Engine bay cleaning

[blacksrt]

Just wondering if there is anyone who does this, or knows someone who does.
Would like it to be professional, and if anyone has a quote that would be great too. Thanks.

[tenacious]

I tend to do it from time to time. I hope everybody who has a clean/chromed/painted engine should do it every now and then.

[Daft Punk]

I have a microfiber brush that i use with some dish soap, soap it up bubbly and rinse. keeps it clean pretty good, i use engine degreaser on the bottom end to get all the blow by oil of shit and rinse.

[Newbsauce]

I use gunk for mine.. I sometimes just pay someone like 40 bucks to do it. Check craigslist... lots of people there.

[travisnd]

Depending on how dirty it is and how clean you want it, it might be something that I would do. Though that it would also depend on how much your willing to spend.....

[spitzbergen]

I've heard simple green works well also. Just don't let it dry...

[tenacious]

something i recently tried this weekend...i was gona buy some engine brite but my buddy told me to use some Advanced autoparts brand wheel & tire cleaner. It did a decent job too. Just dont' let it get on your outside paint job like i did my truck. It's flat black and now its a dull ass spot on my fender!:mad:

[blacksrt]

Depending on how dirty it is and how clean you want it, it might be something that I would do. Though that it would also depend on how much your willing to spend.....


its not that bad, the cars an 04. id be willing to spend around a 100 or so for a professional job. thanks for all the responses.

[travisnd]

its not that bad, the cars an 04. id be willing to spend around a 100 or so for a professional job. thanks for all the responses.

If you can, snap some pics of what the engine bay looks like now....most people here know I can clean a engine bay....:D

[Letze]

I use a 50/50 mixture of purple power with water in a steamer you'd be surprised at how great of a job it does. I mix that with a nice hard brush for cleaning the engine block/trans and the rest I just use paper towels and a a purple power for those loose small parts

And since I have a hand full of polished aluminum and bronzed aluminum heat shields and pipes I use meguiars to clean them up nicely

I'll get some before and after pictures up after I finish.

[lawabidn]

duh, purple power (100% full strength) and a pressure washer. DONE

why is this so hard?!?!?!?!

[lawabidn]

100% will eat away at your paint.

if you dont spray the paint, it wont eat it....

like I said, why is this so hard

(btw, any cleaner will eat your paint at some degree... especially if it isnt protected with wax)

[TheMuffinMan]

50/50 Simple Green (outdoors) and water

[drivesideways46]

50/50 Simple Green (outdoors) and water

What he said!

If you want more of a shine, spray the engine bay with armor all after you have rinsed off all of the Simple Green.

[RE-SPECGARAGE]

I usually try different methods. I tried the black magic engine degreaser and it doesnt work. Best method is to use simple green and royal purple degreaser and go to town. I also use advanced auto degreaser.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c333/ballinnmiami240sx/sc300/100_2654.jpg

before:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c333/ballinnmiami240sx/sc300/100_2655.jpg
during:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c333/ballinnmiami240sx/sc300/100_2656.jpg
after:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c333/ballinnmiami240sx/sc300/100_2657.jpg

PS: BE SURE TO COVER YOUR ALTENATOR AND SPARK PLUG WIRES LEADING TO THE VALVE COVER.

[TheMuffinMan]

Damn now that's some good looking results.

[Muncher]

Quick question (sorry to thread jack) but i used a ~80/20 mix of water/simple green to clean my intake filer and it did an awsome job, then i rinsed it for a couple minutes with a water hose afterward and blowdried it. Should i worry about anything?

[GearJDM]

i got a buddy who is a professional detailer pm me if your willing to meet him up in nova or you gotta allot of buddys that want theys cars detailed for him to make a trip out to you..

[eXploited]

damn good.

[cbucgo]

simple. 50/50 simple green/water mix. wet fenders, hood, and front bumper first with water. spray your mixture everywhere in engine compartment. use a power washer and powerwash engine. no need to cover anything, i've never had a problem and have done hundreds of cars. some people like to cover the alternator, plug wires, and dist. cap, but i don't. let dry. fastest way to dry is start engine and let run. once dry and engine cool, spray a vinyl dressing on. don't use tire shine as it attracts dirt. close hood. DONE

[Kris.Is.Foamin]

I use a professional product from ADS.

http://a715.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/72/l_3f51a70b759977ed9d7ef3d5baf94a92.jpg

Ask anyone that's ever seen my engine bay.

[joesf250-85]

i wait until it rains go down my road where it floods. Hit that doin like 50. Let my truck stay running for approx 10 mins. Pick all the pine needles and leaves out. give it a quik rinse with the hose if needed. and it looks brand new. :D haha some decent engine degreeser and and a little handle scrub brush.and a few rags also windex works great on the plastic soak it down let it sit and wipe it off and if you want any thing shiny go over it with armor all. i do stuff this everyday

[RE-SPECGARAGE]

simple. 50/50 simple green/water mix. wet fenders, hood, and front bumper first with water. spray your mixture everywhere in engine compartment. use a power washer and powerwash engine. no need to cover anything, i've never had a problem and have done hundreds of cars. some people like to cover the alternator, plug wires, and dist. cap, but i don't. let dry. fastest way to dry is start engine and let run. once dry and engine cool, spray a vinyl dressing on. don't use tire shine as it attracts dirt. close hood. DONE

1. Cover ALT.....Why?
reason why I now cover up my alt is because the last time I cleaned the engine bay the thing stopped working and it set me back $200 dollards. I know cover anything that is electrical up.

