Engine bay cleaning

[relyt92]

Hey guys, got a new car recently and the engine bay isn't that nice looking inside, so I'd like to give it a cleaning. However, I've never done it before so i've got a few questions about it. What cleaner would you guys recommend? The engine bay isn't like covered in grease, but it isn't that clean either. What do I need to cover up/try to avoid getting any water on? The car is a 2001 Acura CL type S. Also any general do's and don'ts for cleaning an engine bay?

Thanks guys.

[G-ZUS]

I like to go to the car wash and put 1 plastic bag over alternator, and 1 over distributor. Spray some de-greaser on there and wait a couple minutes then spray it all off.

[SkittleFreak]

You can pretty much wash everything in there. Would it be very good of a car if driving in the rain and the engine got a little bit wet and it dies?

Avoid spraying too much degreaser on the belts, prematurely wear them out. Don't hold pressure washer too close to any sort of electrical connector or points (Pressure water will get in easier then rain water while driving!). Rinse the underside too since it drips down.

And remember, no matter how hard I've tried to pressure wash it clean, I still smell the degreaser for a few KM.

[Maxx Mazda]

Plastic bags not required on anything. Simple Green MAX is a good consumer product for degreasing.

[Cos]

Originally posted by Maxx Mazda
Plastic bags not required on anything. Simple Green MAX is a good consumer product for degreasing.

Not always true, I know in some vehicles it is bad to direct spray the engine as the COP's collect water and shorten their life considerably.

[Numi]

Originally posted by Maxx Mazda
Plastic bags not required on anything. Simple Green MAX is a good consumer product for degreasing.

Spray water directly at your distributor cap with a pressure washer and than go try and start it and tell me what happens

[StreetRacerX]

I've found that Gunk Engine Degreaser/Cleaner you can nab from Canadian Tire is decent, have tried Simple Green MAXX, I use the regular Simple Green on things like the top of the radiator and valve covers.

[Wehbeast]

Originally posted by Numi


Spray water directly at your distributor cap with a pressure washer and than go try and start it and tell me what happens

[relyt92]

Originally posted by Numi


Spray water directly at your distributor cap with a pressure washer and than go try and start it and tell me what happens

Now this may sound dumb, but any idea where my distributor cap would be located? And so I should cover the alternator and distributor cap with a plastic bag, and probably avoid directly spraying my battery?

Originally posted by StreetRacerX
I've found that Gunk Engine Degreaser/Cleaner you can nab from Canadian Tire is decent, have tried Simple Green MAXX, I use the regular Simple Green on things like the top of the radiator and valve covers.

Which one do you use? Looking at the gunk site they've got quite a few different cleaners/degreasers.


Sorry for the questions, just odn't wanna screw anything up doing this for the first time.

[SkittleFreak]

If possible used compressed air and blow off everything before you start it.

[Rat Fink]

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[funkytuqe]

i like to poor some degreaser (i use Spray9) into another spray bottle with water (like 10/90 cleaner/water). Then i spray one part of the motor down at a time and then get in there with a brush to get off the grime, then wipe/dry it with a rag and your done. You can add some dressing to it after if you like to shine things up a bit. Yes compressed air is nice too if you have a compressor but not a necessity.