Initial Engine Bay Wash

[93Accordian]

Any tips??? I'm no detail/washing guru so I'm not real sure how to go about it. The engine bay is dirty and I'd like to wash the dirt and oil off of it. I was palnning on spraying the whole engine compartment with Castrol Superclean as thats all I have and then rinse it with the garden hose. I'm not sure if thats a good way to go about it, but thats my best idea so far. Now I'm not going to go as far as armoralling the rubber and stuff like that. I just want to wash the junk off of it. Any suggestions???

[sanJ_01]

read somewhere on this site about trying to cover the distributor so it doesnt get wet

[TracieS]

Cover your distubitor and if you have a cold air intake take off the filter and cover the pipe with a bag. And spray.

[plee3]

Cover dizzy and alternator. Spray engine degreaser on everything besides dizzy and alt. (should be covered up anyways) spray with pressure washer (local car wash would do) drive until engine is dry.

[93Accordian]

Cool deal. Thanks guys. I'll whip out the digital camera and get some before and after pics of it.

[Solus]

Be careful with that cleaner, and be sure to dilute it... I've used it before at full strength, and it pitted and stained my V/C, and strut bar.

[Meangreen]

Yes always dilute degreaser cleaners. At full strength some cleaners can eat wire insulation and can take off paint. I use bright 601 and m30 both are very powerful stuff.

[93Accordian]

I've never diluted Superclean. I covered the distributor with a Wal-Mart sack and proceeded to spray everything in sight with Superclean. I let it set for about 5 minutes, then hosed it off real good. It isn't "eat off of it" clean, but it's considerably cleaner than it was. I'll upload some pics later. I'm going to go over it again on wednesday and hit the spots that didn't come too clean. I'm not looking for show quality, but I'd like to be able to identify engine components. lol.

[ferenza]

i used simple green motorsports and it took out most of my dirt and cleaned up some other stuff. it works very well

[93Accordian]

i used simple green motorsports and it took out most of my dirt and cleaned up some other stuff. it works very well

Simple Green is pretty good stuff too. I'm going to try to touch up a few spots this week.

[JaberCB7]

Simple Green is pretty good stuff too. I'm going to try to touch up a few spots this week.

simple green is very strong...nothing simple about it. Just incase, you can wet the distributor, alternator but dont soak it...ive washed my bay on almost all my cars and i dont cover anything but you have to know how to spray the water so that it doesnt soak everything. ....just my .02 incase your bags/covers fall off while washing.

[93Accordian]

simple green is very strong...nothing simple about it. Just incase, you can wet the distributor, alternator but dont soak it...ive washed my bay on almost all my cars and i dont cover anything but you have to know how to spray the water so that it doesnt soak everything. ....just my .02 incase your bags/covers fall off while washing.

10-4. I always make sure that I don't need to drive it for awhile so it'll have time to dry.

[Justin123560]

Even if you cover the dizzy and the alternator what about some wires that are coming out of the heat shrink? And do you recommend using a garden hose with a different head like jet spray ?

[ferenza]

Even if you cover the dizzy and the alternator what about some wires that are coming out of the heat shrink? And do you recommend using a garden hose with a different head like jet spray ?

i would recommend a regular sprayer. just in case you do hit the vulnerable electrical parts you dont soak it with water

[ikayto]

if you're using a pressure washer, spray at least 2 ft away from your car. Dont be shoving that nozzle directly into your engine bay, just spray in a fan motion.

Contrary to belief, you get more dirty out with a good old brush than a pressure hose. Pressure hose just loosens it and makes it easier to brush the dirt off later.

I sprayed degreaser everywhere and hosed it down initially.

Then went at it with a spray bottle, brush and a towel

before:



after:





got tired of having a dirty engine ><