How to clean your engine bay

[BadBong]

Now that Diablo looks like this...



I'd thought I'll take advantage of his temporary weight loss and clean the engine bay a bit

I've been told what I should cover up before I clean it but can someone give me a list of product(s) that I should purchase to clean the engine bay?

Degreaser and what?

Is there any difference between different brands of degreasers?

[Apu]

Steam cleaner?

[wassup]

any brand of degreaser will do the job.. figure youll need 3 cans.. its goes very quickly.

A toilet brush to scrub the stubborn grim helps... rinse with soapy water and then a final rise.. then wipe everything down.

I look forward to seeing the results!

[BadBong]

any brand of degreaser will do the job.. figure youll need 3 cans.. its goes very quickly.

A toilet brush to scrub the stubborn grim helps... rinse with soapy water and then a final rise.. then wipe everything down.

I look forward to seeing the results!

Thanks mate.

But will the toilet brush be too hard on the paint?...

[Mr Morlock]

degreaser will go a long way. You can paint it on and wash off with water hose or pressure cleaner. Some of the cleaners are not exactly "green" so read the instructions. Bursons ,Repco, Autobarn will all give you product info and recommendation. You can make a nice old mess of a driveway so you may need plastic sheet or some other protection. Also not good on skin etc. CT14 is a common product and can be diluted in water

[deviant]

You might as well buy a big bottle of the stuff you can dilute. You can make make it strong or use it neat on the tough stuff and you always need degreaser anyway.

Read the bottle, some degreaser is harsh on paint.

Very hot water helps move grease and grime.

[BadBong]

Sounds like a 5L bottle of CT14 should do the job...?

The car's obviously disable and I only have access to bucket water... would that do the job or do I really need to get all the degreaser off with a hose?

[deviant]

Nah you can use a bucket, you will just be going back and forth a bit

I find hot soapy water best for the first couple of wash downs after the degreaser. Dumping cold water on it is like using cold water to wash a frying pan...the grease just stays solid and gets smeared around. Use cheap washing up liquid, you can really lather it up.

[wassup]

any brand of degreaser will do the job.. figure youll need 3 cans.. its goes very quickly.

A toilet brush to scrub the stubborn grim helps... rinse with soapy water and then a final rise.. then wipe everything down.

I look forward to seeing the results!

Thanks mate.

But will the toilet brush be too hard on the paint?...

It'll only be as hard as you scrub it.. A small head brush will get into the places that are excellent at collecting dust, and road grime, it'll help loosen the stuff. Like washing a car let the degreaser and brush do the work, not your elbow!

And definitely soapy water first to wash down. +1 for the greasy pan analogy

And the secret is to have silicone spray (the one with a small pipe off the nozzle) available. Once you've rubbed down the bay and plastics you need to hit the black stuff up with the silicone or it'll discolor (degreaser does that). The key is to get the plastics back to factory look. Then the hard work will definitely show!

[BadBong]

Ok... so I'll need:

- Small head brush
- 1 big bottle of CT14 degreaser
- 1 bucket of soapy water

and... a silicone spray?... as a surface protection? Any recommendation on a particular brand?

[Apu]

I just used Simple Green degreaser and some Super Cheap one. As for silicon spray, I used 3-in-1, which is a WD40 brand.

[marty085]

Vic, while you're at it, wanna clean mine? My engine bay looks a lot like yours

[BadBong]

Vic, while you're at it, wanna clean mine? My engine bay looks a lot like yours

How about we do a double dodgy day? I go to you to help you clean yours and in return, you can come and help me clean mine

[hks_kansei]

On a similar note.

Any tips on cleaning the engine bay with the engine still in there?


Last time I used a damp cloth, it must have dripped a little into the plug wells.
The week after I did it the car started misfiring and killed a couple of sets of spark plugs.

[Steampunk]

Those "Export Quality" degreasers are da bomb! Seriously. Supercheap & some cheapy shops has them for around $2 each.