TSA: car parts in luggage
 

So it states no oil or gas residues on car parts. How much is on “used” car parts like brake calipers and rotors?

A used exhaust probably would have residues ?

You will be fine for checked luggage. Just make sure your calipers are drained of brake fluid. There should be zero fuel or oil on exhaust and rotors. All there are concerned about is volumes that would be a possible ignition point.

Once upon a time I went to Nicaragua and they pulled me aside because part of the internals of my carry-on came loose and an unidentified metal rod was inside. After checking it out, they let me go.


On the return trip into the US, I had three big bags of coffee beans, two machetes, and a Toyota Hilux throttle body, and nobody batted an eye.


TL;DR: YMMV

I can almost guarantee that they will want to see it because it's going to show up as a dense object on the scanner. (Most dangerous/illegal things are dense, drugs, explosives, etc..) Like @Tcoat said though if it's not a fire hazard you should be OK.

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I just picture him trying to take rotors and an exhaust as carry on! It makes a fun mental picture.

I was on vacation in Denver and found a ridiculously good deal on some commercial-grade hedge trimmers, so I bought them.

Then I had to find a way to get them home...
I took them apart as much as possible. Removed the blades, took the engine apart to get it more compact.

I was worried about the policy for the sharp blades. Even though I was checking the bag, I didn't want unnecessary trouble.

While looking into the policy, I found a rule about gasoline/oil. I read through it and it was a bit vague.
Basically said "cannot have traces of gas, oil, or other combustible fluids".
I believe this was from TSA directly.
I tried to contact them for clarification, they told me to talk to my flight company.

Unfortunately, I had Frontier. Their website was pretty much copy-paste as vague as TSA.
I contacted them directly (via FB messenger of all things...) and they explicitly said "if it has EVER been used, ever contained fuel or oil, it cannot come on the plane"

I made sure to clarify "what if I clean it really well?"

They didn't care.

I probably could have gotten away with it, but didn't want to try. I packed the blades in my luggage then shipped the motor parts back home via UPS.

Echoing the above comments... Safety is the obvious concern.

Pretty much this is like getting up to go to the bathroom while the seatbelt sign is on. If you ask, they will say they cannot permit you to... but they (generally) will not prevent you.

I have checked many used car parts on commercial flights, often with grease residue. It has never been a problem. I always wrap in shipping film and pack them well so there is no chance of seepage/saturation of the cardboard.

I would not attempt to check flammable liquids or volatile liquids - that is just stupid. But grease/oil residue on a car part is less flammable then a lot of toiletries!