Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...?
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 131
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From: Randolph, Ma
Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Hey all, I'm planning on washing and cleaning my whole car tomorrow (finally have the time!!) and I'm going to be cleaning my engine and bay. It's been a long time unfortunately, so it's pretty dirty. Just wanted to know of any cleaning tips and whatnot that will help make my day easier and my engine nice and shiny again!!LOL I figured this is the place to ask, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Kevin
<small>[ May 24, 2002, 09:13 PM: Message edited by: Last of a Breed ]</small>
Kevin
<small>[ May 24, 2002, 09:13 PM: Message edited by: Last of a Breed ]</small>
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Sterling Heights, MI
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? This might sound weird, but my Engine compartments have always been spotless. To do my engine I usually go to the Quarter Car Wash and pressure wash my engine compartment while the engine is running. Try to not spray directly into any electrical harnesses. Let any steam or vapor disappear before closing your hood. Take it out and run it for a couple of miles. Go home and wipe down any residual water. Get a good window cleaner and start targeting dirty spots. Use good clean all cotton rags. I would not use any harsh cleaners or degreasers unless very sparingly. MOTHERS Aluminum and metal polish will work great on any metal surfaces - polish them up. I will tell you that if you don't keep up on your engine compartment it will become unmanagable over time. There are too many tiny, little incredibly hard places for grimy dirt to hide. A little bit of frequent cleaning is better than an All-Out day-long cleaning every few months. Good Luck! Hopefully other people will respond to this, because I am curious as to how other people do their engine compartments.
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TECH Resident
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 894
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From: Chicago, IL
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Whenever my engine would get really dirty, I'd use some Simple Green full strength on it. Just spray the whole compartment down and try not to hit the coils or PCM. I bought one of those 2-3 gallon garden sprayers and use that to rinse everything off, again staying away from the PCM and coils. Then I hit most of the bare metal with Mothers alum. & mag polish.
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jake99SS:
<strong>Whenever my engine would get really dirty, I'd use some Simple Green full strength on it. Just spray the whole compartment down and try not to hit the coils or PCM. I bought one of those 2-3 gallon garden sprayers and use that to rinse everything off, again staying away from the PCM and coils. Then I hit most of the bare metal with Mothers alum. & mag polish.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Same, simple green on engine.. car wash shampoo on the rest.. hose off with high pressure on the non sensitive parts and low on the the rest.. THEN i use my 200mph electric leaf blower ($60 @ home depot) to blow all the water out the engine area.. detail with a small towel.. voila! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />
Then in my case an hour of polishing chrome and aluminum <img border="0" title="" alt="[Sad]" src="gr_sad.gif" />
<strong>Whenever my engine would get really dirty, I'd use some Simple Green full strength on it. Just spray the whole compartment down and try not to hit the coils or PCM. I bought one of those 2-3 gallon garden sprayers and use that to rinse everything off, again staying away from the PCM and coils. Then I hit most of the bare metal with Mothers alum. & mag polish.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Same, simple green on engine.. car wash shampoo on the rest.. hose off with high pressure on the non sensitive parts and low on the the rest.. THEN i use my 200mph electric leaf blower ($60 @ home depot) to blow all the water out the engine area.. detail with a small towel.. voila! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />
Then in my case an hour of polishing chrome and aluminum <img border="0" title="" alt="[Sad]" src="gr_sad.gif" />
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 131
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From: Randolph, Ma
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Thanks everyone. Yeah I know I should keep up on the cleaning, but being in school and working 40 hours or so a week is time consuming. Anyways, where can I find Simple Green? I went to Lappens and they didn't have it. Thanks again.
Kevin
Kevin
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 13
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From: San Francisco
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Do you guys spray the simple green on the engine while it is running??? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" /> Do you also rinse while the engine is running??
