Help Cleaning Engine Bay

[JayB12]

I would just like some opinions on what I could do to make my engine bay cleaner.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Cleaner as in paint clean or stuff, wire tuck? Whatever is not being used.

 

[Aproductions]

pressure wash/degreaser.

 

[JayB12]

Less clutter.

 

[bryanwheat]

I agree, you need to wash under the hood. Get some purple power spray it on let it soak for ten minutes. Keep spraying it to keep it wet, don't let it dry. Than you can hose the dirt off. For tough dirt a little nylon scrub brush works well.

 

[Blurred Talon]

Remove/relocate things.
Cruise.
Battery relocation.
Get rid of that 'earthing' kit.
You can move the wiring harness under the manifold with about an afternoons worth of work. All you will need is some new electrical tape (I recommend 3M and some split loom).
Delete ABS
Alt relocation

Other then that, you can do a full on wire tuck; however it takes some time to do and do correctly.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Here are a few ideas. I have done all of them. Pictures are in my gallery.

• Clean with a wet rag. It looks really dirty partially because it is dirty.
• You have a mess of vacuum lines. You can eliminate your emission and cruise control to clean up a good chunk. You can use black lines to hide them and also reroute them so they are out of sight.
• Mount things on your firewall down lower behind the block to keep them out of site.
• A spark plug wire cover would also help disguise some of the mess and give you a smoother, cleaner look.
• A smaller coolant over flow tank. You can use a Gatorade/vitamin water bottle and mount it low and out of site.
• Mount your battery low, or in the trunk.

 

[JayB12]

What did you mean by "earthing kit" and are there any diagrams of good ways to delete vac lines ect? Also I don't think I have ABS.

 

[Blurred Talon]

OH, those are vacuum lines. Sorry, I had trouble seeing the picture. I thought they were one of those grounding kits. Geez I need to get my glasses haha.

Only delete these vacuum lines if you don't have emissions checks.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...-speed-shop-vacuum-diagram-removal-1g-2g.html

A nice cleaning will go a LONG way.

 

[96talon4g63]

Yeah. It would definately look better with less vacuum lines

 

[miguelmcv]

If it is your DD, and you are kind of picky like me.

Just relocate the Cruise Control to the back of the engine, Under neath the Intake Manifold.
Change your red vacuum hoses and put some black once, to hide them while you delete the emission system.
Bring all the sensors down from the fire wall, like (9!'clipseDOHC) stated.
Bring the Battery Down all the way to the Cross Member.
Reroute the wires from the Injectors and the resistor from under neath the Intake Manifold.
Take off the Black plastic (heat cover) that has the Injector wires and the rest of the wiring, and put some shrinks and Flexbraid wire cover to make it thinner and be able to hide more easy.

Try to reroute all the wiring from the firewall and hide them from behind the engine, or lower them all the way down of the firewall.

 

[2GEffect6]

any kind of degreaser and a pressure washer will do the trick

 

[Awdspyderman]

PURPLE POWER is the sh*t!!! spray that all over the strut towers than along the framerail, im not sure if you should spray that stuff directly onto the engine itslef but some one may chime in with how to spray the motor itslef down with purple power.After you let it soak up the oil and dirt for a few minutes use a high pressure washer to wash it all off and it will make the engine bay soo much better just doing that alone=) Also get rid of the cruise control and if your only driving the car when it's nice than relocate the fusebox to underneath the passenger frame rail. You don't have to extend the harness to mount the fusebox under the rail. Good luck and post some pics when your done with the clean up

 

[bryanwheat]

It is 100 percent safe to use the purple power on the engine. Just don't let it dry on there, that is the only thing that i use, i haven't bought a can of brake clean for years, . Here are some purple power before and after pics

Before:

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After:

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Before:

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After:

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[knochgoon24]

For cleaning the engine bay, my new favorite cleaner is Meguiars wheel cleaners.

Aluminum Wheel Cleaner for the aluminum bits. (Did a pretty good job on the IM, front of the head, motor mounts, and intercooler and piping)

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All Wheel Cleaner for the rest of the engine bay. It's safe on paint.

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Don't let either dry.

I'd avoid spraying it directly on plastic and rubber bits because it may discolor them. I've quickly rinsed it off things like the fuse box cover without problems.


I let it sit for a few minutes then hit it with a power washer.

Before using a power washer, make sure that the seals are still in all your electrical connectors. I also let the car cool for a little bit before spraying it out. Take some time and wash the wheels or sweep out the car while it cools down.


