Does anyone clean your engine?

[Scotty]

I would like to clean my engine.

Is it advisable?

What do you use these days to clean the engine?

What precautions should you take?

In the old days you used the foam stuff, covered the distributor, carb and coil and off you went. Then it smelled horrible for a couple of weeks.

Thanks, Mike

[Ranger]

If the egine was really grimey I would use "Gunk" engine cleaner. Spray it on let it set a while then power spray it for best results or flush with a garden hose if it's not too bad, but haven't had one that greasy in years. I did mine, my wifes & daughters last year and just used a pressure washer. I did my dads about 3 years ago before I sold it for him and all I had at the time was an engine cleaning gun or something like that. It is basically just a $20 air nozzle (harbor freight) with a siphon hose that goes into a bucket full of soapy water. Workes fairly well. Usual common sense prevails, avoid or cover, coils, alternator, etc. I never even did that. Got battery no charge message next day for about 30' then went out. It might run a little rough till it dries out but thats not a big deal.

[JasonA]

I clean my engine all the time. Windex is the only "chemical" I use, and it's only for the trouble spots. Just soapy water and elbow grease. Once you clean it well once, it's easy to keep up with it, as long as you keep up with it.

My suggestion is not to "dress" the engine with anything, like Armor All. Dressings tend to get greasy and attract dust/dirt. Just keep it clean and you'll find it's easy to keep it looking showroom-new.

[JohnnyG]

I usually spray mine with Wesley's Bleach White tire cleaner. I make sure the engine is cool when I do it, then I spray it down with a garden hose. I have not had a problem with this method since before 1980. One of the tricks I've heard about, but never tried, was using Turtle Wax Zip wax packets in the final rinse. In fact, I don't even know if they sell that stuff anymore. Anyway, it was supposed to leave a shine behind when it dried off.

Now the tire cleaner is used for mildly dirty or oily areas and battery tops. I don't usually have engines leaking oil or that have oil lying in the intake valleys like some 4.9's can have. If you have a very greasy engine or one with an oil leak, the Gunk engine degreaser is the way to go. Then fix the leak.

[Scotty]

Thanks guys for the info, Mike

[TDK]

An interesting thread,

From an appearance standpoint, certainly a clean engine compartment looks good (at least to whoever looks inside) and of course reflects your sense of pride of ownership.

From an engineering standpoint, I'm not too sure.

Using almost any cleaning chemicals will tend to degrade the multitude of plastic, rubber, painted and other materials. It might be interesting to hear of damages to wiring, sensors, etc, from harsh chemicals and misdirected water streams - in particular - on on hot aluminum. I'm not aware of any GM-recommended cleaning or other appearance-related services under the hood.

An all-wise Sage of this site once stated somthing like "Ah, the patina of a finely engineered Northstar", when referring to a grimy engine comparment with well over a hundered-thousand miles on the odometer. What's with that - you say? Well, if an engine is a bit grimy yet runs very well, chances are there have not been any major problems to warrant cleaning...

Granted, a grimy engine could simply mean the owner dosen't give a crap and the mechanic is also a slob.

I used to clean my engines, undercarriage, etc some years back, but I don't know if the effort was ever worth anything to anyone else - but me. I do spray some armor-all to nourshish the long-chain polymers now and then, but not much cleaning.

When I drove the Big Red Dog hard and fast on gravel roads, I would open the hood every so often to remove the rocks from on top of things and pull out small branches and stuff. However, I think this act was driven by sheer pity - and a cross between appearance and functionality.

my 3-cents

[CaddyChris]

TDK Posted on Jun 9 2004, 07:30 PM

I do spray some armor-all to nourshish the long-chain polymers now and then, but not much cleaning.

Wow, we're are getting down to the molecular level here. This is some serious stuff. haha, learning all about this in college, so much fun

[JasonA]

I used to clean my engines, undercarriage, etc some years back, but I don't know if the effort was ever worth anything to anyone else - but me.

That's it right there. Do it for you. Or do it for the judges if you show your car.

[seabass]

I have always used " SIMPLE GREEN" to clean my engines, works great also , and won't harm the paint or anything else.

[growe3]

To clean a cool engine and compartment area, I use Simple Green. I use a soft brush or rag, depending on the surface, to remove dirt and oil residue.

To dress it up a bit I a use Meguiar’s Vinyl & Rubber protectant spray liberally, allow setting for 30 minutes or so and then wipe off any excess. It has wet shiny look for a day or so then settles in to look nice and clean. Care must be taken to not allow any dressing spray get on any of the pulleys or belts; it will cause them to slip.

