I've got a 30 year old dirt build up in the engine bay and I'm trying to clean it up a little bit. I'm thinking about spraying the engine bay with WD-40 and hosing it down with water, but there is all that electrical connectors and stuff on the left hand side. Is it safe for me and the car to spray that area directly with water or should I cover it in some way with a plastic bag or something?

Greatly appreciate any information
Thank you

 

I don't think I'd use WD40 on the whole bay; it's great for cleaning wires if they are in good shape, but it might be less than kind to your engine bay paint, and it could well dissolve what little adhesive is still holding your harness together.

I'd recommend using a legit engine degreaser; it'll rinse a lot cleaner than WD40, too. WD40 residue will attract dirt & dust later.

Don't pressure-spray anything; mild hose spray only, and use a brush on hard spots. Cover the dizzy and the alt, and go easy on the other electricals. you can also use LOW-pressure steam - - I've heard that the kind of steamers that dry cleaners use works well for melting off caked grease.

You might want to take the undertray off first. All the crud will end up collecting there otherwise.



Or, you can follow my personal method, shich starts with Step One: disassemble entire bay.

 

just use some simple green and a garden hose

 

I found this brand called "earth soap" the big box hardware stores I beleive carry it ... personally I felt it was the best I have tried so far

 

simple green and a drill with cloth attachments will clean the bay up. then follow it up with sand paper. I resprayed my bay but it was a quick job and although looks better than the stock paint/rust it coulda been better.

 

I used simple green and a garden hose like deadphoenix. Worked OK. Some people say my engine bay is clean. I think it's still dirty, but better than it was. I didn't cover anything, I just didn't spray the hose directly on sensitive bits. I also made like 3 passes with it. After I was done I let the car air dry for a few hours before moving it.

 

i scrubbed the last one by hand with simple green and brushes/towels. i also had the engine out at the time, which is easier.

i usually do just pull the undertray and sometimes the wheel well liners and pressure wash it.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I went out and bought some simple green concentrate and a empty squirt bottle. Little by little I'll remove the dirt and grime.
I want to tear the whole thing down to bare metal and start the restoration now, but life and money is stopping me.

 

Get cheap toothbrushes for those hard to get into spaces. First time I cleaned my bay with simple green and towels took me about 4 hours and that's without going at the tight spots with brushes. Could have done a better job but that would have required removing parts. Since where I work on the car is outside it gets dirty fast, so it needs a cleaning every year at this point or it looks like ****.