Initial Engine Bay Wash

[toycar]

Thats a very nice clean up job!!!

[mercyboy]

i did a engine bay cleaning once...i used a pressure washer to take out the grime...just make sure you cover the alternator, starter, battery and dis not to mention your aftermarket air filter.....also don't pressure wash certain parts that can be easily be force out by the pressure

[drew12000]

make sure you engine is cool before you add any cleaners. they like to stain sometimes.

[PR CB7]

go crazy with the pressure washer, use Purple power and make sure the engine is 100% cold
like drew stated some degreasers like to stain when heat dried

start by tilting your hood 90degs, thisway you can see everything
remove your intake and put a sock in the TB
if you want remove the battery

note: the more you remove the cleaner the end result will be

wet the engine

spray the desired degreaser EVERY WHERE
(try to stay away from the alternator's bearing, if degreased a lot, the bearing will start to squeal)

let it sink a little

go at it with the PW, dont be scared, on the accord, you WILL get water inside the distribuitor, so dont forget to take the cap and dry it
or better yet, if you trust yourself, remove it
this way, you can get the grime that accumulates on the ECT and TEMP wires

again spray it once more with degreaser, this time concentrating on the spots you missed, then rinse with the PW (dont forget the hood, also by the PS/AC side, and under the BATT)

rinse with the hose one more time to get the rest of the degreaser out

dry with compressed air or leaf blower or with a towel, if left to air dry or you start the engine, the heat will evaporate the water and leave spots

PS: i like to drown my alternators (never had voltage problems)

again if the DIS is left on, there's a big chance you'll get water in it
good luck

[op355]

Stupid questoin. Can I use kitchen soap used for dish washing to clean the engine? Or is it too weak to perform as degreaser? Place I live don't have simple green and I am afraid to use just anything on the market.

[drew12000]

Stupid questoin. Can I use kitchen soap used for dish washing to clean the engine? Or is it too weak to perform as degreaser? Place I live don't have simple green and I am afraid to use just anything on the market.

well. they use dove dish washing liquid to wash off animals that were harmed in oil spills. so...

[visualpoet]

I can't believe people are still telling newbs to take things off and cover things up. Your entire engine bay is made to operate under wet conditions. In 25 years of driving, I have never once covered anything under the hood when I cleaned it and never had any problems except the occasional wet distributor cap, which takes about three minutes to fix; if you're clumsy or an idiot. Nothing is going to short out, nothing is going to suck water into the engine (unless you're an idiot and you try to wash it running or you intentionally jam the end of the nozzle down into an opening, in which case you deserve whatever happens ).
There are literally dozens of threads about engine cleaning on the site, please use search in the future before you ask a question. I can almost guarantee you won't be asking a new cb7 related question and that it's already been answered somewhere.

[op355]

well. they use dove dish washing liquid to wash off animals that were harmed in oil spills. so...

Oh well, I will give it a try and will update.
I am assuming it won't be strong enough to get rid of all oil residues. I think it worth to give it a try.

[ikayto]

dish soap is irritating because it takes a lot of water to finally get rid of all the suds and bubbles.

[gvaldez92]

I never cover anything whean i wash a engine bay. I spray my dizzy, alternator, ect. I have never had a issue after wetting anything. I always use the pressure washer at carwash with engine degreaser. This was my most recent engine wash.



of course a little touch up after it dried.

[moes92CB7]

I haven't presure washed my engine. I just get the hose from my house go to the .99 cent store or dollar tree and buy "LA's totally awesome degreser" or purple power, and a tooth brush. It's cleaned my engine pretty well. Just takes time and effort.

[op355]

dish soap is irritating because it takes a lot of water to finally get rid of all the suds and bubbles.

Good point.... I didn't not think about that... I guess I need to find a degreaser instead of using dish soap. Thx !

[moes92CB7]

Well dish soap isn't bad either but I use that when I wash my car and I have no car soap lol. But yea try it out.

[dvswoo]

I never cover anything whean i wash a engine bay. I spray my dizzy, alternator, ect. I have never had a issue after wetting anything. I always use the pressure washer at carwash with engine degreaser. This was my most recent engine wash.



of course a little touch up after it dried.

That is a very clean engine bay!

[ferenza]

does everyone use brushes to scrub out the dirt?my engine bay never gets clean at all