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Whats the consensus on drive through car washes?
I sometimes use them before washing my car (not vette) then go home to wash and detail.
I never go through auto car wash (ones with the twirling brushes or pads) with any of my cars. I will and do use self serve car washed with wands to wash the car, using my cleaning mites and terrycloth towels in the winter when my outside hose bib is off. It can take quite a few quarters but works well.
Anyway. I've found that, at least for me, the best way to get an engine clean is with a bucket of good old fashioned hot water, dish liquid and elbow grease. Lightly hit the aluminum parts with some 0000 steel wool.
As I've taken the engine apart here and there to replace various parts I've gradually cleaned mine up pretty darned good a little bit at a time, focusing on whatever area I was replacing parts in at the time while the area was accessible. Nothing showroom quality or anything. Just clean.
That area down and under/around the water pump is one area to definitely take the time to clean up if you ever have to replace the pump. You can pretty much clean up the entire front of the engine from top to bottom there when that pump is off.
The best part about a clean engine is not getting yourself dirty and oily whenever you work on it. afterward. Keeps your tools from getting filthy, too, so very little tool cleanup, if any, is needed afterward.
I feel for you guys with the optisparks, though. I've never read one good thing about them on here. Nothing but problems. Glad I don't have one.
Anyway. I've found that, at least for me, the best way to get an engine clean is with a bucket of good old fashioned hot water, dish liquid and elbow grease. Lightly hit the aluminum parts with some 0000 steel wool.
As I've taken the engine apart here and there to replace various parts I've gradually cleaned mine up pretty darned good a little bit at a time, focusing on whatever area I was replacing parts in at the time while the area was accessible. Nothing showroom quality or anything. Just clean.
That area down and under/around the water pump is one area to definitely take the time to clean up if you ever have to replace the pump. You can pretty much clean up the entire front of the engine from top to bottom there when that pump is off.
The best part about a clean engine is not getting yourself dirty and oily whenever you work on it. afterward. Keeps your tools from getting filthy, too, so very little tool cleanup, if any, is needed afterward.
I feel for you guys with the optisparks, though. I've never read one good thing about them on here. Nothing but problems. Glad I don't have one.
A '90 coupe with just the base stock L98. Nothing to write home about, especially when compared to that sweet looking LT5 engine that Rush91 posted up, but to GM's credit, it actually does look like an engine is, in my view, supposed to look. They're easy to keep clean once the worst of the years of grime is cleaned up first.
A lot of engines these days, you pop the hood and all you see is plastic. I topped some lady's coolant off in the parking lot of Auto Zone a while back because when I walked by she was standing there scratching her head without the slightest clue what to do and since everybody else leaving the store just kept walking by. I looked at it and pretty much everything was covered in plastic. I forget what kind of car it was. It wasn't American, though.
I hand clean and also blast with compressed air. Even then I dont really care how spotless the engine looks. This car is a driver, not a show car. But I do care about it and care for it.
On my 95 I went through the front suspension with simple green degreaser. Spray it everywhere and let it sit a few minutes. Then get an old dish scrubber brush and use it to scrub everything in there, followed by a gentle rinse with the hose.
I applied this same process to the engine. Use plastic walmart bags to cover the alternator, the ecu, as much of the optispark as I can, and then hose the sides and top of motor with degreaser, and hand towel to do any scrubbing. And then gentle water to slowly rinse the degreaser, but I am aiming away from the front of the engine the whole time so the water runoff is going to the back of the car. The plastic bags around the opti are a failsafe for any moisture blowing around as I'm working. I also degreased the oil pan and underside of motor and sprayed water to rinse that as well. couple thousand miles later and the engine still runs great. The important thing is to take your time and just keep the hose away from the front side of the engine.
On my 95 I went through the front suspension with simple green degreaser. Spray it everywhere and let it sit a few minutes. Then get an old dish scrubber brush and use it to scrub everything in there, followed by a gentle rinse with the hose.
I applied this same process to the engine. Use plastic walmart bags to cover the alternator, the ecu, as much of the optispark as I can, and then hose the sides and top of motor with degreaser, and hand towel to do any scrubbing. And then gentle water to slowly rinse the degreaser, but I am aiming away from the front of the engine the whole time so the water runoff is going to the back of the car. The plastic bags around the opti are a failsafe for any moisture blowing around as I'm working. I also degreased the oil pan and underside of motor and sprayed water to rinse that as well. couple thousand miles later and the engine still runs great. The important thing is to take your time and just keep the hose away from the front side of the engine.
looks amazing. I know ill spend hours on my 95 this summer. I just like clean and shiny in and out.
looks amazing. I know ill spend hours on my 95 this summer. I just like clean and shiny in and out.
Yeah buy the gallon of concentrated simple green and a spray bottle and that's your best friend on cleaning suspension and engine stuff. I'm not chasing show car quality, but I do like stuff clean. Not wasting time covering everything in tire shine like some people. Just clean.
Yeah buy the gallon of concentrated simple green and a spray bottle and that's your best friend on cleaning suspension and engine stuff. I'm not chasing show car quality, but I do like stuff clean. Not wasting time covering everything in tire shine like some people. Just clean.
agreed. But I do dress rubber just to prolong its life and keep it from cracking. Same goes for weather striping .
I've never really found it to be all that great of a cleaner, but it seems to be the go-to cleaner referenced frequently around the board.
For my money, Ajax dish liquid, hot water and good old fashioned elbow grease gets it done nice and good.
Oh...and the radio...turn the radio on while doing it.
Regardless of how one goes about it, pretty much all of the engines I've seen posted on here, even just pictures illustrating a mechanical problem when a question is presented on how to resolve, the engines tend to appear clean and very well kept.
You see a few dirty/unkept ones here and there, but generally very few.
I've been thinking about giving all of my hoses and vacuum lines the Hose Candy treatment. Maybe even my plug wires, too. But I dunno. It's a bit spendy for what it is.
