After 52,000 miles, my 96 Integra GS-R has yet to show it's age...until I open the hood. YIKES!!!!

What cleaners and methods do you use for cleaning your engine compartment? Any tips would be appreciated.

TIA!

 

I just did my engine cleaning this weekend on my 97 for the first time. All I used was car wash soap and water.

On a cold engine.

1. Wrap up the battery, distributor, and intake opening.

2. Grab wash cloth and soap, and just wash what you can reach.

3. Turn on the water hose high and rinse.

4. Let air dry.

You find is not perfect like a new car, but remove a lot of the dirt, dust, and makes it look a lot cleaner. Many people use Simple Green, etc. But I don't plan to clean engine that often, so no sense buy it and let it sit in the garage. Also we are not washing dishes here, so no need to remove all the grease and oil etc. If you are going for show, then maybe a better cleaning should be done.

 

This is what I do:

1. Bag the intake, battery, etc...

2. Hose down the engine compartment

3. Spray Simple Green liberally all over the engine.

4. Scrub areas with more oil/dirt buildup with an old towel or sponge.

5. Rinse the engine with another hose down.

6. Towel dry some of the water, let the rest air dry.

7. Remove the bags and stand back and gaze at your freshly cleaned engine!

 

Is there anything else besides the following that should be bagged?:

-Distributor
-Battery
-Spark Plug Openings (if exposed from no spark plug cover)
-Air Filter

I want my engine to be sparkly too.

 

Alarm stuff if it's expose?

 

How about those exposed wire connections sprinkled around the engine bay? You know the kinds that have white plugs and just plug together?

Does this mean I can spray EVERYTHING in the engine bay except for the few parts mentioned above? Cool.

 

We have different cars, but I know what you are talkin about. I didn't clean any of the wires or connections, but some of them do look "very expose." Yes, I got them wet, but I did not directly spay the hose at them.

I did wipe as much as I can, and let air dry (few hours) before I started the car.

It worked fine for me with no problems.

 

Is that "Simple Green" stuff ok to use on chrome? I've got a whole lot of bling bling under the hood.

 

I want to say that it's alright on chrome, but I don't want to be the one you blame if your chrome goodies become stained.