Degreasing A T 90

Howdy
Just pulled a transmission for the first time! So I have been told that I can use oven cleaner to degrease the caked on oil, grease etc. I was concerned that it might damge the case. Has any one used overn cleaner if not recomendations? brake cleaner? engine degrease? I hasve used engine degreaser on the engine with poor results.
Thanks
Mike

 

No harm to the case if you use oven cleaner. Personally I prefer solvent in a solvent tank .

 

The case is cast iron, oven cleaner isn't going to damage cast iron.

 

Castrol Super Clean in a spray bottle and a Dollar store cheap scrub bush. Add in a cheap paint scraper, problem solved. Oven cleaner won’t hurt the case but if it migrates to any seals plan on on rebuilding it.

 

Oven cleaner will work but be careful. It will burn you skin. Gloves, face shield and a long sleeve shirt. It likes to get warm. I did my frame years ago. Picked a hot sunny day, sprayed it down and let it bake a while. Everything mentioned above will work too. Nothing will make it just fall off. Scraping will be involved

 

Oven cleaner is my go to on this stuff, but never use it on aluminum, especially anodized stuff. It
Wrecks it. When you’re done with cleaning the case after you get it all apart, spray it off really good with water and immediacy use wd-40 liberally all over to… displace the water. Use all the mentioned ppe of course.

Good luck, the t-90 is a great transmission to do your first rebuild on. I did mine in 1996 in my back yard.

 

Welcome from Michigan, I would scrape it first with a scraper to remove all the Goo, then I like to use Gunk Engine Bright Cleaner. I empty the spray can into a spray bottle and mist the trans with it, let it sit for a while, then scrub it with a brush and repeat until all the oil is gone. I have been using Gunk everything from my Motor Cycles to Bicycles and my Jeep. It will not hurt your paint.

 

My only suggestion is to spend a lot of time scraping before you move on to chemical action. In my experience a metal scraper will remove a lot of thick layers of gunk where the chemical will just touch the surface. Much quicker to get the bulk of it off mechanically.

 

I think the scraping suggestions are right. Get as much of the caked-on dirt and grease off as you can with whatever scraper you like. I would use a steel putty knife. A stiff wire brush will work too.

Lay out a bunch of paper. Gather up your scrapings and put them in the trash. Good to remove as much as you can before you apply any cleaner. Some elbow grease and persistence will pay off.

Anything in an aerosol can is going to be expensive for what you get. My usual is a can of paint thinner. I wear rubber gloves; paint thinner won't hurt you but it's not good for your skin and you can avoid a lot of cleanup by covering your hands. A water-based cleaner like Super Clean or whatever generic Home Depot sells may be better these days with the high price of petroleum and pollution regs. With solvent (paint thinner) you can catch the runoff, let the dirt settle out, and recover most of it. Then reuse it until it's too greasy to work well.

https://www.harborfreight.com/safety/gloves/chemical-resistant-gloves.html

 

Having cleaned, a transmission, a transfercase, an overdrive, two crossframes, two skid plates, and a steering box in the last year I concur with mechanical scraping first before moving to solvents. It's much faster.

For example, the steering box before scraping:


After and ready for solvent:


This is the size of the pile. It would have taken many, many re-applications to get all this off by solvent alone:

 

Thanks everyone.....This is my first looks like scraping and elbow grease is first! The tranny shifted fine into 1 and 2nd but would not shift into third. Did not grind just would not go. Thinking Novak master rebuild kit about 275.00
Thanks again

 

Helpful thread. I am removing years of caked on goodness from the transmission, transfer case, and bell housing. I couldn't get a wrench or socket around a bolt without scraping stuff first. LOL. I am trying engine cleaner and the hose at the car wash as soon as I scrape some more junk off.

 

Based on my experience, if you're going to power wash plan on a full disassembly very soon after. That's liable to force water inside.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'm rebuilding both the transfer case and the transmission, I should start tear down on them both tomorrow. I won't get them rebuilt, but at least I'll have them all apart.

 

Get a pressure can and you can use whatever solevent you want. I usually use gasoline or kerosene. Regular spray bottles for windex and stuff dont last more than a few days with gas in them. And use a big metal pan to catch all the gunk. Its a dirty job

 

Gasoline? Really? Glad you are on the other coast. Amazing you haven’t blown yourself up yet. kerosene works ok if you are careful. Paint thinner works well too as it is very close to Stoddard solvent as used in the old school solvent parts washer.

 

Gasoline? If you insist, work outside and wear gloves. Realize you are inhaling a bunch of it, and it's absorbed through your skin. Would be worse if it were leaded gas, but I expect the additives and the VOCs would show up in a blood test afterward. In addition to the fire hazard.

 

Gasoline is not a cleaning chemical it is extremely volatile and dangerous when vaporized or misted in a spray bottle.

 

Thats why i said use the solevent of your choice. If you are not comfortable with handling gas then dont use it. I work with it constantly as a small engine mechanic. I take care as safely as possible but if it harms me its certainly not going to be from cleaning a dirty transmission a few times a year.

 

You may have been lucky but recommending using it to others who may not know or understand the dangers as a cleaning solvent is definitely not good form.
Do what you wish but please don’t endanger others.