Tried using a brake clean bath to degrease a trans cooler and nearly set my whole bay on fire

Three weeks ago at the old shop off 7th street, the fumes from that brake cleaner pooled low and caught a spark from a grinder across the aisle, and now I only use water-based degreasers on any transmission job - has anyone else had a close call with flammable solvents during a cooler flush?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.faith5d ago

Man that is way too close for comfort. I did almost the exact same thing last summer flushing an old 4L60E cooler - used a whole can of that non-chlorinated brake cleaner and had the fumes drift over to the pilot light on the water heater in the corner of my garage. Lucky I caught it before it lit, but the smell alone was enough to make me switch to that simple green industrial stuff ever since. Your mileage may vary but I've been using the water based stuff with a parts washer pump and it works fine if you let it soak long enough.

avery_ross5d ago

Yeah that pilot light situation is sketchy. My buddy actually singed his eyebrows off doing basically the same thing with a propane torch he forgot was lit nearby. Made me realize I need to actually read warning labels instead of just using them as coasters.

miles_hall5d ago

Wait did your buddy actually see it happen or was it one of those moments where he just felt the heat and knew? I'm trying to figure out how close you have to be before the flashover catches you.