engine bay cleaning advice

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Jul 13, 2003 | 05:14 PM

BigShelby

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Joined: Jan 2003

Posts: 312

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From: Huntsville, AL

engine bay cleaning advice

I have been doing some cleaning within the engine bay as I have been making minor repairs. Most of the cleaning has been on the firewall and the inner fenderwells. I have been extremely careful of water on the electrical connections. My engine has lots of accumulation of caked up oil/dirt from leaks and 30+ years of use. I would like to clean up the entire engine compartment, trans, and undercarriage to find out where my oil leaks are coming from , plus just to make everything look better. I know I must regrease anyplace I clean with a greasefitting. I would like any advice or methods that would work best. Thanks

Jul 13, 2003 | 05:42 PM

truckman79

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Joined: Dec 2002

Posts: 177

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From: Escondido Ca.

engine bay cleaning advice

Use simple green, its really good. Mix a fairly strong bottle of it and then spray it on, scrub if you want to, then just spray it off with a hose. If your lazy, just spray it on, leave it for a minute or two, then spray it off. It leaves a nice shine on everything, and is easy to use and cheap to buy. DO NOT buy the cleaners that foam up because they can dry out any rubber hoses and any other things like that.

Jul 13, 2003 | 06:33 PM

Torque1st

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Joined: Sep 2001

Posts: 30,255

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engine bay cleaning advice

There are several threads in the Garage Forum that discuss cleaning methods.

Jul 14, 2003 | 08:11 AM

dfisher1

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Joined: Jul 2001

Posts: 1,613

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From: Gainesville, FL

engine bay cleaning advice

Big,
I recently discovered a product called, " Castrol Super Clean". It's basically the purple detergent out on the market these days. It will do a number on petroleum.
I don't cut anything slack in my engine compartment, with respect to, getting it wet, except the distributor. Wrap a rag around the distributor and blast the hell out of everthing else. It's unlikely you could get enough water into the air filter to make a difference. Everything else should be able to take it.
Secondly, remember that everything that is rinsed off your vehicle is enviromentally hazardous. If you have a choice, do your spray downs at a car wash or some place where runoff doesn't get into stormwater sewers. I know that isn't always possible, but consider it. This stuff could end up in your (drinking/well) water someday.
My Way is the Highway,
KingFisher

Jul 14, 2003 | 09:41 AM

beartracks

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Joined: Nov 2000

Posts: 6,639

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From: Albuquerque

engine bay cleaning advice

Carefull with the super clean. That stuff is very strong and will do a job on shinny aluminum or paint. I'm talking about taking the shine off permanently. Other wise it's amazing stuff.

Jul 14, 2003 | 09:58 AM

dfisher1

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Joined: Jul 2001

Posts: 1,613

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From: Gainesville, FL

engine bay cleaning advice

All,
I was restoring some mid-60's Caddilacs about three years ago. I pulled down a 429 CID down to the long block. The motor had never been apart and was a serious gunked up mess. We tried laundry detergent and petroleum distillates. Super Clean was the only thing that would touch it. It will burn your eyes, nose, and throat, but it'll be clean when your done. I used it on motor parts mainly. All parts were in need of paint prior to cleaning. I painted them afterwards. If its a tough oil buildup problem, superclean should handle it.
Consider it,
KingFisher

Jul 14, 2003 | 01:03 PM

BigShelby

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Joined: Jan 2003

Posts: 312

Likes: 1

From: Huntsville, AL

engine bay cleaning advice

Everyone, thanks for the tips. The superclean option sounds like what I need for the lower-end and front of the engine. I'll wrap the distributor and electrical connections.