Engine Bay [Merged 7-7] cleanup clean up unclutter tidy neat

[Tsi_User]

Could get a bling fuse box cover, but it looks fine as is.

I think fine is an understatement, that's beautiful

 

[mini zilo]

Damn. I wish my bay looked like that. Trust me, you already HAVE the wow factor. I know the pictures are right there, but would you mind explaining some of the things you did to clean it up? Only things I can think of to clean it up more if you don't want cruise control/air conditioning you could get rid of some hoses/wires/cables, etc.

 

[eboy0]

Aluminum coolant can+ the bling bling fuse box cover... looks awesome either way though.

 

[Merkles]

Red Prothane motor mounts? Functional as well as going with the whole red theme.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

It's good as is.

But everyone is a critic including me, and here is what I would do if I was to be super duper anal.

I would put back black vacuum hoses/lines. The red ones makes it look overly done, some might even call it tacky.

Some red motor mounts and bling fuse cover. The red pipes, red car, and red magnecores, is enough red under the engine bay. And putting back the black lines/hoses balances everything out.

But just my opinion which really doesn't matter. Again it looks fine as is, but if it was my car thats what I would do.

 

[Zmann42087]

Samco radiator hose kit? Fuse box cover? Not much else to do.

Honestly, your engine bay already looks amazing! Its the little things that impress me most... like how your lower exhaust manifold heat shield and lift bracket are so clean! Mine are rusted and dirty.

 

[Locke]

Wow, thats pretty nice. I like that.

With the whole thing that clean, the few little things seem to stand out more. (to me, at least.) Things I noticed are:

• Clamp for hose on driver-side shock tower
• Various bolt heads (Headlamp, radiator mounts, etc)
• Hood prop

These things just seem dingy, compared with the rest of the bay.

 

[thekellbeast]

I would replace your coolant overflow lines and valve cover breather with black, but that's just me. I don't have any time to work on the appearance of my engine bay so I'm not really one to talk.

I also see that you have the RRE upper stress bar. Good man.

 

[VanIsleDSM]

well Locke already got a couple things I was going to mention...

I bought a bunch of stainless steel hardware, I've been slowely replacing every bolt with stainless under the hood and painting things along the way..

I don't have a pic right now.. I should take another underhood photo.. but for the prop rod I just took off the bracket, painted it, used stainless hardware to re-attach.. I then polished the rod and then painted just the ends to match the bracket, and clear coated the hole thing.. looks mint.. all the little things like that add up big.. take some aluminum polish to your power steering lines aswell.. anything under there that's aluminum and you can reach it.. polish it.

 

[Talesin]

Might go for a billet battery box replacement/cover. Also would recommend removing unneccessaries (A/C, power steering) to present a cleaner overall look.
Might look into replacement brake/clutch reservoir caps, as well.. or simply covers. Chrome/billet aluminum would go well with the replacement battery box, as well as your heatshield and other accents.
The red vacuum hoses look all right, but you might consider black zipties (or proper guides) to keep everything directed just right.

Consider getting your intake manifold powdercoated, or polished? And a replacement overflow bottle would top things off nicely.

 

[kmoore]

Wow guys thanks for all the help and compliments. I love the helpful criticism and thoughts so keep them coming. What is the first thing dirty thing that catches your eye when you look at it, besides what your already listed? I would love to polish pretty much everything I could get my hands on so keep the suggestions flowing. I already polished that RRE strut bar so, I am ready for more.

These are the things that stand out to me when I look at my engine bay and would like to change:

- The stupid green cruise control "cap" thing. I would love to take that off some how and polish it, but I just don't know how. I have looked at it and it looks like the cruise control cable is loctited between there.

- I would love to polish my power steering resevoir along with the bracket

- I need to get a polished fuse box cover, so I am with you on that. I would also polish that bracket also that is holding on the fuse box.

- I need to either hide the overflow bottle somewhere or replace it with a polished stainless steel one.

- Polish the tabs holding on the radiator. And also, somehow, the tabs for the headlights.

When I powdercoated my valve cover, I also took that bolts and painted them with some high heat paint, silver, and it made the over all look of the valve cover look a lot better. So, I know I should probably do that to all the small little bolts all over the engine bay. I also took off some of the brackets on the firewall and painted those also. Thanks for all the compliments and keep the ideas flowing.

 

[99gst_racer]

Emissions delete.
Cruise control delete.
A/C delete.
Battery relocation.


I like the "cleaned up" engine bays that only have what is necessary. Just a thought.

 

[housegsx]

Emissions delete.
Cruise control delete.
A/C delete.
Battery relocation.


I like the "cleaned up" engine bays that only have what is necessary. Just a thought.

Exactly! Plus a different overflow tank as already mentioned.

 

[SleeperG]

cruise control delete for sure.
definatly do something with that battery.
box it woudl look better, but relocating it would clean up and simplify the bay.
less is more.
polish that hood prop, or powercoat it.
get some metal polish and polish your a/c lines.

of course you coudl ditch the a/c and get rid of all those lines and hoses.
maybe some wrist bands over the master and slaves
less is more.