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TECH Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 315
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From: Hawaii
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? correct me if I'm wrong but I thought I once read you're not supposed to spray your engine if it's even remotely hot. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by SSuperSport99:
<strong>Do you guys spray the simple green on the engine while it is running??? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" /> Do you also rinse while the engine is running??</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would say DO NOT spray engine while it is running, and I personnaly would never was a hot or warm aluminum engine. I only wasm my engine when it is completely cooled off.
<strong>Do you guys spray the simple green on the engine while it is running??? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" /> Do you also rinse while the engine is running??</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would say DO NOT spray engine while it is running, and I personnaly would never was a hot or warm aluminum engine. I only wasm my engine when it is completely cooled off.
TECH Resident
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 940
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From: Westminster, MD
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Get a jug of Simple Green, and a small (1300 psi or lower) power washer, with a variable flow wand. While the engine is completely cool, spray the engine completely, slowing the flow down while over sensitive components. Remove the simple green feed and rinse. Leave the hood up and let it dry for at least one hour. You'll like the results.
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Use the biggest economy size bottle of Simple Green you can find (CostCo) use the little foam feature and waste the whole thing on the COLD bay in the morning before ANYthing else. Rinse it out, towel dry and then let it dry as much as huamly possible while doing the rest of the car. I use the new Meguires (Ultra Shine?, red bottle-Kragen) to hit up all the black. It lasts the longest from what I can tell and actually repels dust to some extent. I have also tried when it got REALLY bad the Orange Extract cleaning stuff, worked beautifully, but if your stores don't have Simple Green...good luck finding Orange Cleaner out in the one horse town you live in. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" /> Beyont that enjoy your 'new' engine.
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 586
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From: SmartAss, Ca
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? I just did my engine today...I got the hose and rinsed it out and all the dirt just came off...then dried with a towel...the engine was hot, cause i just got home....but didnt seem to do any damage...looks pretty good, i think. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="gr_images/icons/cool.gif" />
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 554
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From: Ontario Calif.
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? Here's the problem with putting water on a hot engine. The water is cold ever the stuff at the car wash. The engine block is hot. The water causes uneven cooling of the block. Uneven cooling = a cracked block.
The water inside the engine is hot just not as hot as the block that's why it cools the engine. Also the water ways inside the engine are designed to cool the engine block.
Please be carefull.
The water inside the engine is hot just not as hot as the block that's why it cools the engine. Also the water ways inside the engine are designed to cool the engine block.
Please be carefull.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 165
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From: Bay Area, Ca
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jake99SS:
<strong>Whenever my engine would get really dirty, I'd use some Simple Green full strength on it. Just spray the whole compartment down and try not to hit the coils or PCM. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Stupid question, but where are the coils located ? Also what other parts shouldnt I get wet ?
<strong>Whenever my engine would get really dirty, I'd use some Simple Green full strength on it. Just spray the whole compartment down and try not to hit the coils or PCM. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Stupid question, but where are the coils located ? Also what other parts shouldnt I get wet ?
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 13
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From: San Francisco
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? The coils are mounted on your valve covers. You can tell what the coils are because there are four cream colored squares on each valve cover and they are all connected on a black rail. Usually you should just avoid using high pressure water on the PCM and the coils. <img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" />
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 315
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From: Hawaii
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? An f-body mechanic who has a killer '98Z says he wouldn't recommend washing the engine, particularly because of where the alternator is located. Since it's near the bottom of the engine, the water naturally drains there. He says hit that with water and bye-bye alternator.
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk,Virginia
Re: Engine and Engine bay cleaning advice...? I just tried some stuff called CD2 engine cleaner.
Somebody over at LS1.com recomended it.The only place Ive seen it for sale is Auto Zone.The stuff works great,I just sprayed it on,is says you dont have to rise it off but you might want to wipe it down afterwards because it kinda leaves a oily residue.It made all my hoses look brand new though.You guys might want to try it.
Somebody over at LS1.com recomended it.The only place Ive seen it for sale is Auto Zone.The stuff works great,I just sprayed it on,is says you dont have to rise it off but you might want to wipe it down afterwards because it kinda leaves a oily residue.It made all my hoses look brand new though.You guys might want to try it.
