Is soap and water good for cleaning then engine bay?
 

Any thoughts? Would dawn detergent be alright to mix with water to wash my engine bay? I know a few people like to use simple green.

I was gonna suggest Simple Green. Mix with hot water (no boiling) and give your engine a good scrub. Let it sit for a while and then hose it off afterward making sure to cover up your battery, alternator, any other electrical stuff

i was thinking of getting a shark bottle steamer to steam clean the oil and dirt under the car. but i've seen some crappy reviews on it, has anybody tried it to clean their car?

Steam cleaning your engine bay.. Now there's an idea I never thought of. My engine is out so I dont need to cover anything.

Dawn works great on grease on dishes but I doubt it's strong enough for the grease on your engine. Just pick up a spray can of Gunk Engine Brite at your local auto parts store; it only costs about $3-$4. I use it to clean my engine bay every 6 months or so. Just spray it on and hose it off. After the first initial cleaning where you take off most of the grime, periodic touch-ups are easy.

And Simple Green is NOT recommended. It streaks aluminum.

if you can't tow the car to a place with a steamer, you can run a hose off your hot water heater drain.

i've used soooooooo many things over the years to clean the engine bay and they all suck--until you use the hot water.. engine degreaser, simple green, your mom's dish soap, etc... 140-160* water will do the trick most of the time.

just make sure you wear some thick gloves so you don't burn yourself.


**edit**
i meant use the hot water in conjunction with your choice of cleaning agent--not just by itself (although it doesn't do too bad sometimes)

Dawn works so good that it strips oil and makes ur rubber parts look 50k miles older.

If u have a pressure washer u don't need any detergent. The pressure will take off excess grease and all the dirt and leave ur engine with a very thin layer of grease for protection and appearance.

I've done this for years on my 240,xxx miles engine bay with no ill-effects. Never need to cover the electrical parts.

I leave the car running, wipe down the top parts and drive the car for a few minutes until the engine bay is dry and voila!

^Same here. Only I do use plastic grocery bags around the fuse/relay boxes.

i miss school.... we had a steamer there and you could eat off the engine bay in my old fc....that's where i got the hot water heater idea---next best thing.

note for you guys with pressure washers, DON'T use hot hot water in a good pressure washer--only the cheap impeller type.

Steam is the way to go
 

I agree with this form of cleaning, steam evaporates almost instantly, some of those detergents are pretty rough on aluminum and may even soften the paint.
This engine bay was cleaned with the steam cleaner. Look at the strut towers and area around the intercooler.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23...eginebayt2.jpg
PS. you going to answer your PM's or reply to the thread you started with the stock parts ?

I run Hot water through my electric pressure washer that I bought from Costco.

Been doing that for 2 years. No problems.

It's the petroleum powered ones that will break if u do that.

My mechanic loves working on my FD since I pressure wash the engine bay before bringing it to him.

Nothing like working on a clean engine bay.

I also detail the entire car too.

Every mechanic will tell u that they size up the customer by the condition of the car that they bring in.

If u bring in a uber clean car, they will know that ur a nazi about ur car and know every little scratch on it.

This makes it less likely for them to pull BS on u and for them to do just a little better on their work.

http://www.illstreet.com/image/batman/engine.jpg

^ costco=cheap, probably has an impeller ;)

Costco sells the Karcher brand from Germany.

They are the largest pressure washer manufacturer.

Government uses them for buldings, Statue of Liberty, etc.

Formula 1 uses them.

Costco sell quality stuff at cheap price, not the other way around.

That is some really interesting and good advice I've never heard before. Much better than the standard vagina/penis talk.

Dave

WD, elbow grease, and a rag.

i use a little carefully applied simple green around the strut towers and other areas that need it... let it soak... then hit it with my small steam cleaner... be careful if you use a steam cleaner though... i bought the "Scuunchi" brand model at Pep Boys and after squeezing the trigger for a while and letting go it tends to spew out a few drops of very hot water... i didnt notice till a few drops hit the front bumper and melted little holes in my paint job.

they make baby steam cleaners? cool!

one time i ran a vacuum line off the vent from a pressure cooker, but it was more effort than it was worth.

AVOID using Simple Green on Aluminum! It creates corrosion, especially when it gets between components.

Any ever use Castrol Super Cleaner&degreaser in the purple bottle?

I have my moments of orchestrated brain farts.

But don't get me started.

Anyone heard of autoglym engine cleaner or aerospace 303 cleaner?

Did you know a detailed engine increases the resale value of your car? It's a well known fact that people who take the time and effort to detail their engines also take better care of their cars.