engine cleaning question... [Merged 2-7] engine bay washing

[RiceKiller_TSi]

"Gunk" works for me as well as "Purple Power"... gonna try that tire foam method doh. Just dont use gas...you'll have a headache from hell.

 

[Libila]

I use a citrus clean because its no abrassive. So says the can

 

[turbowop]

It amazes me how many people spray that greazy ass tire foam all over the engine thinking it looks good. Do you people do any of your own work on your engines? It gets the *top* surface of everything shiny and then you see nice shiny runs down the *sides* of everthing and the next time you stick your hands under the hood to work on something everything is slippery and nasty.

Plan on taking a few hours if you want to make it look nice. Pull out some of the intercooler piping, battery, intake, so you can get under and around them and spray degreaser (simple green, etc.) on everything. Make sure you plug any holes so water doesn't get inside. Scrub with a brush where ever you can and then spray down with a pressure washer. Repeat as necassary to get spots you missed. After it all dries make notes of any more spots you missed and if your too tired of cleaning take a break, put it all back together, and just concentrate on those areas next time.

To the people that say don't spray water in the engine bay:

My engine bay has been sprayed silly by yours truly during the entire time I've owned my car. I can't even count the times I've pressure washed the engine bay. I have never had anything short out, break, or had the car not start afterwards. Just use common sense and don't hold the nozzle one inch from any electrical connections. If you clean under the hood like this your engine bay can look like mine and it won't be all greasy and nasty with the only shine being on the top surfaces of everything.

 

[JiveMasterT]

any tips for getting rid of rust?

 

[FourG63 97GST]

had my 1st attempt at cleanin my engine bay today, I used degreaser, the sprayed it off, put amorall on a rag and wiped the hoses and stuff

hope the pic shows...

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by turbowop
If you clean under the hood like this your engine bay can look like mine and it won't be all greasy and nasty with the only shine being on the top surfaces of everything.

Nice hammertone paint on the cam cover.

 

[BGRIPTP]

Hey, whats the best way you guys clean your engine? I had a site bookmarked, but its a 404 now.

Thanks!

 

[bosljeff]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=57345

http://www.3si.org/forum/showthread.php?t=146514

Those are what I used and it works great. Kinda scary to trust though, it just seems wrong.


Good luck

 

[BGRIPTP]

Thanks! Can't wait to clean the Talon's engine in the morning

 

[paranoidTSi]

I know this was discussed awhile ago, but I have two questions about it:

1. What is some good stuff to use to clean a engine bay? (I've tried Simple Green and the results were less than satisfactory)
2. What are you supposed to cover when you clean the engine bay? Alternator, Battery (disconnected), fuse box, intake, blow off valve anything else?

 

[4geze63]

I used a generic brand grease remover, it worked great, also remove everything, you can, intake,radfans, mine were filthy, plus I could now paint the blades, Also the underneith of my hood was a greasy bastard.

A sick film everywhere, I removed the heatshield on the hood, cleaned it and painted it chrome, didnt really change the color just made it look new again. Then I washed the hood, and waxed the underside of it. Looks 100 times better now, it actually reflects the engine cause of the shininess.

alot of people tend to forget about the hood when cleaning engine compartment, Deff worth it to clean it up.

 

[skibumexicano]

Hey everyone..It seems like i'm posting more and more..Ok here's my problem...My buddy tells me he can clean up my motor with his power-washer...So he did..covered up my K and N and washed away...Cleaned up really good..but the problem now is...my idle is hardcore high..I mean like 3,000 and sometimes it falls..to spec (750-850)...But that's not the worst of the problems...Now my car is mis-firing and Backfiring really bad..But sometimes it's good?? I'm thinking with the water being sprayed on the wires..I'm thinking bad plugs and and wires..Please help me A.S.A.P..thanks a lot...dan

 

[DSM90AWD]

First punch your friend in the balls as you should never power wash an engine. Low pressure.. yes.

Second.. pull the plugs wires and all electical harnesses (MAS, Coil, O2, TPS..etc) to make sure there is no water inside. Spray with WD40 to displace any moisture and top off with a bit of dielectric grease.

I hope your engine wasn't hot.. as the sudden change in temp could have opened cracks in the exhaust manifold, O2 housing, Turbine housing or even the valve cover.

 

[Coldandafraid]

my friend washed his 1G engine... didnt start again for 4 weeks till we figured out the CAS was destroyed by the water. So... hey, at least yours runs.

 

[skibumexicano]

Very true man..Get this..I call him today and i'm like dude you F*cked up my car..He's like no i didn't..I never had these problems before!! Then he started telling me how he does this for a living and he didn't screw up my car..WTF...ya know.....I'm soo freaking out hardcore...
So i went to napa and get new NGK plugs...Ran fine for like 10 min..went to work...Started running like ass..Then i got stuck in traffic for 40 min and my idle was at 4,000 RPM's...4,000...WTF??? Then the car over heated..so i had my car off most of the time right...I get to work..pull of the negitive bat cable to clear the computer...Come back out like 6 hours later after work...starts up fine..idles good...so i take it on the road..baby it on the way home and then it's starts stumbling hadcore on accl and backfiring!!! Then it stops...WTF...Thanks for you input guys...AMS thinks it's a pickup coil...I check at autozone cause i work there..it's like 60 bucks...but is it the module, or the other 10,000 sensors on the car?? thanks guys...keep posting and i'll keep ya up to date!!! Dan

 

[DSM90AWD]

Ya.. the resetting of the ECU is a temp fix.. but should really find someone local with a Datalogger that can check error codes.

Might also want to take a trip to your local bone yard, DSM trader or Mitsubishigraveyard.com to source these parts to save you some dough

 

[skibumexicano]

Hey guys...thanks for the posts..I really appreciate it, well as i told you...the backfiring and hestation started when i took out my pcv and swaped it with my buddies 60,000 mile pcv...Well i put a new one in today and boom...No backfiring or hestitation...Now i just have to figure why my idle is shaddy...cause sometimes it's good and other times it sucks...I think i'm going to clear the computer and mess with the biss...It's allways solved the problem for a little while at least..I'm thinking about retarding my timing, because..somtimes when i'm boosting it with show that i'm boosting but the car goes no-where..It's gotta be that the ECU is pulling timing...so hopefully if i retard it a little...it may solve the problem..what do you guys think? thanks again..Dan

 

[tsidrift1]

i do not have my timing belt cover on. would it be alright to spray degreaser on it and everything else and then hose it off. my engine is filthy from sitting over the winter and it needs a cleaning job bad.

 

[onepimpclipse]

Just to be safe I would cover it as well as your battery, alternator, etc.

I don't have my cover either and that is how I do it.

 

[ben90tsi]

dont forget about the CAS as well as your airfilter if it is out in the open

 

[spooner_dee]

The inside of my engine bay is filthy from dirt dust a lil oil, the usual crud u see under a car hood. How would i go about cleaning this, i was thinking power wash or steam wash, but i dont want to do anything that might mess with electrical or anything like that. Anyone have words of advice or what?

 

[4geze63]

use a degreaser to clean it, and something to shine it when done

 

[miamieclipse]

right this saturday is clean the f*** out of my engine day , i am going to go to pep boys or adavance auto to pick up some engine de greaser, what can i use for a shine after tho? Also i am going to just rub the degreaser w/ a towel am i correct?

 

[Topple]

Try Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish to make it shine. Works well on almost everything in the engine. I even use it on the hoses.

 

[CanadianTSi]

Spray the engine down with a degreaer and let it soak for a couple mins then spay it off with a hose. Then you can go around and polish/armor all each piece or you can spray down the entire bay with some armor all Tire foam.