How is this done without messing up electrical stuff? Mine is filthy. Dust/oil/dirt. It only gets a clean spot when it my clothes rub against it...

How do ya'll do it?

 

I use brake cleaner on the really dirty stuff, then heavy on the simple green followed by open ended garden hose with hot water if you can. No pressure washer! Most will flame me this but I also start with a warm, NOT HOT, engine. It will take a few good washes to get it looking nice.

 

Not me. I have found that warm stuff is easier to clean. I use a garden sprayer with some warm water mixed with simple green and go to town.

 

Let it cool a bit (but NOT flat cold), cover PS pump reservoir, 6637 if you have it, and alternator. Some guys cover up electrical connectors, but I don't. They're gonna get drenched when you drive through big puddles or heavy rain anyway. Spray everything down real good with Simple Green, then go over it again. Using a hose with VERY light pressure behind it, rinse it down real good. Repeat if necessary. I do that to mine every few months and it stays pretty clean.

 

So on a fairly clean engine it should just take one round to clean it up? Mine was detailed when I bought and I would like to keep it that clean.

 

Pretty much Justin, except for the stuff they use on the rubber and plastic in some shops. That stuff collects some big time dust, then turns greenish or yellow depending. What is that crap anyway?

 

They put something to shine the black up on it, I got a nice mess on me when I put in the 6637 though. I got a few comments on it, just needs a Pete pre-filter. About how often do you do it Mike and Joe?

 

I do mine every few months. Get some Dupont Tire cleaner for the rubber. I just picked some up but haven't tried it yet. Someone on here used it and it looks great. Doesn't get sticky either.

 

The best shine I've discovered is from using Dupont's Teflon Tire Shine. Look in my gallery and you can see my before and after pics. It's the only thing you need to do after what Joe recommended.

I have a few before and after pics below, too. Before on Left, and After on Right.

 

I might do mine twice a year but mine is not a daily driver either.

 

There you go... Couldn't remember who it was until I saw Pete's post -- all came back to me. That's the stuff I have, but haven't put any under there yet.

 

I un plugged every electrical plug I could find and put in a dab of electrical grease you can get a Napa..I soak the motor in simple green..then power wash it all off on a cold motor with my 1200 psi power washer..IMO steam is your enemy..now forced water...steam will get into any tiny crack in any direction..I wash my engine bay twice a year this same way and yet to have a problem...i did my Bronco's this way many times as well with no problems...

 

i don't think i was the outside of my truck as often as ya'll do the engine

 

Pete, do I see an engine maintenance package possible as well as the 6637 cover? Might expand your product line-up a little. I am curious on the dupont and plan on using that on my next detail. Simple green is definitely the best, full concentrate!

 

i respectfully disagree with the simple green. in my opinion, and its only that, simple green sucks big time. i have tried it, and it would take SEVERAL times more spraying with it, than it took with concentrated greased lightning. plus, the smell is horroble. it makes me want to vomit. i'm not sure what it's called, but on one of the A/C lines there is some foam. maybe the evaporator? if the simple green gets in there, you'll be smelling that stuff for weeks.

i put the GL in a 2 gal pump sprayer with a long wand. and it cuts through all the caked on grease/ gunk. i usually try to clean mine fairly frequently, but lately i've been too busy to do it regularly. i go down some gravel/dirt roads and dusty construction sites, and when i do get around to cleaning the engine, it is usually really nasty.

i used to work for a resturant in college, and i had a land rover at the time. i would spray some oven cleaner we had (designed to work on hot surfaces) on the warm/hot engine. then wash it off with hot water through the garden hose connected to the sink. THAT was the best dang way to clean your engine. when done, the engine bay looked like off the showroom floor. not one drop of dirt. i may look at plumbing my outside faucet to have both hot and cold lines.

but, this is only my opinion, to take it for that.