[sisko125]

Hi all!!!

I'm in the stages of restoring (a bit) my old 1976 Ariens snowblower and there is so much grease on the transmission case and wonder with what can
I clean this with? I don't want to use gas for sure but would like to use a good cleaner that would cut through the grime (and age) without harming the paint
or even the environment. I live in Canada so there might be some stuff that I can't have here but I do live not far from the US if ever I need to get something
specific. I have rust to remove too on the bucket and allot of places, the handlebars well was surprised a bit when I started to brush the rust and started to
see the shine again even though it was heavily rusted. So any restoration advice is welcomed!!! Oh yes I almost forgot, can I get some Ariens stickers
somewhere to replace those that I will remove?

THANKS ALL!!!

Serge

 

[BullFrog]

Brake cleaner for the grease and welcome to the group. Glad to have you with us.

 

[ST1300]

I just did an '89 Yamaha 624 that was a ball of grease and oil and had good results with automotive engine degreaser in a spray can, use a wood stick (like a paint paddle/mixer) to scrape off the heavy stuff first. Most of the engine degreaser is bio-degradable so it can be washed off with water. Second choice is "Simple Green" with a scrub brush, also water soluble and bio-degradable though you may have to let heavy stuff soak longer. Both of these products are safe around plastic and rubber so things can be cleaned without disassembly or masking.

 

[rwh963]

gas. really. i have de-greased some of these over the past year. i use regular gas and white gas. white gas is lighter and less smelly. i use spray bottles and rags and toothbrushes and whatever else i need. i mist one area, clean, and move on. i tried regular degreasers like simple green citrus, etc. petrol works best and fast.

fight fire with fire.

 

[Ziggy65]

Welcome to the forum.

As mentioned aerosol brake cleaner works very well.

I have had good results with this Castrol degreaser, which you can use full strength or diluted with water in a spray bottle depending on severity of grease build up. I think it is available at Canadian Tire. A jug will go a long way, should last you many years and will not harm paint or rubber components.

Fine steel wool and glass cleaner does an excellent job removing rust from chrome items.

A hand grinder with a flap disc will remove rust down to bare metal on the bucket. Use a good primer and paint, Dupli-color 1620 Chevy Engine Orange is a very close match to Ariens orange paint.

 

[Ziggy65]

How about posting some pics of your machine, we like pics

 

[Darby]

Hi all!!!

I'm in the stages of restoring (a bit) my old 1976 Ariens snowblower and there is so much grease on the transmission case and wonder with what can
I clean this with? I don't want to use gas for sure but would like to use a good cleaner that would cut through the grime (and age) without harming the paint
or even the environment. I live in Canada so there might be some stuff that I can't have here but I do live not far from the US if ever I need to get something
specific. I have rust to remove too on the bucket and allot of places, the handlebars well was surprised a bit when I started to brush the rust and started to
see the shine again even though it was heavily rusted. So any restoration advice is welcomed!!! Oh yes I almost forgot, can I get some Ariens stickers
somewhere to replace those that I will remove?

THANKS ALL!!!

Serge

pressure washer?

 

[Mortten]

Brake cleaner sometimes doesn’t play well with paint I use Krud Kutter.

 

[Oneacer]

On items like that, I usually spray with orange degreaser, let it sit awhile, and then use my power washer.

Before painting, I sand my surface if needed, and wipe it down with isopropyl alcohol before priming and painting it .

You will enjoy the fruits of your labor when you have the properly restored item.

 

[JLawrence08648]

Krud Kutter or a pressure washer and blow it off

 

[buenooffenhauser]

Zep Purple available at Home Depot.

 

[sisko125]

Hi all!!!

Sorry for my late answer!! Ok as for the brake cleaner yeah I pretty much thought that it could remove paint so didn't get it so I bought Gunk engine cleaner for now as it is
safe for paint. As for pics, I will try to post it when I get back working on my snowblower it's a summer project so I have other stuff do around the house besides the snowblower
so I do a little here and there.

THANKS for all your comments!!!!

Serge

 

[Big Ed]

Hi all!!!

