Alternatives to engine steam cleaning

I saw some corrosion on the aluminium alloys after using tire cleaner once.
This green stuff. Not from soap and water. But corrosion in this case is
just
discoloration of the surface and not peeling off rust, like you have with
the iron...

 

Your "green stuff" was probably a chemical reaction between the tire
cleaner and the metal. I'm talking about something different.

Aluminum in the presence of salty moisture acquires a whitish bloom
(aluminum oxide), and eventually the aluminum simply... disappears.
Just like iron.

People who think aluminum doesn't rot are mistaken.

 

The green stuff what I was talking about is the tire cleaner which is
simple green fluid. My engine did not turn green, it turned from shinny
to gray with minimal white spots here and there. It did not happened
when I did not overdo it and clean only with soap and water...

Yes, I know exactly what are you talking about - I have saltwater
fishtank at home and aluminium light fixture over it with white
corrosion marks.

Yes, they are mistaken if they say this way...
But, aluminium is much, much better than iron because a thin layer
of oxidation, which forms on the surface of the aluminium, inhibits
further oxidation - unless harsh chemicals dissolve this Al2O3 layer first.
Which was probably the case with my green tire cleaner incident...

It is late now but maybe this weekend I will take some pictures
of the engine bay...

 

A good example is the thermostat housing/filler necks on later model cars.

I've seen 'em when they became totally useless...

JT

 

In my 40+ years of gasoline powered self-motivation (cars and
motorcylces), I've only steam cleaned two engines. The one on my
Husky 250, after every Sunday, and my F500 race car, after every race
weekend. NOTE!!!!!! Each received a tear down and rebuild on a very
regular basis. Like monthly or so.