I use the Simple Green concentrate and then lessen the strength by adjusting the amount of concentrate and water that I put in the spray bottle. Regarding the 303, I typically had had luck only getting these on the internet, but found out recently that Ace Hardware carries this in the bottle.

 

I would like to do a hard cleaning of my engine bay as well, however, my C5 has 110K on the dial! Under the plastic fuel rail covers and over the intake manifold a good bit of dirt has accumulated and it looks like it would take a ton of rags to wipe all of that off. It's not terrible; but a bit more than you'd like to wipe off with rags & towels. I've never taken a hose to my engine bay, and am concerned about spraying around with the fuel rail covers off, would this cause damage or is it relatively safe? Please advise, thanks.

Joe

 

Check this out Joe.

All the pics in the post are links to bigger pics if you want a closer look at the details.

Clean your engine

 

Gosh--maybe I've just been lucky... I've cleaned all of my car's engine bays using Simple Green & a hose.... And I mean for the last 20 or so years! Never had a problem...

I DO run the engine after the hose-off to evaporate unseen water...

I've always enjoyed clean engines--they seem to run better!

 

Good Thread ! Lots of good tips here !

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but at least I searched before asking the question.

My 99 engine bay looks as if it hasn't seen the light of day before I got it. I think it is possible I have 95K miles worth of grease, oil, dirt, and grime <-caked on. Not to mention small pebbles and sand in the recess of the suspension and on the frame and god knows where else. To top it off it had a leaking valve cover gasket that I replaced, but you can picture the mess it left behind. So... here is my question:

I know patience, time and elbow grease are going to be my 3 main tools. I have read that Simple Green and a wheel cleaning product called P21S will do a top job on the engine. But before I get there... I was thinking of ordering one of the spray nozzles that have a cleaner siphon to use with 60 PSI compressed air and try to blast away some of the grime and rocks and beach and landfill residue... and whatever the hell else is attached to and growing on my engine.

So other than the top of the block under the intake manifold, the alternator, fuse box and the Battery compartment...what do I need to take extreme care in covering and protecting from wet *******? I will disconnect the battery and take it completely out. Energized circuits don't like wet things. I'll be sponge bathing the white acid residue off the battery tray and doing my best to dry clean that area.

In my younger days detailing cars at the Chevrolet dealership, we would pop the hood, place a rag over the alternator, battery, and computer and then commence to spraying engine cleaner all over the engine, us, the walls, the mechanic that walked by, etc. Then spray water like we were putting out a fire. (You know in hind sight... I bet we caused a lot of headaches in the used car service department) Now the older and hopefully wiser me sees that this is probably not the best approach.

Please advise.

 

Nevermind, just found an even older thread that steps you through it.

 

Do you guys spray water everywhere? Battery area? If i get water on intake filter(aftermarket) is it a problem?

 

With all the electrical anomalies the C5 has, I would not hose down the engine. But that is your choice. Takes a little more 'elbow work' to clean the engine but worth it. JMHO. Rather then using Simply Green, I use Dawn dish water soap. Great stuff.