . . . . bit like finding the tool you've been looking for an hour later in the wrong drawer. Probably why newbies can't find answers - - they're in the wrong thread !!

@kermit_rr not sure, but I suspect due to the dodgy O2 sensor connector I found a few weeks back. Probably need to check air filter, MAF, etc.

@tomcat59alan job opportunities looking better. I got a call tonight about 6 months contract so things looking up.

@marjon The machine is a "6 litre" my lads bought (probably Amazon), although I reckon it can't hold that much when running & bubbling. Like most of them it runs at 400Hz rather than true "ultrasonic" which in my head should be 25khz-40khz. As long as the fluid is agitated the frequency probably doesn't matter. Was planning to buy myself a 30 litre machine, but this came first. There's a real danger that i will buy the bigger one when I get employed !!

The Screwfix degreaser worked well on the champion plugs, but turned some NKG BPR6ES plugs a funny colour. They still came up as clean, but I think they require different fluid due to different metals. Will see if the wire brush helps tomorrow. Bottom line always try it with an old spare part first !!

I have some of this Allendale cleaner for rust & oxidation, but not tried it yet. Gonna test on old brake callipers not spark plugs. There's stuff out there that's specific for removing carbon on engine parts so probably need to try that as well.

Unless you have a detached garage/workshop, do NOT use the Wintergreen & Isopropyl Alcohol Mix suggested on various YouTube videos. It stinks the whole house out for several days.
Click to expand...
That's good news on the job front mate,I found my cleaner invaluable for cleaning the eas block when I rebuilt it,and for carb overhaul.
 
Seeing as how this thread is likely to digress, anyone recognise this Jag tool ? (Yes I do know what it's for)

Been sitting in my toolbox since 1987.
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