Power Purple WILL corrode aluminum if you let it sit for too long.. I only use it on really heavy grease (like if a CV boot gets a tear and sprays grease all through the passenger side of the engine bay.


You also have a white car, so I'd definitely recommend removing the insulation mat on the firewall. I pulled mine off Wednesday and my engine bay looks so much more open now. I was able to pull all of it but the part around the brake booster. I'll have to get that some other time. I just trimmed it as close as I could to it.

Tame your spark plug wires. I use the OEM connector in the drivers front corner of the valve cover (holds #2 and #3 cylinder wires separate from the #1 and #4) and another OEM clip that holds all 4 right before the cross the edge of the valve cover. The 4 wire clip is actually a vacuum hose holder on a 1g.

Formula 409 worked ok at getting my brake fluid cap whiter.

If you're going to keep the emissions equipment, move the solenoids further down the firewall. And since the charcoal canister will still be there, put the battery in the trunk. I got an Optima Red Top (if you want one cheap, ~$50, I may be able to help you out) and put it in the pocket in the hatch. If you're ditching the emissions, you can drop the battery down to the subframe.

Removing the cruise control helps a lot. Sometimes I miss it, but mine never worked right anyway.

Rotate T-bolt clamps so the bolt part is under the pipe. Clean couplers with 409 and a scrub brush.


I need to get a new photo. I just power washed my engine bay again Wednesday night. I just need the rain to stop.

 

[dsmboost84]

Wow, I'm going to invest in some of that stuff. Is it easy to find? I've just never heard of it.

 

[bryanwheat]

Wow, I'm going to invest in some of that stuff. Is it easy to find? I've just never heard of it.

You can get the purple power at oreilly, autozone, walmart dollar general, and just about every grocery store. If you delute it a bit you will not have any corrosion issues. I usually use about 60 percent purple power and 40 percent water for most stuff, and 100 percent for the real nasty stuff.

 

[dsmboost84]

Sweet. Going to get some this weekend!

 

[mattasi]

I would wear some rubber gloves with the purple stuff, it works great but not good for the skin. I use it, but lately I have been using something called simple green and it works great and no gloves needed with that stuff.

 

[knochgoon24]

It stopped raining, so I went out and took a photo.

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It's dark, so the engine bay looks a lot busier than the photo shows. The shadows really ruin it. The highlights from the flash are a bit much too.

Also: DON'T paint you transmission black. Paint it silver or something. Black swallows all the light and makes it look like a dark abyss.


Next on the list (eventually):
-Move alarm horn behind engine.
-Wire tuck the intake manifold harness.
-Relocate power transistor.
-Aluminum radiator
-Clear cam cover (I know, I'm a hypocrite without one)
-Drop engine/transmission and repaint them an aluminum color.
-If I can't get my ABS to start working right, then it's going to be ditched soon.

-I like my AC too much to ditch it.



But my photo proves my point; the wheel cleaners I listed work.

 

[goodbuds]

Cover the electronic stuff and go to town with a pressure washer, and engine bright. Maker sure you wipe everything with amor all the plastic stuff. Looks like engine hasn't been cleaned sence ace of base saw the sign.

 

[my dreamt dsm]

Cover the electronic stuff and go to town with a pressure washer, and engine bright. Maker sure you wipe everything with amor all the plastic stuff. Looks like engine hasn't been cleaned sence ace of base saw the sign.

Funniest quote I've read in a while I use degreaser from my work place and dilute it 5 parts to 1. And then stainless steel shine for my metal parts.

 

[cola]

from my experience you're not going to be satisfied unless you unbolt most of the stuff connected to the bay such as the brake fluid lines and really clean up behind them.

proven you gain +15 hp from a clean engine bay

 

[goodbuds]

from my experience you're not going to be satisfied unless you unbolt most of the stuff connected to the bay such as the brake fluid lines and really clean up behind them.

proven you gain +15 hp from a clean engine bay

huhWTF... that's were the lost ponies in my Lexus went.

 

[Boostinsideways]

Stay the #### away from armor all on the plastic stuff.

I used to armor the #### out of some shit, but I was cleaning up the current DSM since It had been sitting outside for 3 years, 2 of them parked with the previous owner.

I armor-alled the wiper cowl and some other black plastic pieces and it has faded/dryed them out terrible. I have switched to Mequire's interior cleaner as it does not need to be re-applied ever week or so to keep the interior looking great and it doesn't dry stuff out.

Still like Armor All glass cleaner, and there wheel/tire cleaner is okay.