Cleaning a block with the babbit intact.

D

Don/WI

Senior Member
What is the best way to clean a block if I want to keep the existing babbit bearings? Can it be boiled out without damage to the babbit? I also want to get it magnifluxed. I don't believe the babbit will be affected. Am I correct in that assumption? Thanks. Don/WI
 
Forget caustic boiling baths. It will eat the Babbitt. Try a scrub brush and pressure washer with simple green or something like that. Non-magnetic, Babbitt will not respond to magnaflux, but U.V. dye penetrants will reveal Babbitt flaws as well as block cracks.
 
You can have it cold tanked. That won't bother the bearings.
NO hot tanking with caustic.
Even hot tanking won't take out rust and scale which is the worst cause of overheating.
If it is scaled bad, acid stripping or acid/electrolysis is the only practical way.
 
You can fill the water jackets with a weak phosphoric acid solution. Phosphoric attacks base metal much less than hydrochloric. Neutralize with baking soda and water. I have seen this done with a complete assembled 235 Chevy motor to clean up very dirty water passages. The motor was set vertically on the bell housing, the water pump removed, the thermostat housing capped off, and the water passages filled. After about a week, this was drained & rinsed out and the baking soda solution was poured in for another week. A final drain and rinse and the water passages looked very nice.
 
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