cleaning engine bay

[Wanna Be Engineer]

So here's the deal, I love my car but don't have a lot of money for huge mods so I'm just concentrating on cleaning it up and making sure it runs well.

I wanna clean the engine bay, but I'm not sure what parts I have to cover up so they don't get any water or degreaser/cleaner on them. If anyone could tell me EXACTLY what to protect I would love it. I'd hate be anal about this (this is only my second post) but I'd rather be anal than stranded without a car cuz I f*cked something up.

Thanks in advance

Justin

[2Fast_Fiero]

Take the whole Air Cleaner unit off of the intake manifold and put like a towel inside the throatle body, then clean whatever you like, when your done, make sure the air cleaner unit is clean and then put it back on once your done cleaning.

[2Fast_Fiero]

Don't forget to take the towel or whatever you use out of the throtle body, or you'll be having some problems, and make sure the inside of it is clean and dry.

[Wanna Be Engineer]

What about the ignition stuff? Don't I have to protect the distributor, and the plugs/wires, etc?

[markmdz89hatch]

not really, they're sealed pretty good. I mean afterall, that engine compartment does not stay completely dry when you're driving in the rain. Just don't bring it to a do-it-yourself carwash and blast the shit out of it with the pressure washer. Then you might have some problems.

I would suggest to wait 'til the engine is very cool (let it cool down overnight), get a couple of cans of Brake Parts Cleaner with that little straw to concentrate the spray on an individaul area, and spray away. It's stronger and safer then engine cleaner. It'll eat off any crap there is. Finish up by taking a hose, and with normal water pressure from the hose, just water off the engine comp.

It'll look like a million bucks once you're done.

[2Fast_Fiero]

Well, there is some masive power going through those, it might be best to just use a towel and wipe them down, but if you get them wet, just let them dry before you start the car, the coil is soo powerful, I disconected it to get to my radiator hose and forgot to reconect it, it was about 2"s away or more, and I tried to start my car, It started and then I realized I forgot to hook it up, I looked at the coil wire and the distributer, it was sparking a bolt of energy 2"s long and still running the car, I couldn't belive it, I emediatly ran to the car and shut it off lol.

[Jdub07]

Is the cleaning concept you guys just described the same for a carb? Take the air filter and box off and cover the carb or is there a better way....anything else I would need to watch for?

[2Fast_Fiero]

When I was working for Carson & Ellis, a Engine Shop, when we did a complete cleaning with brake cleaner, we stuffed something down the carb so it wont get anything inside , but the best to clean the carb would be carb cleaner, and that shit also works on the engine, not as good as brake cleaner, but it lasts longer.

[Jdub07]

Yeah I use carb cleaner on the carb every oil change. I just want to clean the rest of the engine compartment. I don't want to use carb cleaner though for the cleaning. I heard somewhere that Simple Green works hella good!

[markmdz89hatch]

simple green is OK, but like MSI and I said, that brake cleaner works miracles, and you really don't even have to wash it off if you don't want.

One question on cleaning the carb out.... ...Do I just take off the air cleaner and spray that carb cleaner right into the carb? Is the car hot, cold, running, what? Sorry, my carb tech. sucks, but I can make any car shine like no tomorrow.

[2Fast_Fiero]

Well, if your gonna clean your carb, you should get a new air filter and pre-filter, then clean the whole tray, and inside the carb, if the car don't start, just keep turning it over cus it might have been cus you used too much carb cleaner, but most likely it will burn the carb cleaner out of the engine like normal. Another good thing for your car is this shit that I stole from Carson & Ellis when I quit, I don't know if there is any for real engines, but it was made for Onan small engines, its this spray that you spray inside the carb or intake manifold while the car is running, and you spray just enough that the car almost dies, but dont make it die, it will burn out all the crust and shit you got inside your head and on your pistons, it works like a dream!:flame:

[Jdub07]

One question on cleaning the carb out.... ...Do I just take off the air cleaner and spray that carb cleaner right into the carb? Is the car hot, cold, running, what? Sorry, my carb tech. sucks, but I can make any car shine like no tomorrow. [/B][/QUOTE]


What I do is take the filter lid off and the filter out. Turn the car on and just spray it right in the carb. When I do it by myself I have to spray it in small spurts so the car wont die. If I have someone with me I will have them rev at about 3000 rpms while I spray the cleaner in at full spray. That way it can shoot through the system. I haven't tried this but I heard some where if you leave the car off and spray a bunch of carb cleaner in that little tube in the carb that is slightly at an angle and then start her up that cleans it really well. But that source was just one person and like I said, I haven't tried it.

[markmdz89hatch]

so where can I get that stuff?

Filter is K&N, I just got the re-oiling/cleaning kit to take care of that. But PRE-FILTER, WTF, what the hell is that?

[2Fast_Fiero]

The pre filter is something you might want, it is this lil foam thing that wraps around your filter to keep the filter clean, it saves you money, cus instead of replacing your filter every so many miles, you replace the pre filter more and the regular filter less, and this stuff, I'll have to ask my X Boss who still works at Carson & Ellis to see if there is any for real cars, if not I'll see if I can get a box full of this shit, and I'll send you a can. So give me a few days.

[Jdub07]

Just use normal carb cleaner.

[markmdz89hatch]

k that works for me, thanks man...!

BTW... ...K&n filters never need to be replaced, but they do seem to get all gunked up with trash and require cleaning more frequesntly than a regular filter needs replacing.

Oh, welll.......

[2Fast_Fiero]

You might wanna put a pre-filter on, especialy if you run a true cold air intake, cus all the shit flying straight into the air filter could make you replace it very often, and the pre filter protects the filter from all that shit.

[2Fast_Fiero]

Well the pre filter makes it to where you don't have to clean as much as you used to, and when you do clean it, just throw the pre filter away, buy a new one and clean the K&N, And that is not what I meant about the Onan spray, this shit cleans your head and pistons/cylinders, I did a test at Carson & Ellis with a small 1cyl engine, I took the head off, it was gunked with all sorts of black crust, I put the head back on without cleaning it, started the engine and continuously sprayed little shots of this stuff into the carb, the engine would get close to dieing, then I would stop spraying, then it would burst all sorts of black smoke out of the exaust, I would do this for about 10 minutes, or less, I reopened the head when it was cool after I did that, and the head looked like it was a brand new engine, it was clean and non of that black crust crap was even there any more.

[hondaaccord_86]

does using a steam cleaner work? i saw this ad on tv last night. and they were selling this steam cleaner. they used it to clean the engine, is that safe?

[Wanna Be Engineer]

How's this sound?...Instead of rinsing the engine with a hose, why don't I just use a water spritzer-thingy? And, I tried using Armor All Foaming Tire Cleaner on the engine after rinsing off the degreaser. Let that sit on the engine, ran the engine for about 30 min while I did some paint touch ups, and low-and-behold...the engine was clean! So now I know that that works, I'll do the rest of the engine that way. If you guys are daring, you can try it.