peter1045

Folks I am a wantabe DIY mechanic and this question may seem foolish to some. However, here goes. I have a 2001 audi a6 2.8. quattro, once I have put the car in the service position and have removed all items including the timing belt and cam sprockets what type of product do I use to clean the surface from which these components were removed. The front of the engine is quite dirty from oil and dirt etc. and I am concerned about the rubber hoses etc.
thx
Peter

Prospeeder

Make sure while your in there you replace both rear cam plugs and both chain tensioner gaskets. Or you will be right back in there doing it because of all the oil leaks. Its absolutely never just valve covers leaking on 2.8/2.7T engines. These are very leaky engines and if your doing any work like that do it all including the cam seals.

To clean the area. Super clean or some other degreaser and water is fine to use. If your worried about the hoses, if they seem swollen or squishy from the oil replace them!

lucio_liu

replacing 10-year audi hoses can never be wrong, but could be a PITA.

SeattleAl

I guess it depends if you're referring to the gasket mating surfaces, or are being AR and want the block all nice and shiny :-)

For the former, brake cleaner and a lint free cloth works well, after scraping carefully with a gasket scraper/razor blade.

For the latter, a citrus based cleaner like P21S is mild enough to not affect rubber components. You'll want to scrape off as much of the "dough" beforehand with a putty knife or similar, as it's not a serious grease cutter like brake cleaner. Checking/cleaning/replacing the PCV hoses is a better time investment though, as when they clog they force crankcase pressure out through the valve cover/cam seals in these engines, causing leaks (and earning these otherwise fine engines their reputations.)

peter1045

thx I appreciate it!