My engine bay is starting to get a little dirty for my taste and the red valve cover is starting to get darker. I don't want to be scrubbing my engine bay for hours, so when I saw this on TV, I wanted to buy it right away
Has anyone used the Euro-Pro Ultra Steam Shark Steam Cleaner? Is it any good? Its definitely cheap and affordable to get if you just do small jobs around the house (clean the return vents, bbq grills, engine bay, etc..) Any other steam cleaners I should consider?

http://www.sears.com/sr/produc...=null

 

simple green and a little elbow greasealways worked fine for me. steam cleaner? lol....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rodney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">simple green and a little elbow greasealways worked fine for me. steam cleaner? lol....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Same here. Simple green and some force.
Steam cleaners... isn't that for furniture, rugs, and drapes?

Chris - who wants to steam clean a co-worker's head off today.....

 

Just use simple green and a hose

steam might remove paint if you are not careful

 

I'm trying to avoid the elbow grease On TV it showed someone using it to clean their engine and all the grime and grease came off.
Why do you scoff at steam cleaning? If it will do the same job in less time and less effort, its certainly worth it. Anyone have first hand experience with steam cleaning an engine?

 

1. Run engine for a couple minutes so its warm to the touch, not hot.
2. Spray some Simply Green in bay (Automotive Version of Simply Green)
3. Wait 10-15 minutes... scurb areas that are especially dirty with a tooth brush
4. Rinse simply green off with a hose.
5. Start car, let idle couple of minutes
6. Remove excess water with a cloth.
7. Spray some Car Brite conditioner over the entire engine for that bling bling

Done.

 

When cleaning the engine this way, do you need to cover up any specific areas? (electrical components, etc) Or, are you pretty much good to go?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fso_BamBam &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When cleaning the engine this way, do you need to cover up any specific areas? (electrical components, etc) Or, are you pretty much good to go?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Id try to cover up things like the battery, fuse box and distributor.

 

i've also heard of water seaping past the rubber seals on the spark plugs. that's why i've been skeptical to put some elbow grease into my engine bay. also i've been lazy.

fso_BamBam are you going to be attending the HT meet this Saturday?

 

Another cleanser to try is "Coastal Cleaner" from Autozone.

I use it with great results on my engine and interior (mostly floor mats)

For the motor, I generally use if full strength, but you can dilute if you wish. Works great, but make to use on a cold or cool motor. Also make sure to cover up the distributor with plastic.

I'd also recommend protecting your hoses and other rubber parts with silicon or some other lubricant afterwards as this cleaner will dry them out.

For the floor mats, liberally spray all over stained areas. Get a brush and scrub it in for a minute or so. Then use a high pressure sprayer (like at the $.25 car wash) and spray then top to bottom (preferably hung up against a wall) and watch immense amounts of dirt come out of them. You'll have to spray for a couple minutes, but they'll be exceptionally clean when you're done. Let them dry for a day or so. I'd recommend Scotch-Gard to keep them from getting dirty quickly again.

 

I'm very hesitant to 'blast' any liquid into my engine bay without being VERY careful.

This is why elbow grease is a good thing. I'm confident that scrubbing my engine bay by hand won't screw anything up, whereas a pressure washer, etc, could be quite disastrous if used recklessly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris N &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm very hesitant to 'blast' any liquid into my engine bay without being VERY careful.

This is why elbow grease is a good thing. I'm confident that scrubbing my engine bay by hand won't screw anything up, whereas a pressure washer, etc, could be quite disastrous if used recklessly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I second this and I never see automotive professionals recommending hosing down the engine. Soapy water is as far as I'd go, with a final fresh water wipedown. No hoses and no steam.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bill Hook &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I second this and I never see automotive professionals recommending hosing down the engine. Soapy water is as far as I'd go, with a final fresh water wipedown. No hoses and no steam.</TD></TR></TABLE>

read again, he said floor mats. too much

 

What about the wires in the back of the motor, between connections? Do those need to be covered as well. My car has been sitting on my driveway for a long time with dirt all over the engine bay. Now that my motor is finally installed its time to clean the hatchcrap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bill Hook &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I second this and I never see automotive professionals recommending hosing down the engine. Soapy water is as far as I'd go, with a final fresh water wipedown. No hoses and no steam.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is not the case. Please keep in mind, you are not suppose to be using a power washer at 1000 lbs of pressure.... a garden hose with the nozzle set to mist is good enough.... been doing it this way for 3 years... 2 per year... no issues what so ever...

I do cover the fuse box and alternator....

 

Those infomercial steam cleaners are bullshit... I have the steam buggy and all it does is push water around. There are also quite a few threads in the A/C forum about this subject.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by magic hat #9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

read again, he said floor mats. too much </TD></TR></TABLE>

WTF?

I didn't see the post i quoted mention floor mats.

I think you're right - you've had too much .

 

Don't be lazy. Uze simple green and a small brush.

If you can't follow the word of many them you deserve what happens if you try the steam cleany thing.

 

if you got HID's i'm assuming you gotta cover the ballast and ignitor also? or are they well sealed?

 

we went to one of those coin-op places and used simple green and engine degreaser. covered up the alt, dist, and anything else electrical and removed the battery and air filter and covered up the tb. sprayed for 5 minutes and it came out bling bling clean.

coin op's allow warm water too.

 

taking time - best way to go

 

Well, I had a bottle of Automotive Simple Green lying around. When I washed my car, I sprayed the simple green on the valve cover, rubbed with a shop towel quickly and rinsed off with the mist setting on my water hose nozzle.
It came out looking new again BUT. of course there's a but. Now with all that water rinsing off my valve cover/engine block, my header bolts are now a little RUSTY Frig. @!#

 

How do you get rid of that white residue crap that builds up on the block?

 

I just cleaned my engine bay for the first time today. Listen to these guys. They are right. Some Simple Green and a hose is all you need. Cloth and toothbrush for some spots. Cover your electric components b4 hosing. That was all. Super simple, cheap, and satisfying. My engine looks new again.

 

Yeah.. but how about your bolts? Did they get rusted?