What products are there, that can clean an engine bay up real nice? Are there things you have to be careful of not doing? How long should i let dry? Can I spray the engine bay all over with the hose?

thanks for the replies when the come

 

There are plenty of squirt bottle engine degreasers at the auto parts stores. I used Greased Lightening. Do not use on a hot engine. 1st douse the engine and compartment. Becareful and do not shoot the distributor or an intake cone filter(K&N). Pressure wash the degreaser away. Do not spray the distibutor or K&N style intake directly. You can wipe dry and polish it up with some tire shine but it will be dirty again in a few weeks.

 

what about covering up certain parts...i was told to cover the battery for example, but other people i've spoken to say that it makes no difference.

 

you can do it with the engine running, but dont turn it off. and also as previously stated, dont hit the distributor or air filter with water. it just gets dirty again though, so get the major spots (valve cover, hoses, etc) and forget the rest.

 

Cover your distributor, intake, any unprotected wires, battery, etc. It is a must.

 

Spray it down with full strength Simple Green and let it soak for a few min. then rinse it off with a hose. It works better than those "engine cleaners" they sell.

 

Is is ok to use thoes degreaser products on your ceramic coated header?

 

I still say simple green!

 

I like to get my engine hot and the engine bay as warm as possible also. I then shut off my engine and spary the bay and engine down with Gunk. This has always worked the best for me. I then pressure wash the whole motor and bay and take a leaf blower and dry as much off as possible. Try to keep the intake cone and distrubtor as dry as possible. I do not keep the motor running incase something has a leak or crack. Because eletric and water do not mix well.

 

what i used to do was get simple green spray it let it sit and then wash away carefully...staying away from the "dizzy" and the alternator and any electrical stuff.....i used to cover them with bags...i got kind of tired of doign it that way so i took the easy way out...i get a high pressure hose leave the car running and spray it down...i still try not to spray any of the things i metioned above...then i dry ...it still comes out nice

 

 

Find a place that does steam cleaning. That works well and gets the oil off. Alot or auto detailers do it of can tell you place that does.

Edit: Mavis Beacon ownz me


[Modified by nsxmatt, 12:18 PM 3/5/2003]

 

simplegreen is the best!

 

 

I found that simple green does not cut through the grease as well as Gunk engine degreaser does. The gunk seems like it is made up of a waterdown kerosene. IMOP it works better then simple green in the engine compartment for thick grease and heavy grime.

 

Simple Green is great for maintenance. For the heavier stuff you need Gunk. For the heaviest stuff gunk and a wire bristle brush does wonders.

 

anyone have pics of their clean engine bays?

 

 

I love Simple Green. Best **** ever. Non-toxic, works like a charm. You hardly have to touch anything; just spray it on and spray it off.

 

How about that Purple bottle...Castrol Degreseer clean stuff??? anyone heard of this stuff??

 

I've always used Simple Green. Granted i did have to scrub certain areas, but i don't thinks that's avoidable. Is Gunk degreaser safe to use on paint? Once you scrub the problem areas Simple Green is all you need to keep the engine clean. I would post a pic but i'm sure everyone is tired of seeing it.


[Modified by mantic6t9, 5:51 PM 3/5/2003]

 

yes it is safe on your paint. May take the wax off but that is about it.

 

I just but stuff from Wal-Mart for $0.78 a can and spray the crap out of everyting under the hood....works fine for me........cant beat a clean engine bay for 78 cents