I was planning to just use like wet paper towels and wipe the dust off from the anti-roll bar and everywhere else but this kid told me that i could just take a hose and spray everything down...opinions, yes, no, yes but make sure u cover this or nah just do it by hand??

 

just do it by hand

 

I clean under the hood everytime I wash the car. I just wipe it down with the car wash.

 

take a couple plastic grocery bags and cover the distributor, battery, and main fuse box...that's what i've done in the past. If you wipe it down regularly it's much easier to clean, it's when you let it go that it becomes an uphill battle.

 

DONT LET IT GO...BE ****
my girl thinks im crazy

 

I guess i'll wipe down any dust i can see by hand and then if i ever do get lazy (like if im at school i'll hose it down. thanks for the grocery bag idea)

 

Exactly as Aleph said, use plastic grocery bags to cover the parts mentioned. I then hose off the underhood to get rid of the loose dirt. Once that's done, I dry it and then go over it with Meguiar's "Quick Detailer". You can buy it in most auto part stores and it's always done a great job for me.

 

I have always cleaned mine with hand. After a while, it will get harder to clean by hand though. I could hardly see the LSD print on my motor. What I did was, I bought some degreaser. I sprayed it on the motor and let it sit for about a minute or so. Make sure your motor is cool first. Take the bags and cover everything you need to cover and spray it off. I could see the black stuff pratically melting off the block of my motor. That stuff worked very well. As a matter of fact, it worked so well that I degreased my buddies VTEC Del Sol and my other buddies 200 SX SE-R.

 

I hate the degreaser.. since the after cleaning effect is a sickening smell everytime you turn on your fan or AC...
lasted for at least 3 days... yuck.

 

I'm gonna break from the group here and say you can hose it down and be safe. Having worked at an exotic car dealership and getting the opportunity to detail many engine bays, I have to say there's no way you can get everything without using some detergent and water to get off the grime and dirt tucked away where your hands and fingers can't reach.

While I don't advocate using harsh detergents on the engine bay, somethign safe like Simple Green will work great when used with a gentle brush or rag to loosen up some of large clusters of dirt and grime. I'd personally start with a cold motor, then cover up the main fuse panel and distributor with some plastic covering (so they're protected from the water). Then rinse down the engine bay with your hose or a high pressue sprayer. After the initial rinse, spray on Simple Green or some other mild cleanser. Then use a soft bruch or rag to clean some of the more stubborn sections (firewall, painted sections of shock towers, underside of the hood, under ABS Control Module, etc.) Then rinse and look at what's left. Redo the sections which need it, rinse, etc.

I generally get excellent results and since the detergent I used was so mild I don't strip off the protective coatings on the aluminum, rubber or plastic parts under the engine compartment which means I don't have to spray any detail products on after I'm done cleaning.

YMMV, but this approach has worked well for me. I've got 42K miles on my ITR and my engine bay is unbelievably clean. If you're at the Tour or Pro in Peru, IN you can view or ask one of your buddies too.

 

I bagged the electronics...then used Dawn, a sponge, and a garden hose...works great. Dish detergent is a great degreaser.

 

Simple Green, Simple Green, and some more Simple Green.
EVIL

 

http://www.g2ic.com/tips/engine.html#cleanengine

This is a little write up I did and continue to do to my engine every month or so. It keeps it looking like this.....





Let me know if you have any questions......and HAPPY CLEANING

 

How do think I became GREEN


Boba- who took a shower this morning w/suave.