Keeping an engine and the surrounding area clean also helps you become familiar with it. You will notice signs of wear (battery leaking, corrosion, hose seepage, etc.) and can plan repairs rather than break down somewhere.

I have built engines for many years and with all of the work that I put into one, I like them to look as good as they run.

-George

[JLAWS]

Any engine foam cleaner is fine, just put some dressing afterward on the plastic and rubber parts. Be careful not to spray any dressing on the serpentine belt!!!

Also if you have a Northstar engine DO NOT USE ANY ENGINE CLEANER ON THE ENGINE COVER. IT WILL TAKE OFF THE COVER'S PAINT!!! I found that out the hard way and bought another cover since it looked so bad. Just use mild dish soap or car wash soap for the cover.

[Scotty]

To clean a cool engine and compartment area, I use Simple Green. I use a soft brush or rag, depending on the surface, to remove dirt and oil residue.

As The Continental says from SNL, Wowie Wowie Wow Wow! That engine compartment you could eat off! Boy am I dropping the ball!

[Ben]

Simple green is the way to go. Make sure you get the regular, not the "engine degreaser". It never worked as well as the old stuff for me. Have been using it for 20 years.

[Scotty]

Simple green is the way to go. Make sure you get the regular, not the "engine degreaser". It never worked as well as the old stuff for me. Have been using it for 20 years.

Thanks Simple Green it is! Mike

[gc_caddy]

To clean a cool engine and compartment area, I use Simple Green. I use a soft brush or rag, depending on the surface, to remove dirt and oil residue.

To dress it up a bit I a use Meguiar’s Vinyl & Rubber protectant spray liberally, allow setting for 30 minutes or so and then wipe off any excess. It has wet shiny look for a day or so then settles in to look nice and clean. ...

George, Wow!

That engine compartment is purdy!!! Unbelievable, really. You really keep your Caddy looking great.

Do you use a water hose to rinse off loose dirt, or just use rags only? And how often do you clean it?

[growe3]

To clean a cool engine and compartment area, I use Simple Green. I use a soft brush or rag, depending on the surface, to remove dirt and oil residue.

To dress it up a bit I a use Meguiar’s Vinyl & Rubber protectant spray liberally, allow setting for 30 minutes or so and then wipe off any excess. It has wet shiny look for a day or so then settles in to look nice and clean. ...

George, Wow!

That engine compartment is purdy!!! Unbelievable, really. You really keep your Caddy looking great.

Do you use a water hose to rinse off loose dirt, or just use rags only? And how often do you clean it?

Thanks for the compliment.

After spraying on the Simple Green and using a rag or brush, you just use a garden hose to flush it off. This also a good opportunity to blow water through the radiator and condenser, to keep them clear of bugs and weed seeds, etc.

I use a hard spray against thick deposits and just a soft spray on the rest. Try to be brief around the power steering pump to reduce water under the intake manifold. Won’t really hurt anything, but it will take a while to evaporate away.

I also use this opportunity to thoroughly flush the battery with water, low pressure to reduce splashing, to remove any acid that may be there.

Actually after you do an initial cleaning it is very easy to do the next time.

Allow to completely dry before applying the Meguiar's. Blot with paper towels as needed. It is also a good practice to pull the spark boots to see if any water got in the spark plug tube. I haven’t had any problem but sometimes you may get a little in one of them. If so just poke a paper towel in with a slim screwdriver to soak it up, and place the boot back on.

I will clean it about three times a year, no particular schedule. After the initial cleaning, it is very easy and fast to clean.

-George

[Poobah]

My engine room stays pretty clean if I just dust it with an old paint brush and wipe it here and there while I'm wiping down the exterior after washing it once or twice a week. What makes my engine look cruddy is the fact that the silver colored coating is blistering off the cam covers and intake manifold. Does anybody have an easy fix for this?

Also growe3, where did you get that cool looking red ignition module?

[JIMDTS]

I never let my eng compartmant get that dirty when I gets a little dirty I use car soap and a garden hose and try to do it when the eng. is cold.I just use a small rag usually a old wash rag scrub the area that are dirty rise it off with the garden hose I'm just careful that I don't soak the areas that can mess things up like soaking the distributor etc.. I just stay away from those areas I have friends who go to the quarter car washes and just spray the eng comp. and away they go with no problems.. Heck I have washed some engines and the distributor was soaked no start but i had a air compressor so I could just pop the cap and blow it out but at home no compressor so I'm careful..not to saok everything Heck I did one car I had it started fine the dit. cap was damp ran the car a couple blocks which made it even worse do to condensation under the cap now no start so when i start it up I'll run them for awhile usually taking them for ride for 1/2 hr just to dry everything up

Cheers

Jim