NissanDiesel Forums

Just passing this on since there's some all purpose handy people here that may get close to this combination; brake cleaner works really well, it's real common and it's Al's favorite cleaner.

Guy really messed himself up.

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

Back when I took my tech training (1980-ish), the Air Conditioning segment strongly emphasized that allowing refrigerants (ie R-12, from memory diclorodifloromethane) to enter an engine and "burn" would result in phosgene gas out the tailpipe.

While it was emphasized that this would be a Bad Thing (I think that WW1 was mentioned), nothing as in-depth as this man's plight was drilled in.

Years ago I found that spraying brake cleaner (which, back then, contained tetrachlorides; today's formulations vary a good deal more) into an engine's intake would produce unbreathable fumes, so I stopped doing that

I like using carburetor cleaner or throttle body cleaner as a strong, all-purpose degreasing agent for things that could be damaged by water-based cleansers such as Simple Green (light degreasing, pH more-or-less neutral, aluminum-safe) or Castrol Super-Kleen (heavy degreasing, strong base, not safe for aluminum!).

Time to switch to carb cleaner

I was just using brake cleaner the other day when I put some new brakes on. That story kind of scared me because after I put the brakes on I took the car out to break the brakes in. The breaking in obviously raises the temps of the pads and causes a burning smell. I'm sure I was also burning some of the brake cleaner off the discs too. Is carb cleaner any safer than brake cleaner? I use carb cleaner a lot and have only used brake cleaner for cleaning the brakes during an install.

I'd guess it depends on the temperatures involved. The cleaner is designed for the brake area and used widely; this application is probably OK or we would have had many problem reports. Also, vendors change product forumulas without any particular notice to their customers.

You reads the label and you makes your best guess. You're the one responsible for you - not the manufacturer or seller. Ain't clear, authoritive and certified answers somethin'?

Rufus