Cleaning up the engine bay

[2fit661ca]

ARGG!!!!!!!! :evil: I can't get this ****ing front suspension apart!

I've got the nuts off, but the bolts will NOT move from the holes, i can't disconnect the inner tie rods! The arm that comes off of the steering box will not disconnect from the box/ or from the other end, It feels like everything is stuck together.

How do i get these off??? I'm so close to just cutting sh*t off and replacing. Two days and zero progress.

You need a pickle fork! Also called a tie rod or ball joint seperator. The're only like $12 at a parts store and WAY worth the price!!!

 

[CamaroAdam73]

Yeah if the hammer method gets me no where, i'll pick up a pickle fork. And when you say smack the side of the inner tie-rod, what side??

 

[bill]

Advance or Autozone sells stuff called PURPLE POWER. Works great but does have an odor, so use a fan in a well vented room. I soaked the engine bay down, let it sit for a few minutes, then hit it with a wire brush on a drill. wiped it off with a good towel, blue shop towels work great, then sprayed it again and repeated this till it was all clean. Rinse it with a hose to get off the remaining residue and let it dry good before painting. Ideally, this should be done outside, but if you have to do it indoors (like I did cause my car is up on jack stands without a front suspension), make some soaker rolls out of old towels to prevent water from going all over the place and then you can sweep the dirty water out of the garage.

 

[crash]

Big X2 on Purple Power. Dilute it 1:1 for heavy duty grease removal, or up to 4:1 for lighter degreasing. I use that stuff all the time when I do engine bay details.

 

[kuruption109]

Yeah if the hammer method gets me no where, i'll pick up a pickle fork. And when you say smack the side of the inner tie-rod, what side??

the side that the nut goes on..

 

[Doober]

Another option is to thread the nut on most of the way, leaving a little room for it to move, then hit the nut with the hammer. Typically the tie rods & idler arm aren't that difficult to separate, at least I've never had any problems. I wouldn't bother with the pitman arm unless it's damaged in some way. If you can separate the pitman arm from the center link (and can get the tie rod ends out of the spindles) you can just unbolt the idler arm and leave it connected. The whole thing is a little cumbersome to move, but it's easier to take out... that is unless you plan on cleaning all the parts separately.

Purple Power is frickin awesome. It is true though that you'd be best with a well-ventilated area. It will also suck all the moisture out of your hands if you keep them submerged in it too long (ask me how I know ). I used carb cleaner on mine for the most part (scraper/wire wheel for the heavy stuff first), but I also did it over the course of a couple hours, instead of taking my time, because it wasn't my goal to make it 100% perfect (if you saw the car you'd know why).

Here's an example of what it can do... I soaked each piston for about 15-20 minutes, and almost everything brushed right off.

Engine compartment
Before

After some cleaning

After removing the A/C box, cruise module & washer bottle, and replacing the overflow tank with a cleaner one

 

[CamaroAdam73]

I'll have some pictures up tomorrow of this, but i realized today my car was in a serious accident at one point in its life.

About 4 inchs out past the firewall on the frame there are welds, the whole way around. The center cross-member that the motor mounts are on was welded back to the (what im assuming is) new front frame. In simpler terms, somebody replaced the entire front half of this car, Frame and all.

 

[youngdeezy]

Pat your malibu is super clean man props for that

 

[mms40]

just curious, if i used bondo on my firewall how long would it last ya think?

 

[youngdeezy]

^^^ good question i want to clean my firewall up too