[dleccord]

Okay so my OFHG is toast and I’ll taking care of that over the holiday break. The front of my engine is grimes and I believe it made its way to the down pipe / transmission. Was wondering what the best way to clean the engineer after replacing the gasket? I plan on removing the radiator fan to make space. Brake cleaner? Rags? Garden hose? TIA

[Wolf 335]

Also don't forget the left side of the engine near the firewall just below the intake manifold. Usually oil will trickle its way back there.

I too need a solid cleaning from the same issue, but will wait until spring and take everything apart.

You'll need:
brake cleaner
engine degreaser
brushes (various shapes and sizes)
rags
garden hose to rinse it all off (cover the alternator with a bag, don't use high pressure)

...oh and use gloves

[dleccord]

btw, when replacing the OFHG, will coolant or oil splash onto my drive belt? currently, the belt and pulleys are dry and has no sign of oil residue on them, just the engine block.

[cjdzombie]

I'm gong to tackle this soon as well. The front of my engine is pretty gummed up as well. I want to clean it up, but want to make sure not to hurt and electrical connections, which are covered in oil/dirt.

[northbranchroad]

Originally Posted by dleccord

btw, when replacing the OFHG, will coolant or oil splash onto my drive belt? currently, the belt and pulleys are dry and has no sign of oil residue on them, just the engine block.

Coolant definitely will if you remove the cylinder head coolant hose to gain more space. I tried my best to stop any coolant from leaking onto mine but didn't have much luck. Not much oil leaks out, I tried pretty hard to catch all the oil and I think I got away with only 1 or 2 small drops of oil onto my belt.

If you plan to remove the cylinder head coolant hose the end fitting will break because its old and made out of plastic for some reason. Buy a new aluminum fitting for like $22 from eBay so you can change it at the same time, I found this out the hard way and had to wait 3 days after I finished the ofhg for the new aluminum fitting to arrive.

Also maybe it was coincidence (probably not) but my belt started squealing really loud very shortly after I finished the job. I had spilled a good amount of coolant on the belt, but it continued to squeal even after I thought it would have been completely dry.

Do yourself a favor and buy the aluminum hose fitting, and a new belt and do them along with the gaskets. Good luck!

[dleccord]

Originally Posted by northbranchroad

It definitely will if you remove the cylinder head coolant hose to gain more space. I tried my best to stop any coolant from leaking onto mine but didn't have much luck.

If you plan to remove the cylinder head coolant hose the end fitting will break because its old and made out of plastic for some reason. Buy a new aluminum fitting for like $22 from eBay so you can change it at the same time, I found this out the hard way and had to wait 3 days after I finished the ofhg for the new aluminum fitting to arrive.

Also my it was coincidence but my belt started squealing really loud very shortly after I finished the job. I had spilled a good amount of coolant on the belt, but it continued to squeal even after I thought it would have been completely dry.

Do yourself a favor and buy the aluminum hose fitting, and a new belt and do them along with the gaskets. Good luck!

Thanks for the input. Do you need the tool to install the belt? Also did you replace the pulleys or just the belt?

[northbranchroad]

yeah, you need a special male torx for loosening the tensioner - I forget the exact size but it was like $5 at autozone. You also need a a breaker bar to loosen the tension and another set of hands to keep the tension loose. It was actually incredibly easy, and I only removed the front piece of the air intake.

I probably should have replaced the tensioner and pulleys too, but they all seemed fine. The belt was like $30 and for sure needed to be replaced. I figured I would just put to the tension and pulleys at a different date.

[OP3NAIR]

It’s a t60. Bigger than most sets go, but easy to find as a single sale piece. Id recommend removing the belt before you undo the filter housing. Just keep it out of the mess, unless it’s due to be changed anyways, in which case, change it.

[juld0zer]

If your oil stain is that extensive I am surprised your belt isn't decaying from oil contamination yet.

Always remove the belt when doing this repair. You will need to take the fan out anyway to access the lower bolts.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Don't use a power washer. I almost ruined an ignition coil that way Car went in limp mode. The problem resolved itself after the engine dried from a few drives. I haven't had any symptoms since. It turns out our coils can have a problem of taking in moisture.

Use a spray degreaser and something to agitate. You can use a metal wire brush on aluminum engine parts to help give it a good shine, but use soft bristles for plastic.

[juld0zer]

Brake cleaner in a hand operated pump sprayer (make sure it is a chemical resistant one as most garden ones will not have compatible seals).

Be sure to disconnect the negative cable on the battery and no smoking/naked flames as brake cleaner is pretty nasty stuff.

Some truck shops may also have a water based heavy duty degreaser that you spray on and hose off. Dont let it sit on aluminium for too long

[123Britt]

YES - Non-Chlorinated Brake Cleaner as to not hurt the plastic parts.


NO - Standard Brake Cleaner not good for BMW plastics & rubber stuff.