I've been reading about ppl cleaning their engine bays by spraying them down with a hose, then spraying simple green over everything and letting it sit for 30-60min, then rinsing everything off and going for a drive to evaporate leftover water.

Is this safe to do to my 1994 accord? The discussion I readwas about newer cars that seemed to have less stuff exposed... Is there anything I would want to cover with plastic, tape up, or just avoid getting wet? Anything i shouldn't get simple green on? Should I disconnect the battery?

My engine bay has never been cleaned and it's filthy... I tried to wipe it down with a rag but that didn't get me anywhere lol. I want it to look nicer and be a little cleaner for when I do maintenance and such. Thanks!

 

You can use simple green, but don't let it sit on aluminum parts for long as it corrodes aluminum. Basically, don't use it. Dish soap works well in stronger concentrations(I use it to clean lots of engine parts), just use a long bristle brush to scrub everything down, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and rinse it off well with a power washer. There are engine degreasers out there that might work well, but you'll need to do some research. Try to limit water exposure on most sensors, plugs, and other electrical parts. Other than that, have fun getting blasted in the face, arms, legs, etc from pressure washer spraying back in your direction! Don't do it when the engine is warm unless you like soap residue drying everywhere.

 

Simple Green doesn't do any harm to aluminum.
Super Clean can oxidize unprotected aluminum, and Purple Power will destroy platics/rubber.

Spray Simple Green all over the greasy/oily areas, let sit for 5-10mins. Blast off with water nozzle.

 

simple green is fine to use but it needs to be diluted from its original form, unless u have really stubborn oil/dirt in there. spray liberally on what u want clean. just cover alternator and distubitor with a bag and tape it closed. dont spray sensors directly and try to keep the pressure to a minimum. but like chrisnick said, not on a warm engine, must be cold cause then u are going to get soap spotting/rings.

 

DO NOT DO THIS!

Covering these parts can cause steam to build up inside the bag, especially if the engine is warm. This will cause damage.

Simply do not hold the hose over the distributor/alternator.

The only time you want to cover anything is an open port into the engine, such as a carburetor when cleaning the engine.

 

Is there anything I should hit with a spray of wd40 after everything is rinsed?

 

Nope. Engine heat and movement will remove most water.
Spraying WD40 on any moving parts may remove protective coatings or break down oil/grease. WD is a solvent, not a lubricant.

 

mad mike is right. I use muscle majic purple color. I dilute it and use a spray bottle. Get the engine hot, go to a self car wash and spray the engine bay down, careful the stuff will discolor aluminum, let it set for a few seconds and power wash it away. Its what I was taught at the dealership. once its dry again use liquid armor all and spray the bay, itll set up and look very professional. Everyone will have their way or opinion of doing the same thing.

 

I just put a rag on top of the alternator so it'd catch any stray water droplets, hosed it down cold, soaked in diluted simple green for ten min and rinsed off after lightly scrubbing some really dirty areas. It's not spotless but it's a hell of a lot better than it was this morning

I know wd40 is a solvent but it displaces moisture well so that's kinda what I was thinking of usin it for... I just drove around though and everything dried up quickly. Good tip on the armor all, I need to get the hoses nice and supple, the simple green dried em out a bit. Thanks guys.

 

Armor all contains silicone, which will break down rubber. Avoid any armor all product like the plague. Try autoglym for a proper rubber/vinyl/plastic shine that won't harm it.

 

Armor all is indeed pure ****.
Back in H.S. detailed the '84 Sierra, dash did not have a crack in it. Used Armor-all. With in the month the dash split in the middle and at the corners.

 

that is good to know! sorry if i gave bad info, thought it was correct. so what a re a few products that will work well? Dash and rubber components included..

 

It's much safer to just use degreaser and a cloth and focus on one area at a time. Too risky to dose your engine in water.

 

You guys are are a godsend lol. I picked up some armor all yesterday but haven't used it yet, luckily it was only two bucks!

Also, what do you think about those foaming tire cleaner sprays that make your tires nice and shiny like new? Is that bad for the rubber in the long run? If it is, what could I use to get the tires to look nice, maybe some kind of oil?

Don't you have to rise that stuff off somehow? I picked up some Gunk engine degreaser (engine brite) because I figured it would get the grime simple green missed and it says rinsing is NECESSARY to prevent a fire hazard.

 

Sorry, double post

 

Return it and get your money back. Would suck if you used it in a moment of weakness.
I don't care for shiny tires. I use super clean as it is great at removing the browning from brake dust off wheels and tires with minimal work. It leaves the rubber clean. Rubber is rubber and IMO should not be shiny. Clean yes, but not shiny. I always found it detracts from the car, bright shiny tires and yet still factory orange peel on the paint. Bleeuch.

I completely forgot about GUNK engine cleaner.
There are a few problems with GUNK engine cleaner.
Gunk is not the easiest to apply, it comes in a gigantic spray can, not very easy to manipulate and spray where you want it.
It smells badly, not just when it is applies, but after. It soaks into anything and will just cause the engine bay to reek. Even when you think you have hosed off ever last bit of foam and grease, it will still stink.

What I do to clean my engine bay is go to the coin-op car wash.
Pop the hood and give the whole engine bay a going over with Simple Green.
Put the coin-op on high pressure soap, and after a 5 mins of letting the Simple Green soak in, blast it with the pressure soap. Just wave the wand back and forth removing all the crud. Do not sit in one area blasting junk off unless it is an area that is very greasy/oily and not near anything sensitive like TPS, alternator, distributor.
Switch to high pressure water/rinse and cleanse away any remaining soap.
Leave hood open to aid in drying, when most of the water has drained off turn the engine on and let it idle/warm up to burn off any remaining water.
While doing this, clean your wheels/tires so as not to waste time/get bitched at by the coin-op operator if he comes by. They tend to get pissy at engine cleaning, which is another reason not to use GUNK. It is a dead giveaway as to what you are doing, and most coin-ops forbid chemical cleaners, outside of their own.

 

Spray on tire shine is garbage. It makes a mess on the rims, which you have to clean off and the shine doesn't last. One rainy day and it's all gone! There's a reason why it's always in those car detailing value packs at wal-mart hahaha. I would look into a mothers or meguairs product for tire shining. I used to gel the tires till I realized how off it looked with matte black rims. Not to mention everytime I washed my tires, that crap would get on my rims. No bueno.

 

Ok, so the first time I cleaned the engine bay I just used simple green and a garden hose... It got rid of the dust and surface oil, but there's still a fair amount of grime caked onto some parts (the power steering pump is particularly nasty).

I'm enrolled in an auto shop class at a local high school, and for the 2nd class tomorrow night we're meeting at a car wash to clean our engine bays with the pressure washer. The teacher wants us to use gunk engine cleaner, and since the simple green didn't cut through the heavy sludge I'm inclined to try out Gunk even if it smells bad.

BUT now that I'll be using a pressure washer instead of the more easily controlled garden house, I'm really concerned about getting water in the alternator or a sensor... We are taking off our distributor caps and drying them out afterwards, so I'm not concerned about that. Is it acceptable to get ANY water on the alternator, or will it reduce its life no matter how much gets in? I will try to avoid spraying it directly but my power steering pump is very grimy and it's directly above the alternator, so if I want to clean that, Gunk and/or water will invariably get into the alternator...

 

Get in there with your own 2 hands and clean that stuff man.

Dilute some simple green, spray onto your microfiber towel and start rubbing the crap off your engine and engine bay. Work on an area with the cleaning Microfiber, then go over it with a damp microfiber cloth to "rinse". Go to the next area and repeat.



Always cleaned by hand from day 1: