4 cans of Engine Foamy Brite from the auto parts store. Spray it on, let it sit, then hose it off. Then soak everything in armor all. And let that sit. Brings all the black parts back to life. A lot of smoek will come out of the engine bay as you drive the car, but that is all the excess water and whatever burning off. Cover all your electrical components before spraying down though.

I hate Armor All! It makes dirt stick to EVERYTHING! Just my opinoin, but that's a good idea to make things black again... I just clean everything by hand! Old toothbrush and a cotton towel a little soap and water. (When they say it cuts grease they mean it!)

L8R

I took some Simple Green and used it on my car and it cleaned it right up. Just spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes then take a brush and scrub a few areas where there might be oil and then just spray it off. I just covered the battery and mas then after cleaning it I let it sit over night so the water could dry then started the car right up with no problems.

Sometimes, when I have nothing better to do, I clean the entire engine bay with a rag and Simple Green. Then after I'm done cleaning, I wipe Simoniz Ultra-Protectant all over everything...looks good, smells good..... Then after 1 week, its all dusty and I do it all over again....weee!

make sure the engine is nice and cool first... you do not want to crack the head.... i used degreaser and just soaked the whole engine with it... let sit for about 10 minutes and rinse everything off with water.... like DSMed said, cover your electrical components and i would recommend covering your intake too.

I'm planning to steam clean my engine. What are the things, other than the alternator, that should be covered up while im cleaning?

I don't think you want to get your distibuter wet. There is a much safer way to clean your engine. You can do like I did. Just go get a bottle of simple green degreaser and spray, scrub, and gentley rinse. Simple as that.

I read somewhere where a guy suggested to not take your car to the car wash and use degreaser on it, powerspraying it off. However, my engine is extremely dirty and has oil on it. I think it may have a leak somewhere but not sure where. Now it would take a lifetime to clean this thing with dishsoap and a brush, so I was wondering if it woudl cause a lot of problems for me to take it to the car wash and use degreaser to get the heavy caked on stuff off, then any other time I wanna clean it just use something less harsh. woudl this be ok? Also, any tips for cleaning my engine at the car wash?

dont get yur maf/filter, igniter/coils, wires (where it gos into the head)/plugs wet..... other than that most of it shoudl be fine. There may be something Im forgetting but degreaser and spray that sh!t!

just make sure you cover...or are careful around the alternator, ignitoin coils/wires and the air filter/mas...you'll be fine

wouldn't it be easier to just get a good spray nozzle for a hose (or even buy a power washer) and just do it the driveway? that way, it doesn't matter where the water goes, as long as he lets it sit for a good part of the day to dry out. am i right in this idea?

It's also important not to get the CAS (cam angle sensor) wet-- I've read that if it gets wet and fries, the only option is to replace it and they're not cheap. I have a 2G, though, so I'm not sure where it's located on your car (I think it's different on 1Gs).

dont forget the fuse dont know if people mentioned not to get it wet... But yeah cover the MAS/Filter

I wouldn't do the pressure washer thing because it's pressurized water and it can get into places in your engine where it wouldn't be a very good place to be. Just use the degresser and work til its done whether it takes you a hour, day, or week.

Originally posted by doug
It's also important not to get the CAS (cam angle sensor) wet-- I've read that if it gets wet and fries, the only option is to replace it and they're not cheap. I have a 2G, though, so I'm not sure where it's located on your car (I think it's different on 1Gs).

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I replaced my CAS. It took like 10 minutes... But then again, I have a 420a engine.

I've since read that you may can find used ones for around $50, but I understand that new ones are pricey.

Originally posted by doug
I have a 2G, though, so I'm not sure where it's located on your car (I think it's different on 1Gs).

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Same place on all the 4G63's

If I leave my car running when I hose it off at the car wash, as long as I'm careful and cover my air filter and a few other things, is it pretty safe?

That's extremely not a good idea. Never spray cold water (which it will be from the tap unless you live in a very hot area) onto a hot engine, especially while it's running, you multiply the chance of damaging, shorting, or cracking something.

I think the water is heated at one of our new car washes. Wish I still worked at the trucking company I was at, they had a steamer!

ok so i wanna clean up under my hood, make everything look shiny and new ya know. so when i pop my hood althougb its still stock it will look as nice as it could be. but what should i use to clean all the gunk under there? any suggestions would be awsome, thanks

i use engine degreaser and it works check this thread http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36039&highlight=pressure+wash

Cover your electrical stuff (fuse box, spark plug well, spark wires)and spray it with gunk foaming engine degreaser, let it sit for 2 mins and hose it down. Anything that doesn't get clean with that can be wiped with a towel, rag or paper towel, or if you're neurotic like me you can use a toothbrush to get in all the hard to reach places!

I cover my filter and electrical stuff and then I spray it with simple green and use a tire brush to clean it. Why spend money on the degreasers when simple green is cheaper and goes a long way.

Those who have seen my engine bay can vouch that it is really clean. Once you clean it, you need to maintain it. that is the key.

yea simple green is like acid, that stuff cleans everything, thanks