Cleaning the Engine

[Crazyjester900]

Hi guys,

I have always done basic cleaning underneath my hood but i would like to
clean it up a little better. Apparently dealers spray this stuff on the engine so
it looks new when you open the bonnet though when you turn on the engine (and it gets hot) the stuff bakes on and goes this horrible yellow colour.

Any suggestions about how to get this stuff off and clean up the engine bay.
Also any advise on cleaning it up in general would be fantastic.

Thanks

 

[Uberwagon]

I use a soft brush and regular car shampoo, I don't concentrate near any electrical connectors, I then use the mist function on the hose, start the engine and hose it all off slowly.

After all the soap is washed off I drive down a dual carrigeway for 5 minutes, drive back and then wash the rest of the car.

I don't believe doing it on a hot engine is a good thing as I believe it's the steam which gets in all the connectors etc so would rather have the engine running with some good airflow around it before it heats up much.

Dave!

 

[Crazyjester900]

i have tried using normal car wash and stuff like that.
Is there anything stronger than can be used on an engine.
I am VERY cautious about cleaning an engine as last time
i did i flooded the engine and had to have it drained/pumped.
Disaster is really the only way to describe it.

So yeh want to be careful

 

[W210 Fan]

i scraped all that stuff of my E230 then polished it afterwards, do you get stuff called gunk over there? they produce an engine cleaner that you put on, run the car and it burns itself and the dirt off if I recall??

http://www.gunk.eu.com/html/products/engine.html

 

[Crazyjester900]

yeh, i need a product . .
i really wanna start cleaning up the engine bay.
it's the only thing left on the car for me....
No one will buy it soo i can't afford to upgrade to the C36
o well

i'll wait and pick up a C63
(when i wake up)

 

[Number_Cruncher]

My suggestion would be that the most efficient thing to do is to close the bonnet, and forget about it.

A clean engine doesn't run any better, or burn any less fuel than a dirty one, so, there's nothing to gain.

The act of cleaning can cause damage to electronic components - and mechanical ones if you're a bit ham fisted, so, there's a potential loss to be faced.

I must admit, the only time that I could ever imagine myself cleaning an engine would during a long visit from the in-laws, after all other productive work had been exhausted!

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Everytime I wash my car, I take the hose to the engine bay, I dont have it on jet setting but do let the water flow over it. As long as you dont have any pressure in the stream of water I cant see the problem.

(Edit: Avoid the sensors etc)

Never had any problems and the engine bay still looks virtually brand new.

 

[Aletank]

Everytime I wash my car, I take the hose to the engine bay, I dont have it on jet setting but do let the water flow over it. As long as you dont have and pressure in the steam of water I cant see the problem.

Never had any problems and the engine bay still looks virtually brand new.

We need a pic

 

[Roger Jones]

I'm with Number_Cruncher here. The only time I had an engine cleaned -- at the request of the servicing mechanic, so he could see leaks more easily -- is the only time I've had an on-the-road engine malfunction in 35 years. If you really must do it, then be surgically careful and use stuff like Autoglym's Engine and Machine cleaner, which you can spray on carefully (or brush on) and brush/carefully spray off. Don't go anywhere near the electrics.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

>>The only time I had an engine cleaned..

When I was working in a garage, in the early 1990s, we used to do quite a bit of mechanical/electrical prep work for what was quite a reputable second hand sales company in Accrington.

They insisted upon washing the engine bays, so that the cars looked good for the customers, but, on 3 out of 4 of the cars we looked at, we were replacing engine electrical parts which had been damaged during cleaning. The most popular were spark plugs - I'm sure they were doing something daft like using a wash lance on a running engine, and the thermal shock was cracking the insulators.

This was just in the days pre-cat, and so the engine's misfiring on their way down to us along the M65 from Accrington probably wasn't doing a huge amount of damage. With a modern car, with a cat, that would be a big bill!

 

[WLeg]

In the past, I've been very liberal spraying Hyerclean all over, then brushing into the nooks and crammies, then hosing down. Running the engine for 10 mins or so afterwards dries it easily. I've never damaged mine, but no warrenty given !!


Handy advice here

 

[ROBB]

What about steam cleaning ??

 

[Crazyjester900]

i just want to get rid of that crappy yellow colour.
yeh i know there is no mechanical reason to clean it.
Just pride i guess

Thanks for the responses

 

[SilverSaloon]

i just want to get rid of that crappy yellow colour.
yeh i know there is no mechanical reason to clean it.
Just pride i guess

Thanks for the responses

wont it just scrape off? (and then you can polish it up)? may take some time.

i have this yellow stuff on mine - i've picked off a bit but then left it - plan to do it all at some point and then clean the black plastic bits and bobs.

I agree its not my highest priority though, but it was very clean when i bought the car and i believe it needs some TLC occasionally to keep it looking as good/a lot better than most.

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

I'd never take a hose to mine due to above and more horror stories. Just get an old toothbrush, some rags and cleaning products and go at it!

Just do a bit at a time, ie back to black all of the plastic, chrome cleaner the metal etc.

Takes me a while but better than running the risk of damage!

 

[GrantA]

Not sure if you get it in Aussie but try "Fairy Power Spray", the stuff that is advertised to clean burnt on grease on roasting tins etc. It is the best I have found and lifts grease, burnt on or not, as others have said use a gentle spray of water after just to wash off the muck. Never on a hot engine and avoid the electrics. If you have an air compressor in your garage (cheap in most DIY stores) give the engine a good blow around before starting it up, the air blast will get rid of the worse of the water.

Good luck.

Grant

 

[travelininstyle]

i just want to get rid of that crappy yellow colour.
yeh i know there is no mechanical reason to clean it.
Just pride i guess

Thanks for the responses

From my days spent in the surface coatings industry,it sounds like they have sprayed some kind of lacquer coating.Even with the high temperature paints that were good up to 300 degrees - the components eventually discoloured,either due to uv degradation,or excessively high temperatures - these engine type lacquers are a menace.There are two possibilities.In an extremely well ventilated area,you could buy and use and electrical type solvent spray,such as isopropanol - but the engine must be stone cold,as this is very flamable and flashes off in seconds,but it might well break the lacquer down and generally evaporates before affecting any electrical components,you could also spray some onto a cloth first to try.Secondly,you could try good old fashioned duraglit - or some such wadding metal cleaner,or as someone else suggests,gunk - obviously I would proceed carfully,testing a small area first accepting this advice at you own risk.

 

[del320]

Just down to a lot of hard graft with T-Cut, Autosol, toothbrushes and fingernails!

Cleaning the engine bay is now a routine along with the rest of the car. I only use a pressure sprayer below manifold level and the same assortment of polishes as for the bodywork - mostly Autoglym.

 

[Dec]

I am in agreement with some of the other posters who don’t agree with cleaning engine bays but I have to say that is very, very impressive, must have taken some work to get it like that.

Dec