I'm in the stages of restoring (a bit) my old 1976 Ariens snowblower and there is so much grease on the transmission case and wonder with what can
I clean this with? I don't want to use gas for sure but would like to use a good cleaner that would cut through the grime (and age) without harming the paint
or even the environment. I live in Canada so there might be some stuff that I can't have here but I do live not far from the US if ever I need to get something
specific. I have rust to remove too on the bucket and allot of places, the handlebars well was surprised a bit when I started to brush the rust and started to
see the shine again even though it was heavily rusted. So any restoration advice is welcomed!!! Oh yes I almost forgot, can I get some Ariens stickers
somewhere to replace those that I will remove?

THANKS ALL!!!

Serge

Welcome to the site.
If you have that much grease, I would suspect the case is leaking?
Might want to fix that too while your at it?

Have you come across this site? One of our members made it, might be of interest to you.

The Ariens 1960's and 1970's Sno-Thro info site.

Edit, maybe not, I thought he had old machines there, looks to be a lot newer ones then yours.

 

[orangputeh]

Hi all!!!

Sorry for my late answer!! Ok as for the brake cleaner yeah I pretty much thought that it could remove paint so didn't get it so I bought Gunk engine cleaner for now as it is
safe for paint. As for pics, I will try to post it when I get back working on my snowblower it's a summer project so I have other stuff do around the house besides the snowblower
so I do a little here and there.

THANKS for all your comments!!!!

Serge

NO!!!!! We want to know NOW!!!!!!!!!!! Not waiting until summer.

 

[dr bob]

I'll briefly share my rant on brake cleaners for uses other than brake cleaning -- don't if you can avoid them. Especially the chlorinated versions in the red cans. There's a serious risk of brain and other nerve damage from exposure, and it's fat-soluble so passes through skin, nose & mouth and even eye tissue pretty effortlessly. Find Something Else.

Most purple degreasers are pretty caustic, so are tough on aluminum parts. They leave a gray powdery hydroxide coating and offer none of the ongoing corrosion protection that an anodized or even simply oxidized aluminum surface does. They are usually OK with paint at low use concentrations.

Most orange degreasers, in my limited experience, are slightly better than cold water. Not a lot more really.

Gasoline and diesel have their own exposure issues, with flammability a big concern with gasoline.

I use deodorized mineral spirits (paint thinner) in my little plastic coffee-can parts washer, and follow it with a Dawn and hot water wash/rinse, then a final hot water rinse. That's a relatively captive environment and easy with small parts. Bigger projects like the subject oily-dirt covered engine get some scraping, then hot water through the pressure washer, then a detergent spray (Simple Green or maybe Dawn solution in a sprayer) followed by a hot-water rinse. For the more serious cases, Gunk Foamy Engine Brite gets the duty, but that demands a lot of waste management to retain the oily runoff. Yes, it's emulsified, but it still shouldn't go down storm or household drains.

[/rant mode]

 

[sisko125]

Ok here's some pics!!! 1 Wheel done!!!

 

[firedudetl1]

my 2 cents is full strength Dawn - apply it. generously to the greased area, let it sit for a while and then scrub with a stiff plastic brush and some wet either SOS /Brillo pads - next would be the pressure washer.
If you really want to clean it, you could run a hose from the drain for your water heater to the pressure washer and have a hot water wash.
just be sure no-one is showering or doing laundry ....lol

 

[sisko125]

my 2 cents is full strength Dawn - apply it. generously to the greased area, let it sit for a while and then scrub with a stiff plastic brush and some wet either SOS /Brillo pads - next would be the pressure washer.
If you really want to clean it, you could run a hose from the drain for your water heater to the pressure washer and have a hot water wash.
just be sure no-one is showering or doing laundry ....lol

Hi and thanks!!
I'm gona use the pressure washer when I get the time but I have so much things to do outside that I can't devote 100% on my snowblower. I'm doing little as I can
and yeah it would be nice to plug the pressure washer to the hot water tank but I don't have much access to it but hey it's ok. Right now I have Gunk engine cleaner so
I hope it will do a good job but I know that the thick area I'll take a little trowel to remove it. I was thinking of painting the bucket (after removing the rust, sanding etc....)
and for now I'm not sure if I'll have that time to do this, just 1 wheel took me about 3 weeks to do so..... time will tell.

Thanks!!!

Serge

 

[sisko125]

Here's the condition of the wheel before restoring.