steam clean

anyone ever heard of steam cleaning your engine? kinda sounds weird but i was talking to my friend a while back and he said he was going to take his mx-6 in and get the engine steam cleaned because its pretty shitty and he wants to make it into a project car, so the engine is really greasy and dirty. he said it only costs like $20??? ive heard of steam cleaning the mfukin carpet, but the engine?

ya it works great, just be sure to cover electrical connections

or buy some degreaser for $5, take it to a car wash where you can wash you car yourself, spray the degreaser where you want cleanliness, and pressure wash off. the only shitty thing is that you have to be REALLY careful cause if you do it wrong, your engine won't start very well if at all.. don't go over any electrical parts.. basically you can spray parts of the engine, the walls of the engine bay, the hood.. and thats about it.. its also good to use an air hose to spray out the moisture right after. but that may not be as accessible to you.. just a suggestion

but if i take it to have it done, they should cover the electrical stuff right?

if you take it to be done they'll know how to do it properly.. i did engine shampoos all the time at work and after a while i knew which parts shouldn't be shampooed and which should.. so the people who do it for you will know what can be cleaned. the shampoos are great though.. keeps the engine bay clean of anything that could corrode wires, tubing, the body or the engine itself.. they won't cover the electrical stuff though, they'll be good enough at it to avoid spraying it all

Where would you get this sort of thing done? Detailing shops? Body shops?

any car dealership, but i'd stick to the same make as your car (go to a nissan dealership).. pretty much any garage with a pressure washer can do it cause they obviously all have degreaser but its whether or not they know how to do it properly.. and detailing shops do them as well but sometimes they have employees who work there just to make some cash.. its not THAT big of a deal if you get some parts wet but find somewhere with guys who will do their best to get the right parts.. as for body shops, probably not but you never know..

yea a friend of mine got it done at a local toyota dealership. Just ask around.. it's not hard to find...

results? eh... i admit the engine bay got cleaner but it's nothing like the *new* look. Of course, it really depends on who's doing the work for you....

and it depends on what kind of shape your bay is in!

what are all of the parts to you need to cover, because i have a pressure washer.

ummmmmm.. well put it this way. wash the valve cover, all the walls in the bay, hood, any plastic and if you can the outside of the engine block. keep control of your pressure washer and aim it so the backspray doesn't hit any of the electrical parts. and if you have an aftermarket intake with a visible filter, DON'T GET THAT WET. if you do then i would highly reccommend letting it sit in the sun for an hour to dry off