 

[mans1ay3r]

I was expecting to see an engine bay similiar to mine which is completely stock besides the intake. It looks great to me.. maybe some ornaments and chimes should dangle from the hood when you open it? But looks great! Nice work.

 

[endeffect0]

Dude what do you do to keep that engine bay so dang clean, thats insane. seriously what do you clean it with?

Heres what what i would do next...

Relocate battery
Oil catch can in location of battery
paint hood prop shiny back
metal rad overflow bottle
fuse box cover
paint clutch and brake reservoir caps
paint caps on thermostat and power steering reservoir
powder coat or paint the intake manifold and engine mount
remove cruise control
paint or polish mounts for clutch and brake reservoir

most of it has been said, but thats what the next step would be for me.
actually no it wouldn't, my next step would be to try and clean my own engine bay its filthy after sitting for 5 years, but thats what i think you should do.

 

[DSMunknown]

Glanced over everyone's post, didn't see this mentioned (but certainly hinted at) - hide as much as possible. Personally, I like an engine bay that only shows the necessities (mainly the engine). If I were determined enough, I would relocate every possible thing. I would also hide/rewire as much as possible.

On a side note, relocating and rewiring will allow you easier access to upkeep the cleanliness of the engine compartment.

 

[perley03]

Glanced over everyone's post, didn't see this mentioned (but certainly hinted at) - hide as much as possible. Personally, I like an engine bay that only shows the necessities (mainly the engine). If I were determined enough, I would relocate every possible thing. I would also hide/rewire as much as possible.

On a side note, relocating and rewiring will allow you easier access to upkeep the cleanliness of the engine compartment.

Good note Anthony, I can't stand a cluttered engine bay either. I totally agree with you, move/relocate as much as you can to get rid of all the wires/hoses running around. But to each his own.

I would replace alot of the red with black. When I first glanced at those pics, I instantly said too much red. But it is totally spotless, and looks really good anyway. Just work on clutter, even wrap as many wires/hoses as you can in spiral wrap, and try to get more black on the accessories.

 

[VanIsleDSM]

last night when I posted I meant to put up this pic but I forgot:

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...underneith where the tranny mount plate goes.

 

[S_Ranger]

Emissions delete.
Cruise control delete.
A/C delete.
Battery relocation.


I like the "cleaned up" engine bays that only have what is necessary. Just a thought.

+1

An uncluttered engine bay always gets my attention.

 

[kmoore]

Thanks guys for all the ideas. To answer questions about what I use to clean, I just use some Fantastic de-greaser (any walmart or walgreens, anywhere) and I spray it on a cloth (not directly on the parts because it will leave "spots" where you didn't wipe it up) and just go to town on all the metal pieces that were really dirty. I use a toothbrush for the tiny places. For the pipes I use a Quick Spray Wax detailer on the powder coated items. For the polished items I use Mothers aluminum polish (its pretty expensive for the small little bottle). And Armor All for the black items (radiator hoses, cam cover, and every other black piece). Just to give you an idea, whenever I'm bored and have some time to kill, I just go out there and clean up the engine bay. Anything I can get my hands on (tranny, block, etc.)

I would love to relocate my battery but for the work involved I don't know if it would be worth it. I would love to do it one day. But, I know that it would free things up a bit. Along with my cruise control box and actuator thing, I hate that thing, it gets in the way with a lot of things when working on my car.

From now on, I don't think there will be anymore red items installed in the bay because I think, right now, it is just the right amount. From now on, I am going to go with polished pieces (j pipe when I upgrade, and other things).

Is there anything that you think is unclean or dirty? See... I see this everyday so it starts to become like everyone elses, to me. I just want to go to one step above that and really WOW people and MYSELF.

 

[EuroGSTSpyder]

koyo or similar alu radiator, would accomplish the rest alu / stainless inside that bay just great + its a performance mod as well

 

[Zmann42087]

I would love to relocate my battery but for the work involved I don't know if it would be worth it. I would love to do it one day. But, I know that it would free things up a bit.

If you don't want to go through the hassle of relocating your battery, mabe try one of these two alternatives...

1) Optima Red Top battery (to match the whole red theme)

2) JM Fabrications mini battery kit

 

[Talesin]

You're a GS-T... relocating the battery could increase any wheelhop problems you might have.. why I had suggested a billet box replacement instead. Relocation is good for a GSX, not so good for the FWD guys.

Odyssey makes a nice battery.. dry-cell, so no off-gassing. I'm told that they can fail unexpectedly, but mine's been just fine, and the smaller size made the trunk relocation MUCH easier. The few local shops that stock them also sell the boxes to fit.. a few of them would match your engine bay very nicely.

 

[kmoore]

I thought about the Red top but it seems a little unnecessary at the moment because the one in my car is working just fine. But, if/when it does go out, I will definately upgrade to the Optima.