this is my first car and a lot of work needs to be done, but the engine bay is really messy. im not sure which wires are which and i dont want do anything until i know for sure, plus a lot of the picture i get from websites arnt very good. anyone have any suggestions for a beginner like me on how to clean up under my hood?

 

Cleaning up is easy. Grab a bottle of Castrol Super Clean, and spray the entire engine bay. Avoid getting any in the alternator. Scrub the hard stuff with a nylon bristle brush, then rinse thoroughly. Do not use a pressure washer. Use easy pressure from a garden hose. Now, start the car and drive it until it reaches operating temperature. You may need to repeat this several times (after the car has cooled, of course).

Be very careful not to leave any Super Clean on the engine as it is not very friendly to aluminium.

 

I think he has the same problem as I do, were it looks like a jungle under the hood, wires to the left and right...one suggestion would be zip ties :P



here take this pic into MS paint and cirlce what you want to know what it is...

 

Home Depot raceing TID huh

 

To go along with my home depot racing paint job

 

OMG, please say that is not a single wiper blade

 

Anyways as to this persons question, I think he wants to know what he can remove to clean his engine bay up.

And my answer to that is, unless you are SUPER bored or are going to show your car alot, I wouldn't mess with any of it, because for the most part it's not worth it. But most of it is emmisions, and depending on what model your have (like turbo or non), there will be more/less crap going everywere.

And if you have PS, takeing that out along with the AC system is one of THE BEST ways to open up your engine bay, after that remove the emmisions wich is all the metal lines, siliniods that run under the intake. And that will also clean it up. And if you want more room, get an E-fan and remove the stock clutch fan/shroud. And by that time there will be enough room to sleep in the engine bay.

 

Just to clear my smily that I posted it, it was in response to what blackrx7 said, not what Wankel7 posted.

 

try to meet up with a local 7 owner, and see if he can show you what some of the stuff is.