What is the best way to clean my engine and engine bay without harming anything

 

Rag and cleaning solvant.

 

Simple Green, let it sit for about a half an hour, then gently wash or spray off with a squirt bottle. Let the engine dry before starting and never spray the dizzy or coils. Also rap the air cleaner with a rag.

 

citrus degreaser on the engine core, tire cleaner on the black hoses.

 

It is recommended to remove electrical connections after doing cleaning and blow out with compressed air and spray with electrical contact cleaner. This is to avoid corrosion on the connectors. It's more critical on FI engines because resistance values are taken on the CTS and the Injector harness. Changing those values from corrosion will cause problems later on with the fuel management system.

 

helps to put dielectric grease in the connectors

 

Details on how I did mine:

https://www.rx7club.com//showthread....t=finally+pics

 

I spray the engine and bay down, start it up, let it warm a bit, then fire up the powerwasher. If it dies, pull the dizzy cap, blow out with compressed air and spray with electrical contact cleaner. I avoid Purple Power, it's a bit too harsh on paint and aluminum.

Citric degreasers work quite well, unfortunately the price of citric oil went way up a few years back and it's not nearly as strong and effective as it used to be. I used to by 5 gallon cans of 90% for 90 bucks. It would literally cut through a 1/2" of built up baked on oil and grease in 2 applications. Now I'm lucky if I can find 10% citric for 25 a gallon.

 

Wrap the dizzy with a plastic bag, then do what T said. A little moisture under the dizzy cap can ruin your day.

 

Castrol degreaser and nice long artist brush (a stiff one) Let it sit for awhile then scrub it with the brush. I also use Simple Green when thats done and nice protector for all the hoses.

 

My local self-serve car wash has a "Tire/Engine Cleaner" option on their selection switch, it seems to work, and it's run through a pressure washer. Gotten rid of a lot of dirt on the first try.

 

Movie of a clean engine bay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7BANPkh-Y

I warm the engine a little (not hot!) then spray it down with engine degreaser from Autozone or where ever. Use a brush to work the degreaser around the dirty areas, let soak 15 minutes then use the gardern hose to wash off the dgreaser.

Then make some hot soapy water using dish detergent and use the brush and a large sponge to wash everything down to remove traces of grease and degreaser. Hose off the detergent and let it dry.

As Doc points out above, it is very important to blow out all the electrical connections and distributor to avoid grounds and corrosion.

When dry I give the entire engine bay a light spay with WD-40 and wipe it down with a cloth.