Engine Degreaser, What to cover up? Options

[JoKeRkId613]

My engine area is VERY dirty. There's a lot of dust and grease all over the place and I found a spray can of degreaser in the storage room of my house. The instructions say to spray everything and then turn the car on and leave it on for 10 minutes. It then says to turn it off and spray the whole thing with water to get the stuff off. How effective is the degreasing thing? Will I see a huge difference? My main concern is spraying the whole thing... I don't think I should spray the whole engine compartment. Some parts must be covered up before I spray the thing... What parts must I cover up that shouldn't get sprayed with degreaser and/or water???

ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WOULD BE APPRECIATED :-)

[cmorty]

IMO the best engine degreaser that anyone can use on any engine without damaging the engine bay paint, is 'Simple Green'. Just make sure that your engine is not too hot. Spray as needed...let it set-in for about 5-10 min., and just rinse. Be sure to towel dry all the wet areas, including electrical.

Of course if you're really concerned about all the electrical parts of the bay, you can wrap each part with Glad sanwich bags and secure them with twist ties or masking tape.

Also keep in mind that most car engines are designed with the elements in mind (meaning, that if they get wet....they'll be O.K. , but not flooded or drenched).

And also, if you're really concerned about the engine not running properly after rinsing, you could always turn the engine on before you start to rinse.

I've done this to all my rides and had no problems whatsoever.

I hope that this helps you with your engine cleaning.

[cmorty]

Also... when doing the detailing of the bay after the rinse and drying, be sure to use a silicone based protectant (i.e. :Aromor All Tire shine, 2001, Meguires, ect...) on your hoses and electrical covers. This will not only water proof the parts, but will also prolong the life of the hoses.

But above all....stay away from ' CD-2 ' enginge detailer!! It does nothing more than act like a MAJOR dust and grime magnet!!! I've tried this product twice on numerous locations (Jax,FL. & now Dirty,Dusty Vegas), with lousy results.

[JoKeRkId613]

Cool, so Simple Green it is! Thanks. One more question... what electrical parts should I cover up? For example, I don't think I'm supposed to wet the alternator, right? Any other engine degreaser suggestions?

[cmorty]

It's not normally sugested to get the alt. wet, but you can( as long as you dry it up properly, and not let the water sit).

Just cover the fuse box, alt., and distrib. You should'nt have to worry about the battery and it's terminals, or the plug wires and plug boots (as long as the boots are snapped in all the way, nice and tight)

Now keep in mind....when rinsing your bay, you DON'T want to over endulge on the spraying. I.E. : Firehose effect with water pressure. Your basic gardenhose pressure is all you need.

I hope this helps.

[cmorty]

Almost forgot....it's also good to to always use some belt dressing on your belts, after cleaning the bay.

[JoKeRkId613]

belt dressing? what's that? how do i apply it?

[94GT]

Some shop detailed my wife's car, and they screwed up the electrical big time! The error codes wouldn't go away for several weeks, and I got tired of having them reset at the parts store so I bought my own code reader. I think it's finally back to normal. I watched those jokers and they sprayed everything with water, and some of the harness connectors got wet (specifically the O2 sensors). Good luck!

[Jdog1385]

yes simple green is good and so is gunk. not sure if anybody said it but definitely cover your alternator.

[Jdog1385]

you'll get some smoking from the engine bay the first time you start it. the chemicals leave a resin film on the parts but it burns off (thats the smoke)

when i did it i let the car run for about an hour to let all the chemicals burn off.

This post has been edited by Jdog1385: Mar 30, 2005 - 10:44 PM

[cmorty]

Some shop detailed my wife's car, and they screwed up the electrical big time! The error codes wouldn't go away for several weeks, and I got tired of having them reset at the parts store so I bought my own code reader. I think it's finally back to normal. I watched those jokers and they sprayed everything with water, and some of the harness connectors got wet (specifically the O2 sensors). Good luck!

What a bunch of morons!!! They must of really soaked the living crap outta your bay in order to do that! This is why I sometimes suggest running your engine when rinsing....the heat from the engine will evaporate a majority of the excess water.

belt dressing? what's that? how do i apply it?

Belt dressing is a type of lubricant used to help condition the belts to the engine, as well as prevent them from dry rotting and cracking or possibly snapping. You can find it at any department store (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, whatever your fancy...) that has an automotive department, or just hit-up your local AutoZone, Advanced Autoparts, Napa, whatever floats your boat. The most popular name brands that make belt dressing : STP & Prestone.

How to apply it: turn your engine on, and spray the belts while they're in motion.

Hope this helps.

[94GT]

Believe it man, they actually HAD it running! The whole time I'm thinking "this doesn't look good..." A bunch of harness connectors are right on top next to the intake manifold, and after the check engine light came on, I started pulling them apart and finding tiny water droplets in them. I had to shoot them out with a can of pressurized air, and it took a lot of tries to finally get them all to the point where they wouldn't register error codes anymore. BTW, I think these OBDII readers are the coolest! A little expensive (more than the bent paperclip I use to check codes on my celica) but I like the standardized codes.

[cmorty]

Yep, those OBDII are awsome little machines. I used to deliver parts for AutoZone, and used to use them all the time.

The only thing is they only work on vehicles from 1985 and up. For the ones made from 1984 and below, you have to use other things. An OBDI might work, but you have to find all the little attatchments that go with it.

But the cool thing I like the most about the OBDII, is the ability to erase codes!

I know that this is illegal, but I did it a couple of times to help some friends pass inspection.

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

I use autozone brake cleaner on these types of things. It works really well, but you have to be careful were you spray it. Also make sure your engine is cooled off before you start or you could catch it on fire (most degreasers or flamable). Careful with were you spray water too, but everyone else has said that already.

[Hanyo]

what i generally do is take it to my local self server pressure washers. I let the engine run to normal operating temperatures. Turn off the engine and let it cool for 10-30 mins depending on how hot the engine is. Then I get some engine degreaser and apply it to the whole engine and anywhere that is dirty while avoiding anything that is has paint and electrical. (Simple green is good but its just isn't as strong as the engine degreasers you find at auto stores.) I let the degreaser sit for a couple minutes, and presure wash away avoiding anything electrical. Then I let the engine sit for another 30 mins and let the engines heat dry the water. After that I'm done.

did this several times and no problems yet.

[cmorty]

Yep that works just as well. I've detailed all of my ride's engines, with not one problem yet (knocks wood)!! Besides.....a cleaner engine bay is alot easier and better to work in.