2. Cover Valve cover.....WHY?

Water will eventually end up in the spark plug gallery causing your car to miss fire. Ask me how I know.


I would recommend to take every precausion when wetting your engine bay. There are a lot of electrical components that can short out. I used to do the samething "cbucgo" posted, but after spending $200+ to get my car running right again I wouldnt risk it.

[basketthis69]

Thanks for the info guys. I've been needing to do mine really bad lately. :)

[Jarrod]

100% will eat away at your paint.
Nope.

Post a bay shot. I may be able to do it for close to free. It's something I do on the side.

[Chris G.]

Nope.

Post a bay shot. I may be able to do it for close to free. It's something I do on the side.

Noobs.....

[Brock Obama]

This thread pisses me off because it reminds me of this...

The second to last time (August) I was home in Michigan, I was feeling ambitious and pulled the valve cover off my CRX to repaint it. I had it looking perfect and was proud of how it looked. Anyways, fast forward to this winter (February). I returned to Michigan again, only this time there is a foot of snow on the ground and two foot of salt compliments of MDOT. The salt spray covered the engine bay and made it look like shit. So... upon my return to Virginia, I sprayed Simple Green on my engine compartment and washed it with a pressure washer, only for the Simple Green to strip all the paint off. :(

Moral of the story: Be careful with Simple Green.

[Scoutn757]

Quick question (sorry to thread jack) but i used a ~80/20 mix of water/simple green to clean my intake filer and it did an awsome job, then i rinsed it for a couple minutes with a water hose afterward and blowdried it. Should i worry about anything?

watched plenty of people do it and no negatives yet

[fish]

spray the engine bay with armor all

Please don't do that. That stuff is horrible at protecting. Yeah, it's going to 'bling' everything up, but in the long run, it will dry most stuff out.

[Brock Obama]

Please don't do that. That stuff is horrible at protecting. Yeah, it's going to 'bling' everything up, but in the long run, it will dry most stuff out.

I'd be willing to bet that heat cycle after heat cycle after heat cycle would dry stuff out more than Armor All would.

I've been using Armor All Tire Foam on my tires and certain engine bay components for years without problem.

[TheMuffinMan]

This thread pisses me off because it reminds me of this...

The second to last time (August) I was home in Michigan, I was feeling ambitious and pulled the valve cover off my CRX to repaint it. I had it looking perfect and was proud of how it looked. Anyways, fast forward to this winter (February). I returned to Michigan again, only this time there is a foot of snow on the ground and two foot of salt compliments of MDOT. The salt spray covered the engine bay and made it look like shit. So... upon my return to Virginia, I sprayed Simple Green on my engine compartment and washed it with a pressure washer, only for the Simple Green to strip all the paint off. :(

Moral of the story: Be careful with Simple Green.

Gotta dilute that shit!

[Muncher]

This thread pisses me off because it reminds me of this...

The second to last time (August) I was home in Michigan, I was feeling ambitious and pulled the valve cover off my CRX to repaint it. I had it looking perfect and was proud of how it looked. Anyways, fast forward to this winter (February). I returned to Michigan again, only this time there is a foot of snow on the ground and two foot of salt compliments of MDOT. The salt spray covered the engine bay and made it look like shit. So... upon my return to Virginia, I sprayed Simple Green on my engine compartment and washed it with a pressure washer, only for the Simple Green to strip all the paint off. :(

Moral of the story: Be careful with Simple Green.

I ALWAYS dilute simple green. Right now i have the consentrate which your supposed to mix with water anyway, but even if its not concentrate, i still dilute it. That stuff will fuck your shit up in a heart beat.

I used it to clean my air filter and i used a ~80/20 water/consentrated simple green mixture in a bucket (maybe even more water), swirled it around for about 15 seconds and it looked brand new.

The stuff is powerful, so you have to use it with care.

[Brock Obama]

I'm just glad it was the CRX and not the Mach1.

[Muncher]

Lol, i hear ya. Even with the 80/20 mix i was a little worried it would break down the filter and i was gunna be suckin up fabric.

It worked great tho....but i cant stress enough how careful you have to be with it.

My class is building a dodge omni and when we got done stripping the interior for the cage, i decided to bring is some concetrated simple green cuz we needed to clean the grime/dirt/grease/etc from the inside so it could be painted (the car had been sitting for years at a junk yard with no windows).

Took about 10 minutes with the stuff and a pressure washer and it looked like you could eat off of it.