Using brake cleaner/Simple Green to clean block of oil: How to prevent/clean up mess?

[ladd2]

Ok, this falls into the category of "use common sense", but it ain't common sense if you've never seen it before.

Lots of talk about spraying brake cleaner or Simple Green on the engine block to remove all the leaked oil. My question is how does one do this without making an enormous mess? And how does one clean it up?

I don't have a street where I can park the car to just let the goop fall where it may (and not good environmentally anyway). I have a gravel driveway that will absorb everything and look terrible for years afterward if I get oil all over it.

I guess I could put down newspapers even if that can be a challenge with even the slightest breeze, but are they sufficiently absorbant to suck up everything? Plastic sheeting?

ya got me -- I'm sure lots of folks have their own solution; please share them!

[edgarchan]

I think auto parts store like pepboys or kragen sell a thick mat for oil change. I can hope up couple quarts of oil. You may want to try that.

[brungold]

sometimes when i wait till the next morning to change the oil, it lets the oil in the filter drain into the pan, so there is no more oil to dump all over the block

that saves a lot of cleanup for me, just waiting overnight.

[ladd2]

Originally Posted by brungold

sometimes when i wait till the next morning to change the oil, it lets the oil in the filter drain into the pan, so there is no more oil to dump all over the block. That saves a lot of cleanup for me, just waiting overnight.

I appreciate you taking the time to reply and it seems like good advice for reducing oil spills when changing the oil filter.

For the moment, however my question is focussing more on containing/cleaning up the mess I anticipate will happen when I attempt to clean the lower outside rear of the engine block that is coated with oil leaking from various places ...

[Chet]

Put full strength Simple Green into a spray bottle, go to quarter car wash when its not too busy, open hood and spray engine, wait 10-15 minutes, rinse with hottest and strongest spray, TA-DAAAA!

[Eye8Pussies]

^ or do what I do when I clean the engine bay, since that stuff can discolor your driveway- do it on the street