DETAIL: Engine Bay cleaning

[iceman]

Is there a list of what to cover and area to be careful around? while pw the engine. I have been searching for awile and cant find anything.
Thanks
Ice

[traintech86]

from what i hear you def want to RM the battery and cover everything electrical with plastic and tape. i am sure there is more tho.

[UglyMR2]

I have pressured washed more motors than I can count and I have never had one single issue when doing so. All I do is cover the air filter if its an open element and that's about it. With EFI cars these days all the connections are secure enough to keep water out so you really don't have to cover anything up. I usually spray a degreaser over everything and go to work. I keep the pressure washer back at least a foot from the motor itself at 1600psi.

[muffinman]

cover the dist. and ignitor and don't wet things more then you need too.

[mr.ac]

dont use the full power of the pressure washer. Use some degresser first. then gently wash your engine.

[mr.asian.m2]

don't forget to cover the starter too....

[Sang]

I've been washing my engine about once a month for the last 4 years or so, and twice a month when they were doing construction on the road I lived and ended up living off a dirt road for a little over a year...

I cover the filter with a plastic shopping bag. I've had my share of alternator problems, so I cover top with aluminum foil (with battery disconnected) so water will drip around it. Whether this part is actually necessary or not, I don't know nor do I care, that's just how I do it.

I spray the engine with citrus engine brite (smells like crap but works well), let it sit then scrub any exceptionally dirty areas. Then rinse. I repeat the process until I'm happy.

[te51levin]

Keep water out of the spark plug wells. When you're done cleaning, make sure there is no water left in there. Vacuum it out with a wet/dry shop vac or blow it out with compressed air if there is any water inside.

Wear eye protection and use common sense. Getting greasy, acidic wash water in your eye is not fun.

[GR8MR2]

One more tip. All the gunk you remove from your engine will wind up staining your driveway. Put down a tarp to collect the sludge if this matters to you.

I also use a low power PW (only 600psi) to clean the engine compartment. I use my compressor to blow out all the water paying special attention to the plug wells. I use plastic bags to cover electrical components. I wash the engine when it is slightly warm to aid in drying. I use a degreaser and a brush to dislodge stubborn dirt. I do cover the alternator, BTW as I don't want any degreaser on it to shorten it's already short life.

After cleaning, I use CD/2 engine detailer, an acrylic based spray-on product, that dries hard. I avoid oily dressings as they just attract and hold onto to dirt and make the engine get dirty faster.

Not the greatest shot but this is the engine bay on my 91 NA.

[byza213]

Originally Posted by te51levin

Keep water out of the spark plug wells. When you're done cleaning, make sure there is no water left in there. Vacuum it out with a wet/dry shop vac or blow it out with compressed air if there is any water inside.

Wear eye protection and use common sense. Getting greasy, acidic wash water in your eye is not fun.

yea this happened to me a few weeks back lesson learnt my car was missing etc i was like ah ohh what now! but was the water in the spark plugs

[LeePeyton]

I hear good things about super clean. I'll have to try the acrylic spray when I drop the shiny new motor back in.

[ShackC]

i like the purple power i use it whole in a spray bottle and try not to get anything on the exterior paint.

[TomsMR2]

i use engine degreaser. pop engine lid, spray crap everywhere, hose down. shut lid, drive off. attempt to not spray on harnesses.

the ~200 some odd degree engine bay will evaporate any and all water you sprayed in there. the really big thing is to rinse off ALL the degreaser, soap, cleaner or whatever. that can cause damage and problems.

its an old car. you really need to make sure what you're using isnt drying out your harness (ive had my second harness failure from heat drying out the plastic) and hoses.

a clean engine makes service MUCH nicer though. grimy greasy road gunk are the worst.

[patholiar]

Will the engine degreaser work on the grimy hoses too? Or will I need to use a separate product that isnt as strong?

Also, the spray on product thats dries hard...I can spray that on everything?

Pat

[knightbird123]

what parts of the engine should I cover with a plastic bag when spraying the MR2 engine bay with the hose?

[muffinman]

Originally Posted by knightbird123

what parts of the engine should I cover with a plastic bag when spraying the MR2 engine bay with the hose?

ignitor and distributor for sure but as mentioned you can also cover the alt. just don't wet any thing more than needed. also make sure there is no water left over in the spark plug valley or the car will run like crap.

[knightbird123]

I cleaned my engine bay, not impressed at all. Looks exactly the same. Engine Brite didnt do much and I even used Wesleys. The grime is so stuck on that these chemicals did nothing

[Archidamus-R]

I've always owned "pre-owned vehicles," so they usually have a couple dozen thousand miles worth of road **** on their engines, since most people never wash them. When I do a 6 swap, I'll clean the crap out of it before it goes in. Until then, I just clean as much as I can before I get frustrated and go drive. It'll come off. Eventually.

[knightbird123]

what are some good products to clean the engine bay with and also how long should I let the chemicals sit for before starting up the car and rinsing it down?

[4agze]

you guys should look into steam cleaning. personally, i know nothing about it, but the after affect looks like a brand new engine bay. plus i assume its more or less the same preparation and directions as power washing