Spring is rolling around and again and I would like to get rid of all the gunk and crap that has built up in the engine bay. Just wondering how everyone else goes about cleaning their engines and the problems you've run into! Any advice/input is welcome!! Thanks in advance everyone!!!

P.S. I will hopefully be posting before and after pics of the engine and what products I used!!

1991 Bronco 302 w/ EFI

 

I always use a cheap can of Gunk Engine Cleaner on a hot engine at the car wash, avoid a direct spray to any wire harness plugs and your distributor and you should be fine.

 

I use a heavy duty de-greaser, my wife hates the smell of gunk! It kinda lingers for day's after. Avoid spraying on your paint job. I spray on the under side of the hood, then the motor and I use a high pressure washer and rinse the hood first then motor, Keeping the nozzle about 2 ft from the motor on a wide spray. I tape off the alt. as best I can, the cooling vent's. Then the final step is I clean the motor where the afternoon sun is and leave the hood open and let it dry for 4-5 hours prior to putting power to anything. Dis-connecting the battery would'nt hurt, unless you don't know how to reset your clock LOL.

She Ain't Revved Ti'll The Rods Are Thrown!
Al

 

Haven't needed to my 95 yet, I think it was detailed right before I bought it.
I can tell you my other cars (87 vette) motor was filthy. I got the motor warm, hit it with water from a hose and sprayed Simple Green and let it soak for a while with the hood closed(I don't know why, it just sounded like a good idea) after 10 mins or so I pressure washed it off came and great and smells terrific for days.

 

like everyone said, basicly a good car wash and your prefernce on a good degreaser, advice: take a can of WD-40 and a dry paper towel, and a screw driver or something to pop the distributor cap off, with you, when your done if the engine skips or sputter or jerks then shut it off remove the dist. cap, you dont have to remove the wires, dry the contacts in the top of the cap with the paper towel and spray a mist of the WD-40 in the cap and in the dist. itself, put it back on and it will solve the problem. Happy Cleaning! DW

 

Just too let you guys know, getting the alternator, doesent bother it any, they are made too withstand all weather.

 

Thanks for everything guys; now I just have to wait for a nice hot sunny day!!

 

Simple Green is good stuff and probably is a little better for the environment than Gunk. Good Idea!

 

for light cleaning (about once every month or so, more in the winter) i use Simple Green sprayed on a warm engine, and then a rinse with hot water. that takes most of the lightweight dirt off. if you've got something that has years of road grime, oil, etc. on it, then you might want to look into a steam cleaner. you really can't beat hot steam for cleaning junk off, and it doesn't hurt your paint. like everyone said, watch the electrical stuff when you do it. i always try to save some plastic bags from the grocery store, and i either bungee cord them or rubber band them in place around whatever i don't want water/degreaser/steam getting into.

 

Costco has a spray detergent called Oil Eater (I'm sure other stores have it too) check the automtive section. I spray it on the engine when warm and rinse off with pressure washer. Cleaned up the suspension grease dirt and brake dust real good too.
Doesn't smell like gunk took over a month to get rid of gunk smell last time I used it.
If you use a pressure washer it doesn't hurt to cover the distibutor cap and throttle position sensor with something to keep the water out.

 

I like to spray that engine shine stuff on after it's dry. It makes it look new for a while and helps repel dirt to keep it looking cleaner longer.

 

The Dollar General store has a product called Thunder Blast that will clean about anything. Two bottles and a variable pressure washer works wonders.

 

that thunder blast is awesome. I even use it on my walls(kids and crayons) floors and everything in between.

 

read those cleaner ingrediants closely. They contain some chemicals that eat aluminum. For example...Castrol super degreaser, pits and eats aluminum like no other. Use caution or you'll corrode the aluminum brackets and such in the engine bay. Also, do not hit the drivers side portion of the engine bay with a lot of water could cause problems down the road if water sits in the wire loom of the eec harness. I spent a good 6 hours detailing my bronco and the engine looks as if it were new. I used, as mentioned above, gunk and the cheap stuff from wal*mart with a parts cleaner brush. Warm the engine up for like 5 min. and then spray the underside and front of the motor with the degreaser. let it sit for about 10 min. and treat as needed. brush at the tough spots and then rinse clean. I use some black magic or back to black or even tire treatment on the rubber and such. Another tip I learned from an ol wise fella is to use vegatable oil on rubber parts exposed to the elements. It's natural and will not harm anything only treat it better than using chemicals that potentially and over time will harm and eat the parts you treat. Give it a good, long, hard cleaning once over and the rest is history as far as hard cleaning and detailing down the road. My truck has 67,000 and still looks newer than new with only a few wipe downs here and there.

 

I've had the best results with "Scrubbing Bubbles" bathroom cleaner, lemon fresh scent. Just don't overdo it on any electrical connections, as I have melted a few in the past. Rinse with a light stream of water after the bubbles do their stuff. I found that CD-2 engine shine really adds a good gloss to all of the rubber hoses and lines, too.