Cleaning the engine

[nfs480]

I'm thinking about cleaning my engine because it's so extremely dirty (see pics below) and was wondering if you guys could give me any tips for doing so. A friend of mine's dad ruined his A/C cleaning the engine and I want to avoid any situations like that. I'm not extremely car savvy so if this is something that shouldn't be attempted by an amateur please tell me.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/nfs480/100_0535.jpg

[lostforawhile]

they sell a cleaner at nappa,you can get in a gallon bottle called super purple or something like that. it's their store brand. i've used it and it seems to work really well. just make sure you wear gloves and protect your eyes. i put it right into a squirt bottle and sprayed it full strength,then i let it soak,and washed it off with a garden hose. seemed to really take off a lot of junk. just wrap the dizzy in something, to keep out water.and after you wash it all off, start the engine and let it warm up. the heat will drive out any remaining moisture in the engine bay.

[lgoldtop]

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE JUST SPRAY THE ENGINE WITH A HIGH PRESSURE HOSE LIKE FROM A CAR WASH that will cause damage plus your car probably wont start because you got your electronics wet

[nfs480]

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE JUST SPRAY THE ENGINE WITH A HIGH PRESSURE HOSE LIKE FROM A CAR WASH that will cause damage plus your car probably wont start because you got your electronics wet

Would a garden hose be ok? Like lostforawhile suggested?

[labeledsk8r]

Would a garden hose be ok? Like lostforawhile suggested?

yes should be fine.. just remember its the winter months.. so dont be spraying cold water on a hot block... tape and plastic off anything that shouldnt be wet, the dizzy.. mayby coil ... and what ever else that could get water in it were it shouldnt... once its washed.. you can go back over it with hand towls and clean the parts you had to tape off.. i have cleaned a entire engine by hand and its not fun but its do-able

[nfs480]

yes should be fine.. just remember its the winter months.. so dont be spraying cold water on a hot block... tape and plastic off anything that shouldnt be wet, the dizzy.. mayby coil ... and what ever else that could get water in it were it shouldnt... once its washed.. you can go back over it with hand towls and clean the parts you had to tape off.. i have cleaned a entire engine by hand and its not fun but its do-able

Yeah, I've gotten to thinking more about it and i'll probably end up doing this later this spring when it's warmer but I can start figuring out what I need to do and have to clean it.

[BITESIZE]

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE JUST SPRAY THE ENGINE WITH A HIGH PRESSURE HOSE LIKE FROM A CAR WASH that will cause damage plus your car probably wont start because you got your electronics wet

bs, i do it all the time and no problems.

[Civic Accord Honda]

i used a garden hose and pput my finger on the tip to make it higher pressure cleaned up mine decent but i would recommend a pressure washer also paint ur valve cover ether black or cast iron or dark gray lol

[HondaBoy]

i would say spraying the engine down with water is ok. but be sure to let it completely dry if you get the electronic stuff wet. as long as electronics arent powered up, they should be fine if you let them dry out. but maybe just be careful and avoid spraying them. what i did was hand wash the engine compartment. that way i had much better control of what did and didnt get wet.

[Lil Mike]

i haven't yet had a problem with high pressure or taping off anything, ive cleaned 20 cars like that no problems

[AccordB20A]

Yeah when i cleaned my other engine i spared on heaps of degreaser, let it sit then waterblasted. Also have cleaned another engine with some pressureised hot soapy water + degreaser.

[lostforawhile]

i would say spraying the engine down with water is ok. but be sure to let it completely dry if you get the electronic stuff wet. as long as electronics arent powered up, they should be fine if you let them dry out. but maybe just be careful and avoid spraying them. what i did was hand wash the engine compartment. that way i had much better control of what did and didnt get wet.
thats why you atert the engine and let it warm up so everything is completly dry everything under the hood is semi waterproof

[Civic Accord Honda]

i washed my engine when it was 135F out so it dryed up fast lol

[Ichiban]

I've pressure washed/steam cleaned every engine I own, numerous times.

[A20A1]

simple green works good, just let it sit for a while then wash or scrub the parts.

as for the rusty or paint chipped metal you might want to sand or metal wire brush it clean or strip the paint chemically then degrease and let dry before repainting it with high heat paint.

[88Accord-DX]

Any auto parts store sells engine de-greaser. The only problem I've seen using a pressure washer at a car wash, is a little water can get up behind the distributor cap, causing a hard start/ stumble.
With other vehicles, I've seen the wiper motor assembly get shorted in the circuit board case. The engine will mis-fire with water in the spark plug holes until the water evaporates. Just be careful not to hammer down with lots of pressure at electrical components using a pressure washer.

[nfs480]

Ok, thanks for the tips guys. Now all I need is some warmer weather to work in.

[AccordB20A]

One time when i washed my engine bay i drove 200m down the road and the car jusrt died. Found out for some reason the fuel pumnp fuse blew. Put a new one in and away it went... dunno why or how that happened but its been working good ever since :)

[2ndGenGuy]

I've pressure washed my engine about 5143274235 times, on every car I've ever had, and on other peoples cars too. No problem. Worst that happened was a little water in the distributor cap.

After I degreased the engine bay, with Gunk, or simple green, or some of that crazy purple stuff and let it dry a bit, I hit mine up with some Aluminum wheel acid. I dilute it about 20:1, mist it on, let it sit for about 30 seconds then spray it off really good. It will take brass plating off of any steel, and it will cause any other unpainted steel parts to surface rust. It doesn't affect paint, rubber or plastic though, and makes aluminum look amazing. It also takes all the old looking shit off of the ends of your high pressure lines, and cleans up a lot of small fittings really well.

[race12001]

get purple power and spray it down let it soak for a while spray it one more time then let is sit for 5min then take a pressure washer and go over it ive never had a problem doin this

[coope]

get a plastic bag and cover up what u don't want wet like the alt. and compressor and other shit

[Ichiban]

Alternator doesn't care about water. Every time you drive in the rain it gets full of it. I'd not directly pressure wash the distributer, but everything else is fine.

[86ccord]

i like to use... i think its called purple power.. you can get it anywhere really.. but i just spray that on..let it soak and rinse off with a garden hose and im good to go..

[lostforawhile]

get purple power and spray it down let it soak for a while spray it one more time then let is sit for 5min then take a pressure washer and go over it ive never had a problem doin thiswell the nappa stuff is the same thing,but the store brand is cheaper then purple stuff for a gallon.

[86ccord]

oh it is? and it works the same? wow i never really realized it much.. imma have to check it out..