I had picked up a good tip here -- to use brake cleaner for engine-cleaning. On much of the engine I use the EFHI or Gunk`s engine cleaner. But on hard-to-reach places, I like the brake cleaner because it does a good cleaning job and evaporates quickly -- so it`s great for hard-to-reach spots where it`s hard to wipe. It leaves little residue and and doesn`t require careful/thorough wiping. Yesterday, I spent about 12 hours detailing the engine in prep for concours. Did all I could with cleaners, degreasers, etc. As a last step, I decided to do the brake cleaner on the engine head (where to spark plugs go in), because it has so many little nooks and crannies. But I`d had enough trouble with electrical and water that I decided to start the engine, then apply the brake cleaner on the block. GUESS WHAT??? The engine burst into flames!!! Fortunately, I snagged the extinguisher and put it out without too much trouble. But ... if there are any newbies out there who are as stupid as I am, you might want to stay away from this application. I`m guessing that the brake-cleaner has some solvents that somehow caught fire; fortunately (and thanks to quick action), the flames didn`t actually melt or discolor any engine components significantly. But .... please, don`t anybody else be as stupid as I was. Don`t use brake-cleaner with your engine running.
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