I use purple power and a hotsy from work leaves it like new. Just like mentioned don't concentrate on any electronics and you should be fine. Also don't get that stuff on your hands!! Also some plastic parts and painted parts can be sensitive to it as well.

 

This with some simple green worked wonders on mine. Mine doesnt have oil leaks anymore so I rarely need the simple green now. But I did the underside, after pulling the tranny, with the steam cleaner and it looks like a new car now. Prolly wont last long with our roads though. I jack the car up as high as possible on jack stands and with the sprayer having a curved end helps get everywhere. Used simple green here as well mixed in a big pump sprayer.

 

That is something that I do need to do. Polish up bare metal and clean off any oxidation.

 

+1 on this..it keeps my engine looking amazing

 

I hit everything with fine steel wool before I polished it. Made a world of difference

 

I knew this would come in handy one day

 

You should be able to use water and soap. Just make sure you dry it all out properly before you start the car.

 

i could post pictures of my dirty *** cluttered engine bay. it needs a ton of work. might clean it up soon. lots of good advice in here.

 

When I first bought my car, everything on it was coated with grease and crap cux the guy I bought it from had let the power steering unit leak and just kept adding fluid to it when it got low. Needless to say the entire underside of the car was coated and the engine bay was too. Go to wal mart and look for a purple bottle called "super clean" that stuff is amazing. Mix it with water into a spray bottle and spray everything that you want clean as long as it isn't a painted surface. Let it sit for about 5 to 10 mins and start hosing things off. I did this with a pressure washer hooked up to my water heater. I got the whole underside of the car clean as it could be. I did this with the engine bay too, but if you're using a pressure washer don't use the straight jet stream to clean the engine bay. I used the wide fan out setting on the nozzle and it cleaned everything off nicely.

 

superclean ay! im gonna do that. for future searches here is a link

http://www.walmart.com/ip/SuperClean...1-gal/17175658

 

Some good advice here...

Also planning on doing this this Spring...

I realize that this is in an LS section, but wondering if I should do anything different due to the water sensitive Opti in my LT1?? hopefully I am not hijacking this!

 

I tried my steam cleaner but it worked like ****. Didn't help

 

+1 for simple green.... then use a steamer to clear it all out.
otherwise.. a degreaser works well too but I feel that simple green is much less abrasive.
make sure to lay down cardboard underneath so it can absorb all the crap that comes off.

 

I will definitely be putting this advice into action on my car! Just got it a few days ago