Engine cleaning tips? (Inspired by ubuyau)

[SickDrift]

Any one have tips or techniques for cleaning engine compartments?

[woo]

give it a good spray with degreaser, then hose it out. Any stuborn bits scrub with a cloth

[ubuyau]

give it a good spray with degreaser, then hose it out. Any stuborn bits scrub with a cloth

im inspiring threads now! im letting go of all my secrets

You've got to be careful with water since it can get in the spark plug leads or sensors and cause things to go a little bad. Dont forget to cover your pod filter/important sensors with plastic bags so they dont get wet!

Normally i use a wet chamois and wipe down all the dirty surfaces. Then i use a portable steam machine with a long hose/nozzle and steam off any stubborn stains/residue. Wipe it all off with a dry cloth/rag.

For the metal surfaces (like the heat shield) i use a metal polish called "Autosol" http://www.autosol.com.au/metalpolishes.htm and shine it upto near mirror finish

With the hard plastic parts i use normal Armor All http://www.armorall.com/prod_protectant.html and let it soak in.

Normally i wipe it down and armorall every month or so so its not a mammoth task. Metal polish maybe once every few months?

--Tim

[chronoti]

give it a good spray with degreaser, then hose it out. Any stuborn bits scrub with a cloth

im inspiring threads now! im letting go of all my secrets

You've got to be careful with water since it can get in the spark plug leads or sensors and cause things to go a little bad. Dont forget to cover your pod filter/important sensors with plastic bags so they dont get wet!

Normally i use a wet chamois and wipe down all the dirty surfaces. Then i use a portable steam machine with a long hose/nozzle and steam off any stubborn stains/residue. Wipe it all off with a dry cloth/rag.

For the metal surfaces (like the heat shield) i use a metal polish called "Autosol" http://www.autosol.com.au/metalpolishes.htm and shine it upto near mirror finish

With the hard plastic parts i use normal Armor All http://www.armorall.com/prod_protectant.html and let it soak in.

Normally i wipe it down and armorall every month or so so its not a mammoth task. Metal polish maybe once every few months?

--Tim

way more effort than me, i just douse my engine in degreaser and open the hose on it trying to advoid my altanator, than just SOAK everything in armour all, metal plastic it makes everything shiny, then when you get too lazy to fully clean it again just resoak it in armour all ...... works!

[SickDrift]

Good tips guys. Thanks.

[gianfranco]

I Just cleaned mine engine the last weekend. I sprayed diesel, then water, and finally an thin coat of diesel to have all shine.
Of course my engine wasn't too dirty. But for extreme dirty engines you can use Castrol degreaser, then water. I used a compressor air gun to spary everything. Just make sure to dry it with compressed air after you spray water.

Regards

[JohnnyC]

Uhh... might not be such a good idea to be spraying your engine down with diesel... in fact, I'll have to go ahead and say that is a really bad idea.

[MMamdouh]

diesel works fine for removing oily stains and keeps the engine shiny... it will start to vapourize once the engine is hot and your car sdmell will stink.

it is better to wash the engine with water and soap right after a diesel shower and don't ever use pressurized water hose on the engine.

MMamdouh

[BosnianLanos]

You guys could always drive it head first into 2 feet of water like I did.

Didn't do too much damage, and the engine bay is the cleanest it has been in years!

LoL.


^That's an example of a bad way to clean an engine.

[cpd]

Whoa, whoa whoa.... Clean?

Oops.

[ubuyau]

Whoa, whoa whoa.... Clean?

Oops.

After seeing your Racer on Sunday.... I understand this is a foreign concept to you!

--Tim

[cpd]

Oh shaddup. Get me the time and the stuff to do so with, and I'll clean she up.

I'm tempted to buy some touch-up paint and do all the little cracks/chips, and get a dent puller, and slowly work forwards... *ponders*