Lancia Beta Forum

I've finally repatriated my broken Beta engine and will start stripping it down in the next month or so (redecoration of the bedroom permitting). The engine is pretty cruddy, oily and mucky and I'd like to take the block to an engine overhaulers not far from me in Sheffield and put it in their hot tank for a deep clean. My only concern is that I've heard that hot tank treatment can damage any bearings still in the engine, and I was intending to leave the auxiliary/anciliary shaft bearings in place.

Is hot tanking a Beta engine a no-no, or does it all depend on the fluid used in the hot tank?

So some time in the future I hope to finally find out what caused the engine to lock up...

I don't know the answer but I've found that brushes, elbow grease, pressure washer and parts washer using jizer is pretty effective afterwards simply dry block then spray with a suitable oil to protect against corrosion (one of the rare legitimate uses for WD40!).   

Yeah, big fan of Jizer. Best degreaser I've found.

I use parafin in my parts washer
works well and leaves a protective
coating.

I've posted this query up on another forum I frequent, and (apparently) it all depends on whether it goes in a hot tank with trichloroethylene in it (seriously scary) or a hot wash, which is a bit like an industrial dishwasher (again, apparently). The hot tank using trichloroethylene is a complete no-no, as it will remove everything (paint, grease etc.) including bearings if you leave them in.

The hot wash is perfectly safe on bearings and will clean the block up well, but will not remove paint. Or bearings, thankfully. So a hot wash it is, as long as my local engine overhaulers have the right piece of kit.