My wife's MCC suffered from the dreaded leaky '05 engine mount which has already been replaced. The oily substance (hydraulic fluid?) dripped down and all over the frame rail beneath it and more or less baked itself on. Has anyone had any success at finding a way to remove this stuff? I've tried degreaser, Simple Green and even WD40 but nothing seems to touch this stuff. Any experience or other ideas appreciated.

BTW, this stuff also leaked on the the concrete garage floor and soaked into the concrete. I've tried some pretty potent concrete cleaners without success as well (on the concrete).

 

Hydraulic fluid is very corrosive and usually stains permanently. If you get it on the paint it can cause irreversible damage very quickly. It sound like you have tried everything. I would give it one more go with a citrus based degreaser. True citrus based cleaners (D-Limonene) work very for emulsifying grease and oil. Spray it on and give it plenty of dwell time.

For you concrete I would suggest a product called "Pour n Restore". I have seen this stuff work wonders. I think some Ace Hardware stores even carry it.

Good luck!

Brett @ OCD

 

You are freakin' me out, man! I've got a bit of splatter from my engine mount, but I haven't detailed the engine bay yet... waiting for the end of my first good, hot summer to melt out all of the cosmoline.

My plan is to try 303 aerospace cleaner, full strength, on the really nasty bits.

 

The "baked on" brownish stuff beneath the motor mount and surrounding the grounding strap is the result of a leaking mount and what I haven't been able to remove so far. I'll try some citrus based cleaner as suggested and keep my fingers crossed.

I'm hoping the TSW engine dampers on both of our MINIs help prevent this from happening again.

 

I hit it with simple green every two weeks, seems to do the trick have you tried good old fashioned dawn.

 

I thought of one more. OIL-FLO Safety Solvent Cleaner is a great solvent that can be worked in with a brush and rinses freely with water. It even has a very slow evaporation rate so you can leave it sit without it drying to quickly which is a common problem with strong mineral spirit based solvents.

Brett @ OCD

 

Sorry to bump this thread... The Titan website (manufacturer or OIL-FLO Solvent) doesn't list resellers. I can only find it on Amazon but was hoping to find a reseller in LA area. Anyone know where to get this stuff besides Amazon? Or better yet, is there another (read: better) alternative for that caked-in oil and grease that looks like it's been building up on my garage floor since the Kennedy administration?

UPDATE: Actually just found the Griot's stuff. But if anyone has a better idea...