Blew An Oil Seal. What A Mess!

[85.5Pinin]

I blew an engine oil seal in my mint condition, original 1972 Fiat 850 Spider.  Fortunately, I turned off the engine before any damage occurred but the engine bay is a mess.  When I checked the dip stick, it was down 2 quarts of synthetic oil which wound up all over the engine and engine bay.  I am interested hearing your thoughts on how best to clean it up without damaging the original yellow paint or electrical components.  Thanks!!

[Chewy]

That paint being that old may not take kindly to high pressure water and no matter what chemical you use, you'll want to test an area for color fastness.  

 

Adams APC is KILLER on oil.  That being said, it's going to take a LOT of time to get that much oil off of everything.  

 

Warm/hot water will help though!  

Chris

[Chris@Adams]

I agree APC will be your best friend......I think I would soak up as much as you can with paper towels, just don't rub.

[blcksilv08]

All purpose cleaner, full strength if possible and warm water.

[ScottyBoy]

All purpose cleaner, full strength if possible and warm water.

I concur.

[charlietuna]

I would start off diluting the APC try 4:1 first, if after a light agitation you feel you need more strength then step it up 2:1 until it gets the job done with gentile agitation.  I would take the time to cover as much exposed electrical prior to doing this as well as watch a few videos on the subject just to feel comfortable doing this.

 

use distiled water for your dilution if you can. 

 

good luck post some before and afters this will be a test of the best APC on the market.

[85.5Pinin]

I think less is probably more in this case and I like the distilled water idea.  I can always go stronger if needed.  I will try and post a few pictures.  I have already have already taken the pictures of the mess so I will take the cleanup process this weekend, weather permitting, and post them f I can figure out how to do that.  Thanks for all the help!