ok my truck is 10 years old and i want to clean the engine bay..how do you clean it?? do you have it professional steam cleaned? or do you just take a cleaning clothe and clean everything. The thing im scared of is loosening parts and tubes .

ADVICE ??

Well what I do is buy some Gunk engine degreaser. Pull the car out in the street. You will want to have let the engine cool before doing this. Spray the engine thoroughly. Be careful not to get it on painted surfaces, but if it does it is aright as long as you don't let it sit too long. Let it soak for about 10 min or so then wash the engine and the front of the car well. That will clean you engine VERY good.

hum...sounds easy enough..ill have to pick some of that up. Where do you get yours? AutoZone?

Yeah, AutoZone should have it.

That doesnt sound safe to me.
I had a friend who tried this and his car engine seized up.
I'm not saying i'm right, im saying i'd would talk to a mechanic first
Xv7vX

Been using the Gunk for years with no problems. I do try to cover anything I think moisture could harm. Alternator, air filter, that type of thing. Just use some aluminum foil. Don't spray your hose directly on electrical devices or connectors either. The only drawback I have found with the Gunk, is the odor. It definitely smells like a solvent. The odor does go away, though.

Charles

The way I wash under my bonnet.

I lift the hood when i'm washing the car and spray it with water, and brush it down with the washing liquid. Then of course rinse it off.

I then give it about 5-10 minutes to dry, then I spray it with CRC 5.56 (i think its pretty close to wd40). That helps displace the moisture, and gets rid of the grease. Then for the electrical parts I spray it with CRC 2.26 (which is some electric spray), I put this everywhere and it helps keep the conductivity.

After that it looks shiny and new

sarujin

Originally posted by sarujin

I lift the hood when i'm washing the car and spray it with water, and brush it down with the washing liquid. Then of course rinse it off.
could that damage the engine in any way?

Why would spraying and washing your engine bay do any damage?

When its raining your engine bay gets soaking wet.

sarujin

I mean anything electrical :o

My point was everything under your bonnet, including the electrics get wet anyway whenever there is bad weather. So what harm is a hose going to do?


sarujin

I've sprayed my engine down several times w/o any problems. Once I got the alternator too wet and it needed replacing. I've heard from others that you should not get water on the throttle position sensor or it'll need replacing too. Of course, cover your distributor.

You should first wet down the entire front of the vehicle to protect the paint and keep it wet. Then you should use baggies to cover the vital electrical parts, overwetting WILL cause problems in most cars. A little extra time can save you a lot of money. Use a biodegradable cleaner like Castrol's degreaser/cleaner or full strenght Simple Green. DO NOT USE SOLVENTS. They are flammable, and don't use WD 40. Yes, it disipates the water, but it will also attack all your rubber belts and hoses. It is better if the engine is warm, not hot, and let the cleaner dwell for a few minutes. You can use a narrow brush to aggitate the dirtier areas. Rinse off the cleaner from the engine and anything that splashed on the paint. Blow off any excess water and let it dry. Once dry use a "water based" dressing and let the engine run until it is baked on.