I wanted to share with you guys a budget way of getting really cruddy engines and parts clean. I have used all the usual weapons to clean an engine but I tried out something a little left field (so to speak) and found it was pretty effective. Oven cleaner. Not the caustic based stuff as this would be disastrous to be spraying anywhere in a car. It will dissolve pretty much any old oil and gunk lurking on an engine but I have noticed it doesn't make much of a dent in the stuff inside the gearbox (might be the oil or maybe the clutch powder...I dunno) I tried it out on a 4G52 valve cover I had sitting in storage for over 10 years and wanted to see if it would work - All I used was an old tooth brush and it came up looking fresh as! The non caustic oven cleaner does a good job of breaking up brake pad dust and road grime too (if you're cleaning wheels I'd recommend doing one at a time and working quickly as it could discolour the finish)