I have used the regular and heavy duty stuff in the spray can. Works pretty good. Make sure you get an 'extra' can so you can go back and hit some spots again. Rinse with garden hose.

 

Allot of gunk and brake clean have worked well for me, PS don't do it in your own driveway if you don't wanna clean it up or stain it.

 

I like purple power or simple green. You're not going to get it completely clean unless you have a lot of free time and a few spare toothbrushes, but you can get it pretty nice looking with a little scrubbing.

I would definitely stay away from the car wash degreaser, but I would use whatever cleaner you choose at the carwash, because like Shadow said, it will make a serious mess in your driveway.

 

If you can get your hands on a steam cleaner they work great. Steam with low water pressure makes the crap melt off. Not EPA approved!

 

Gunk is good! I usually buy at least one can of foaming degreaser and use that first. I like how it expands to get into little crevices.

Spray it, soak it, scrub it, rinse it, repeat!

 

2X on the carwash powerwasher.
EPA? What is that, Spanish? LOL

 

cover the distributor, alternator, fuse box, carb get any engine degreaser and maybe use both at from the car wash and go for it -- its all good I have never had a problem spray washing my engines. And the vehicle not starting . Daniel ps just get close if your glasses get all foggy and you get all wet then you are doing a good job LOL

 

I have had best results using Simple Green. If you will take a can of WD40 with you to the car wash, when you are done, just pop the distributor cap and spray liberally inside the cap and then shake it out, you should be good to go.

 

Given the age of this truck you can expect lots of dried out electrical connector seals and fragile vacuum lines so the chances of you creating problems is high. The engine bay on these trucks was never designed to be clean or tidy, my advice... don't do it.. close the hood.. forget about it.

 

My underside of the motor is gross... I want to give it a good cleaning but without scrubbing and a pressure washer it's hard to get it clean.