Under engine cleaning
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,066
Likes: 9,835
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
The method I use for cleaning engine bays has worked well for many cars I've owned:
1. Towel off around the engine bay to prevent overspray.
2. Wrap electronics in saran wrap.
3. Mix 50/50 Water and Simple Green in a spray bottle.
4. Spray down the engine bay and let it sit for a bit to break up the grime.
5. Use a pipe-cleaner style brush to get into the hard to reach places. Majority of the time, I do not have to brush down anything else cause the dilluted simple green mix does a great job on its own.
6. Afterwards, use a garden hose with a soft spray to rinse off the cleaner. Repeat previous steps if not completely clean. Can also use a brush if needed. Tooth brushes work good too.
7. Once it is all rinsed off. I let it dry in the sun.
8. After it is dry, I spray some WD40 on some blue shop towels and wipe over rubber hoses other plastics. Can use engine dressup as well. I don't directly spray that stuff on there though.
1. Towel off around the engine bay to prevent overspray.
2. Wrap electronics in saran wrap.
3. Mix 50/50 Water and Simple Green in a spray bottle.
4. Spray down the engine bay and let it sit for a bit to break up the grime.
5. Use a pipe-cleaner style brush to get into the hard to reach places. Majority of the time, I do not have to brush down anything else cause the dilluted simple green mix does a great job on its own.
6. Afterwards, use a garden hose with a soft spray to rinse off the cleaner. Repeat previous steps if not completely clean. Can also use a brush if needed. Tooth brushes work good too.
7. Once it is all rinsed off. I let it dry in the sun.
8. After it is dry, I spray some WD40 on some blue shop towels and wipe over rubber hoses other plastics. Can use engine dressup as well. I don't directly spray that stuff on there though.
First two aren't necessary. I wash the car after I do the engine so need to worry about the overspray and the electronics are sealed as long as you don't hit them with high pressure water.
3. Mix 50/50 Water and Simple Green in a spray bottle.
4. Spray down the engine bay and let it sit for a bit to break up the grime.
5. Use a pipe-cleaner style brush to get into the hard to reach places. Majority of the time, I do not have to brush down anything else cause the dilluted simple green mix does a great job on its own.
I find the only one I have to use brushes on is the Tahoe as it gets more dirt than the other two.
6. Afterwards, use a garden hose with a soft spray to rinse off the cleaner. Repeat previous steps if not completely clean. Can also use a brush if needed. Tooth brushes work good too.
7. Once it is all rinsed off. I close the hood and start the engine and let it idle until the water boils off all the underhood surfaces. Takes about 20 minutes. While that is going on I wash the car. Once I have the car washed I turn off the engine and towel off the car and wipe down any stray water under the hood. If I want the hoses to shine I use some ArmorAll on a rag to wipe them down.
I have been cleaning the engines on three vehicles once a year for 20 years with this procedure and have never had any electrical issues. A long time ago I used a high pressure washer on my 86 and screwed up the connector for the TPS so stopped using pressure washers.
Bill
