[sleepur606]

All right, I know it's probably been asked millions of times, but I couldn't find any of them.

How do you guys clean out your engine bay?

I've asked some of my buddies and they say, "Just simple green and rinse it with the hose, don't worry about a think, it'll be find," but I've also heard, "Take it somewhere, so if it gets messed up you can blame it on them..." This doesn't make me feel very safe. I was cleaning out the engine bay of an Astro after doing AC and coolant work, for some reason the engine was running, and every time we hit the alternator with the steam cleaner the van would stumble...probably bad.

Advice? I don't wanna kill my baby!

 

[Krisverde]

All right, I know it's probably been asked millions of times, but I couldn't find any of them.

How do you guys clean out your engine bay?

I've asked some of my buddies and they say, "Just simple green and rinse it with the hose, don't worry about a think, it'll be find," but I've also heard, "Take it somewhere, so if it gets messed up you can blame it on them..." This doesn't make me feel very safe. I was cleaning out the engine bay of an Astro after doing AC and coolant work, for some reason the engine was running, and every time we hit the alternator with the steam cleaner the van would stumble...probably bad.

Advice? I don't wanna kill my baby!

well when your cleaning iwould run the engin dont spray the alternator or the distributor cap, that will cause it to stumble, now if you sprayed that shit while it was off, it would of been a pain to start back up. simple green can clean and some of that engine degreaser.spray lightly over your manifolds if the engine is off, so you dont crack em.

 

[s3gulit]

go over it with a degreaser/simple green, put a bag over your alternator and cap/rotor if your worried about it, and power wash it off....then come back and hit it with a tire dressing or interior plastic cleaner for the showroom shine.

I use meguiars NXT interior spray for plastics (intake tube, radiator cover, battery box, fuse box, etc. and meguiars vinyl and rubber conitioner on the hoses.

Dave

 

[ChrisNJ]

I use p21s total auto wash. Spray it on... let it soak for a minute or two, then agitate w/ a soft bristled brush. Then rise off. Start it right after (assuming you have a dry intake) and let it warm up and dry off. Dress it w/ trim restore
And fwiw, good luck blaming a shop. Most, including myself, make owners sign a waiver if they want an engine cleaning. Additionally, if there is any risk to worry about aside from initial starts after wet down, its corrosion building up after time, which you wouldnt be able to place on someone anyway.

 

[RandomHero]

I use p21s total auto wash. Spray it on... let it soak for a minute or two, then agitate w/ a soft bristled brush. Then rise off. Start it right after (assuming you have a dry intake) and let it warm up and dry off. Dress it w/ trim restore
And fwiw, good luck blaming a shop. Most, including myself, make owners sign a waiver if they want an engine cleaning. Additionally, if there is any risk to worry about aside from initial starts after wet down, its corrosion building up after time, which you wouldnt be able to place on someone anyway.

Not trying to be a dick, but "Waivers" don't mean anything. It's basically just a fake contract meant to fake the buyer into thinking he/she can't sue or get his vehicle fixed. You just might want to be careful Chris that it doesn't accidentally bite you in the butt.

 

[Covah]

Electric contact cleaner does a good job in cleaning valve covers and everything else. Safe on plastics and takes of gunk really well.

 

[nboylie]

my engine bay looks like a monkey went apeshit in it.

 

[sleepur606]

my engine bay looks like a monkey went apeshit in it.

Not quite like a monkey went apeshit, but not the showroom shine that was on it when I bought it back in '04...man, that was a long time ago; fresh outta high school.

Thanks for the input guys.

EDIT: before you guys say anything, I know I need to cover the air filter.

 

[JDWUSMC]

Not trying to be a dick, but "Waivers" don't mean anything. It's basically just a fake contract meant to fake the buyer into thinking he/she can't sue or get his vehicle fixed. You just might want to be careful Chris that it doesn't accidentally bite you in the butt.

your right but for the most part is just warns the customer up front that if i clean this area and you have problems it was not caused by me and if it is i can not be held liable for it....too oftne than not most people have engin problmes prior to getting something done under the hood then they all of a sudden notice it once its clean and want somebody to blame...

as for cleaning like others said though...just use a lightly dilluted all purpose cleaner or degreaser to spray all over then agitate with a brush. Cover the alternator as best you can and hose off....

as far as dressing goes i would suggest staying away from normal exterior trim/tire dressings on your engine/hoses because these dressings have silicon in them and if it gets hot enough on the heavy spots it can start on fire. I would try and find some sort of engine specific silicon free dressing

 

[Hotwire]

I know this is a late reply, but try to keep the water away from your intake the best you can. Had a buddy that cleaned his 5.3 out and got water down in the knock sensors. They're recessed in the lifter valley cover under the intake, spent a day pulling everything to replace them.