Cleaning Engine Bay

[kidafa]

Hi All,

As thread title says im wondering how the rest of us clean our engine bays....

I USUALLY just use tire shine on anything black and give it a wipe over.

BUT:

2 weeks ago going to a mates place up the river drove a solid 10k's on a dirt road and now theirs this fine dust everywhere AAHHHHH HATING LIFE..... So the old wipe it down isnt going to get into all the small tight places so what shall i do? Ive read about people pressure cleaning their engine bay but I dont really feel comfortable doing this. What are your thoughts? Would be nice if i could pressure clean it cos ive got one at home

Cheers,

Chris

[CRoNic...]

If you're pressure cleaning it, just cover the pod filter(s) (if you have one) and even the coil packs?

[Krishy]

^^^+1 to what Daniel said....cover the pod, afm and coil packs and give it a nice pressure cleaning mate

take it to the car wash and presto

should do the job

[2FST4U.R33]

what do you use high pressure water or the grease removal stuff need to do mine also. going 2 b good fun don't think it's ever been done b4 on my car. grease and s**t every where

[Krishy]

i usually cover the coils, pod and afm and then take 4 cans of degreaser on to the engine bay

then just use high pressure.....if your going to be doing it at the car wash then i would do it at night as it gives you more time and not a big line up

goodluck with it mate

[Carbon 34]

try not to pressure wash it, and dont use red can degreaser crap(kero in a can), it corrodes connections and rust on the block, use a proper natural engine cleaner, or something like Kenco in a spray bottle.and a light rinse , dry parts with air or let it run for a bit afterwards, beware of all wiring, bonnet liners,airfilters,with pressure or water

I use the long life gel tire shine from megulars on rubber, wont collect dust if wiped off after application. and lasts a lot longer then the spray stuff..

look at the megulars forums USA or AU for more hints on cleaning, heaps of good tips

spray silicone lightly on connections afterwards with a fine mist to get rid of water etc.

dont spray with engine running or cooking hot either. shorts out connctions or can crack parts from hot parts / cold water

[Damo_R34]

yeah mine is fairly bad under the hood. id cover up the coilpacks and probably wouldn't spend too much time with the hose there, garbage bag over the pad and afm should do it. just dont leave it on when you drive off

[Krishy]

yeah mine is fairly bad under the hood. id cover up the coilpacks and probably wouldn't spend too much time with the hose there, garbage bag over the pad and afm should do it. just dont leave it on when you drive off

done that the first time lol.....went to start it and it died i was freaking out man.....but then it was like ohhh remove this this and this and it was fine

[Carbon 34]

done that the first time lol.....went to start it and it died i was freaking out man.....but then it was like ohhh remove this this and this and it was fine

yeah I bet you shite yourself...lol my bro sprayed his VW airflow meter with water and it fried it when it had power applied to it.. OOPS, costly mistake

and cast iron doesnt like to be quench cooled with a garden hose while red hot..lol tends to crack it near the studs

[ontheranch]

Definatly cover the coil packs good. Coolant just spraying over my engine caused one of mine to die and make my car run on 5cyls.

I lived on a dirt road for a year so imagine under my bonnet. I'm paranoid about cleaning it now.

[pkblade]

Nothing wrong with pressure washing...if you're worried about electricals (eg. alternator, coil packs etc) cover them or don't drown them when washing. Normally anything up top (ie. cam & coil covers) you can manually clean with wet rag. To give it the finishing touch and if you can be bothered, spray silicone on the hoses and polish all visible unpainted metal surfaces with a metal polish (Autosol, Meguiars metal polish).

[Krishy]

yeah I bet you shite yourself...lol my bro sprayed his VW airflow meter with water and it fried it when it had power applied to it.. OOPS, costly mistake

and cast iron doesnt like to be quench cooled with a garden hose while red hot..lol tends to crack it near the studs

you bet i did......also good advice is dont thrash the life out of it and then wash it lol

its also a good idea to disconnect the battery before doing that

[kidafa]

Ok for those that are interested this is my plan of attack:

when car is cold:

Cover Pod, AFM and alarm speaker with plastic bags

Place rags over coilpack cover to help prevent water getting under it

spray engine bay with CT18 (truck wash)

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes

Spray down bay with pressure cleaner being careful not to drench any one part for too long and stand a good distance back

let it sit for 5 minutes then start and idle car till its evaporate water

turn it off

give the entire bay a good spray with some silicone spray and let it sit for 30 mins before starting again.

Sound good?

[Carbon 34]

Ok for those that are interested this is my plan of attack:

when car is cold:

Cover Pod, AFM and alarm speaker with plastic bags

Place rags over coilpack cover to help prevent water getting under it

spray engine bay with CT18 (truck wash)

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes

Spray down bay with pressure cleaner being careful not to drench any one part for too long and stand a good distance back

let it sit for 5 minutes then start and idle car till its evaporate water

turn it off

give the entire bay a good spray with some silicone spray and let it sit for 30 mins before starting again.

Sound good?

dont get CT18 on the paintwork from splashes it can cain the gloss bad, tape a old sheet or plastic over fenders before you plan on a big cleaning fest

for small jobs its prob ok not to cover them up

spray the electrical parts with silicone before you spray can help too. repels the water in advance?? dont spray near belts or in alternator

5-10 min only if your motor is nasty greasy otherwise a few min is enough

[rhys5169]

cheers for the info! i been meaning to give my engine bay a solid clean out for aaaages and always been too scared (lack of knowledge) to spray it

[dark.sky]

cheers for the info! i been meaning to give my engine bay a solid clean out for aaaages and always been too scared (lack of knowledge) to spray it

Ive cleaned the engine bay in mine before, I just covered up the pod and alternator with bags, and used the garden hose w/trigger nozzle on shower and some car wash/sponge (without drowning it). I think one I covered up the square thing at the back of the cam cover too. Then gave it a final rinse and then a wipe down with a rag. Removed bags ofcourse Ive never had a problem, but thats not to say no-one will have problems...

This was to clean dust off, grease in my engine bay is almost non existant (surprisingly)

[rhys5169]

yeh ive just got a shit load of dust thats found its way in there from its previous owner (lived out near than new northern freeway thing, so red dirt everywhere). time to get he gaffa tape and bags out!

[Tangles]

Ok for those that are interested this is my plan of attack:

when car is cold:

Cover Pod, AFM and alarm speaker with plastic bags

Place rags over coilpack cover to help prevent water getting under it

spray engine bay with CT18 (truck wash)

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes

Spray down bay with pressure cleaner being careful not to drench any one part for too long and stand a good distance back

let it sit for 5 minutes then start and idle car till its evaporate water

turn it off

give the entire bay a good spray with some silicone spray and let it sit for 30 mins before starting again.

Sound good?

nice, good option to do mine as well while everything is off.

picked up my GT30R turbo tonight, so when the install is done I'll do a run-down clean of my engine bay

going to use cans of degreaser, rags in strategic places, and then a weed-killer spray pressure backpack with warm soapy water, then cold clean water

[Carbon 34]

yeh ive just got a shit load of dust thats found its way in there from its previous owner (lived out near than new northern freeway thing, so red dirt everywhere). time to get he gaffa tape and bags out!

just dont tape on the fender paint, de-sticky the tape by touching it to your jeans or tshirt.. if its too sticky it will pull off paint or leave white sticky crap on the car.

[rhys5169]

yeh i found that out the hard way on my last car lol