Cleaning engine bay
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Rototiller
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 149
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From: Largo, FL
Cleaning engine bay
Ok, so the engine bay of my 87 SE is filthy. Its got a lot of built up dirt and grease from the past years. Whats the best way to clean this?
I was thinking of hosing everything down w/ some grease lightning or something like that, let it soak and spray away w/ the house. Is there any area i should avoid doing this to in risk of damaging anything?
I was thinking of hosing everything down w/ some grease lightning or something like that, let it soak and spray away w/ the house. Is there any area i should avoid doing this to in risk of damaging anything?
Assuming you have the stock airbox in place there isn't too much you can hurt with normal house pressure water.
High pressure and all bets are off.
My method is...
Remove as much extraneous stuff as possible- battery & box, coils & plug wires, intake (all the way up to the throttle elbow which then gets covered with a Baggie)...basically anything that's relatively easy to unbolt.
Spray the (cold) engine bay with water and then scrub with hot soapy water and a large soft bristled brush.
Avoid the engine and the driver's side frame rail (or anywhere there is a lot of greasy/oily buildup) when brushing- no sense in dragging the muck around.
Rinse well and let air dry.
With the bay dry again you'll see the really munged up areas, hit them with Purple Power or your choice of degreaser.
Using a stiffer bristle brush (which you may as well consider sacrificial) attack the grease/oil with abandon.
Rinse with hot, soapy water followed with cold, plain water.
Repeat as necessary to remove as much buildup as possible.
Let dry.
By now, the bay should start looking presentable and any further detailing is up to you.
I've gone through this process twice so far this summer and it's getting easier since most of the really bad stuff is gone and the passenger side of the bay really just gets dusty instead of grimy.
In the past week though I deleted the AC and PS which exposed a whole new horror story in that previously inaccessible area, so I'll be at it again.
Oh joy.
High pressure and all bets are off.
My method is...
Remove as much extraneous stuff as possible- battery & box, coils & plug wires, intake (all the way up to the throttle elbow which then gets covered with a Baggie)...basically anything that's relatively easy to unbolt.
Spray the (cold) engine bay with water and then scrub with hot soapy water and a large soft bristled brush.
Avoid the engine and the driver's side frame rail (or anywhere there is a lot of greasy/oily buildup) when brushing- no sense in dragging the muck around.
Rinse well and let air dry.
With the bay dry again you'll see the really munged up areas, hit them with Purple Power or your choice of degreaser.
Using a stiffer bristle brush (which you may as well consider sacrificial) attack the grease/oil with abandon.
Rinse with hot, soapy water followed with cold, plain water.
Repeat as necessary to remove as much buildup as possible.
Let dry.
By now, the bay should start looking presentable and any further detailing is up to you.
I've gone through this process twice so far this summer and it's getting easier since most of the really bad stuff is gone and the passenger side of the bay really just gets dusty instead of grimy.
In the past week though I deleted the AC and PS which exposed a whole new horror story in that previously inaccessible area, so I'll be at it again.
Oh joy.
Winter sucks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,083
Likes: 0
From: Newberg, Oregon
Remove your ignition wires........ hook a nice rubber hose up to your hot water heater drain... put a nice nozzle on it.. and go crazy. Hot water will eat grease off better than any solvent will. 
Wait for it all to dry before putting your ignition wires back. Good preventative maintenance on your car would be putting dielectric grease on your connectors anyways (if you are worried about that).
Wait for it all to dry before putting your ignition wires back. Good preventative maintenance on your car would be putting dielectric grease on your connectors anyways (if you are worried about that).
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Winter sucks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,083
Likes: 0
From: Newberg, Oregon
After my first cleaning (when the connector's colors were at last revealed) ( pulled them all apart, sprayed them down with contact cleaner and then dielectric grease.
Since then I don't worry about hosing out the engine bay.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 29,798
Likes: 128
From: London, Ontario, Canada
The way I've always done it is to just spray everything in the engine bay down with Castrol Super Clean and let it sit for a few minutes. Scrub the nasty areas with a stiff bristle brush while you spray with a spray bottle of Super Clean cut with water (about 10% Super Clean). Then hose the entire engine bay down with a gentle spray.
This may take several attempts but the end result will be a very clean engine bay. Then you can clean it later on by just spraying it down with a spray bottle full of regular soap and water, scrub lightly with a cloth, and then wash off.
Make sure that the Super Clean does not remain on aluminum because it will form a white oxide powder.
I've personally never bothered to cover any electrical connectors, but then again mine are all Weather Pack with dielectric grease.
This may take several attempts but the end result will be a very clean engine bay. Then you can clean it later on by just spraying it down with a spray bottle full of regular soap and water, scrub lightly with a cloth, and then wash off.
Make sure that the Super Clean does not remain on aluminum because it will form a white oxide powder.
I've personally never bothered to cover any electrical connectors, but then again mine are all Weather Pack with dielectric grease.
Winter sucks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,083
Likes: 0
From: Newberg, Oregon
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