Getting Rid of Grease

[Aven]

I replace the stabilizer bushings yesterday. Figured out what caused all the damage too. The lower link was packed with grease and sand. It looks like he did a crappy job of lubing and then took it out to the beach. I scraped as much of it out as I could, but it still has sand stuck all over the place. What can I use to cut through the grease and clean it all out?

My concern is the poly. I've never used them before. Not sure how delicate they are to cleaners and whatnot. Don't want to dump something on them that's going to shorten their short life.
Modified by Aven at 12:03 PM 2/15/2010

[breadbox]

um a kinda "soft" wire brush on an angle grinder or similar device. then spray it black.

[flinterman2000]

Yeah, try a brass wire brush. Solvents aren't friendly to poly.

[snakecbaker]

dish soap and water then dry it realy good

[Aven]

I was kinda afraid of that Flinterman.

Snakecbaker, I'll give that a try. Wonder if Dawn would work? Says that it cuts grease on dishes. Be worth a try.

Thanks.

[flinterman2000]

Remember, cooking grease is a lot different to lube grease. A lot of dish washing liquid would be necessary. The wire brush first, then the dish washing liquid.

[Aven]

Thanks, I think I'll give Simple Green a try this weekend.

[flinterman2000]

Simple Green is a lot friendlier to most surfaces than other solvents. Remember to flush properly to leave no traces of the solvent.

[Aven]

Thanks, Flinterman. Hopefully it will be relatively warm on Saturday. Man, my next place is going to have a mechanic's pit.

[Davezilla]

I know this is an old post, but there are 2 things out there that grease just can't stand up to...
1. WD 40 .... use for small areas along with plastic bristle brushes and rags to break down the grease and use a little more for final cleaning, the part will look like new when done.
2. Automatic transmission fluid ... Grease just cannot stand up to this stuff. Works best if you can remove the part and let it soak, if you don't have time for a good soak you can put about a gallon or so into a "wash tub" where you can use the ATF as your cleaning agent. You can use brushes, rags, etc for scrubbing if needed. Once parts are free of grease, final clean with your fav dish soap.

If the parts are still on the vehicle and you don't intend to remove them for cleaning you can always use rags soaked in either the wd40 or the atf which can be laid on the parts or tied to the parts. scrape or brush off as much caked on grease as possible first if you can to further reduce cleaning and soak times.

another thing Wd 40 works great for is to remove old decal and tape residues, just spray on, wait a few minutes and wipe off... repeat as necessary, letting it soak longer makes it work better too.