Best way for engine bay clean up

[1twistdtalon]

Well, In short time I have to pull my motor for a rebuild.

So... I figured this would be a good time to do some clean up under the hood. I just am not sure what to do to make it have that clean look.. I do not want to get rid of the cruise control, Or re locate the battery to the trunk. What other things can be done to mke it look less cluttered?

I already plan on removing the ABS, Also I have no emissions. Any pictures or ideas are welcome.

 

[cookmeup272]

Wire tuck

 

[1twistdtalon]

Does wire length matter on our systems? I know with some electronics length of wire effects the impedance and performance of some sensors and things, Can you extend the wire lengths of say injectors, tps and cam sensors without any effects on the performance of the sensors?

 

[Calan]

You can see what I did starting on part 2 of my build blog. It might give you some ideas.

The wiring isn't sensitive to length, at least not that I've found. You do need to be careful of shielding though, such as with the O2 sensor wire, and take care with the routing to not get into moving parts or heat. And if you cut and resplice anything, allow plenty of length for final postioning and try to use the same wire colors...it will make it easier on you or whoever else that may need to get back into the harness in the future.

 

[1twistdtalon]

Nice work calan, Do you have your engine back in yet?
I will have plenty of time to do some clean up as i wait for my block and head work to get done.

 

[motozachl]

In general just removing and tucking items, relocate alternator, shorten throttle cable, remove a/c components and fuse box, remove ps, remove windshield wiper fluid reservoir and lines, removing random brakets and rerouting lines...you can also remove the battery stand so that it will sit about 7"s lower and appear to be a little more hidden. Also ss lines clean up a bit

 

[Calan]

Nice work calan, Do you have your engine back in yet?

TYVM!

Yep. There's actually 20 parts to that blog, with lots of pictures of how things ended up. There's also information (somewhere in there ) about cleaning up the wiring mess around the battery, rerouting the TPS and CAS, etc.

The rear suspension is out right now, getting a full rebuild as well as a brake upgrade all the way around, but it was up and running a few months before I put it back up on stands for this current round of rebuilding/restoring.

9!'clipseDOHC just posted an article on rerouting the harness that may help you. Also, check out Eric's build blog (turbosax2). Him and his brother have done the cleanest DSM rebuild that I know of. It's 2G, but lots of good information in it.

 

[1twistdtalon]

In general just removing and tucking items, relocate alternator, shorten throttle cable, remove a/c components and fuse box, remove ps, remove windshield wiper fluid reservoir and lines, removing random brakets and rerouting lines...you can also remove the battery stand so that it will sit about 7"s lower and appear to be a little more hidden. Also ss lines clean up a bit

Man do i love a cleaned up engine bay on a dsm. That looks great good work.

Great information. There are so many options and directions a guy can pick to clean up. I like what I am seeing. Looks pretty easy just time consuming. I want to keep the AC and all the things that are nice for a DD car. I drive it 60 miles round trip (When) its running that is

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

9!'clipseDOHC just posted an article on rerouting the harness that may help you. Also, check out Eric's build blog (turbosax2). Him and his brother have done the cleanest DSM rebuild that I know of. It's 2G, but lots of good information in it.

Thanks for referring my Tech Article! I was just reading this thread and was about to post the link when I saw that you beat me to it.

1twistdtalon, rerouting the wires should make a very noticeable visual improvement on your engine bay.

 

[Calan]

Justin, it takes a LOT of time to do it right, but IMHO it's well worth it. Rerouting the wiring helps a lot, but it won't make much difference if everything else still looks nasty. And vice versa...a bay can also be incredibly clean even without a harness reroute.

It's all in the details. The thing to remember is that it only takes one or two dirty items to draw attention away from an otherwise pristine look.

 

[1twistdtalon]

Thanks for all the input, I am looking forward to getting started and seeing the outcome.. I have to get the motor out first, I am not looking forward to pulling the motor especially since my car was just re painted about a month ago. and it has been 10 years since i pulled a engine out of a DSM and the tools i have now are limited at home.

I have also heard of people removing the coolant lines to there TB and to there turbo. I am not convinced on pulling the lines to the turbo but i cant see much reason to leave the ones for the going to the TB?

 

[Calan]

I have also heard of people removing the coolant lines to there TB and to there turbo. I am not convinced on pulling the lines to the turbo but i cant see much reason to leave the ones for the going to the TB?

Yeah... I just left the FIAV lines, since it can get cold here sometimes. Besides, they aren't really that visible anyway. And I see no need to tempt fate by pulling the turbo lines.

BTW - buy one of those scrubber brushes with the interchangable heads (Wal-Mart) and LOTS of Simple Green and paper towels. (I think I now own stock in Simple Green...if not, I should).

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[1twistdtalon]

I ordered Two 5 gallon buckets of simple green.. That should be a good start At the place i work they have a steam room so I'm thinking i will pull the motor and all of the thing off of the firewall, put the car on a trailer and take it to the shop and soak it down with simple green and steam it off. I need to pain it black to match the car as of now it is maroon, and looks kinds funny haha..

 

[jazzfoxx123]

Thanks calan that really helped (rerouting the wire harness) cant wait to make my engine nice and CLEAN!!!

 

[Chiefsublime]

Anyone do an engine bay clean up/tuck and not delete, but relocate ABS 1g awd? I live in Minnesota where it snows 6 months out of the year. So it's very nice if not almost necessary to have here.