My entire engine compartment is extremely dirty and I'd like to clean it up some. What is the best way to get all of the dust and gunk off of the engine and other components under the hood? Will it mess anything up to just take it to a car wash and give it a good high pressure spray??

I don't want it spotless...so scrubbing it with a toothbrush is out of the question. I would like to clean it up though and make it look nice again. What's the best way to do that??

 

Steam clean.

~Rob

 

Get a good degreaser, soak the engine well with water, then throughly cover the engine in the degresaer, let it sit for about 5 minutes then spray it off. Keep doing this until u get it as cleab as you want it. This is how I do it when cleaning the engine s of tractor trailers.

 

Spray it down with Heavy Duty Orange cleaner or Simple Green, let it set for about 15 min, rinse it with a water hose. Car wash will remove the grease/oil buildup, but be careful where you spray the high pressure.

 

i just give mine a high pressure spray. Do not spray very much around the air filter ( if you have an open filter), or the area where the fuel filter is.

 

Engine degreaser, and rinse. But be carefull around electrical areas. Don't want any kinds of shorts.

 

I use Superclean on mine. It is a degreaser that comes in a purple container. It works really well. When you are done give it a coat of Trim Shine by Stoner. That will make it showroom clean and shine.

 

Castrol Superclean does really well, but tends to dry out rubber and fade plastic if left on too long...Be sure to treat any rubber or plastic with armorall afterwards....

 

Aerosol can of GUNK degreaser on cold engine's heavy deposits before you leave the house...
Drive to closeby carwash if possible, let the manifold cool down and spray more GUNK on the rest of the engine. Vacuum inside of cab while letting Gunk soak in some more... Proceed to blast away underhood with HP soap/water.
Watch out for the engine compartment heat insulation, brakefluid reservoir, alternator, and computer's wiring with that high pressure water jet.

I find that after you get it home and it dries out, spray some of that "tire shine" protectant all over the engine and hoses.. Helps keep the corrosion down on all the metal fittings etc. Looks nice & shiny!
Watch out for the serpentine belt with that stuff, or it'll make your Cummins "chirp" disappear for a few days...

Keith

 

I wash my engine almost everytime I wash the truck. I use simple green on it and a rag. I use to detail cars and never had a problem spraying down the engine bay. Just keep it off of the air filter if yours is open like mine and most of the electrical wiring nowadays is pretty tight with o-rings and such.

 

Don't forgrt to blow the radiator from inside to out.
Important in high pollen areas.

 

I pull out the high pressure washer every weekend and wash the truck... I wash the exterior, under the truck, and under the hood. I've never had a problem with washing the engine. But if you pressure wash it every weekend you'll keep it nice in clean! I think Simple Green is the best for degreasing a engine... IMHO

It nice when it is clean because when it does leak a little oil it easy to find!

 

Hoss,
Are you secretly preping your engine compartment to allow the cement filling to hold??? Let me quess your wanting to quite down the rattle so your going to add that new sound isolating cement??? You devil, tell us what your really trying to do...

The castrol stuff works great, or I use to use "painted wheel cleaner" but make sure you don't do it on a warm engine or leave it on very long. Then (like said above) spray it down with some of that tire foam and it will look ril purdy for a little while...

 

Hoss you have heard the rest now go to your local motorcycle shop and pick up a product called S-100 motorcycle cleaner.

It is positively the best degreaser, cleaner on the market bar none. It will not harm any of your rubber, plastic or aluminum, and it even removes red clay mud and 20yr old road grime.

Rick

 

Hoss,
You might try contacting one of these guys... I bet thier engines are very clean...