Cleaning the engine bay.....

[91grandmarquis]

So I need to do this... It has been bugging me and since the car won't run in the winter I don't have a problem taking the time to do it, and do it right. What do you guys recommend? My dad told me to use GUNK engine de greaser. Any experience with this. Also my hood liner is a disaster... anything to worry about with getting rid of it? It just keeps noise down right? Im fine with my car being a bit louder.

As always thanks.

[Lincolnmania]

i use purple power in a cheap gallon garden sprayer followed by a pass with my 1100 psi electric pressure washer, repeat purple power in stubborn areas, scrub if needed, pressure wash again.......i'm going to warn you against doing this with a warmed up running engine, i did this to a 86 towny several yrs ago, and it was running while i was doing the cleaning, and the head of one of the exposed cylinder head bolts snapped off and it started pissing coolant, i dont know if the cold water hitting the hot bolt did this, but i sure would hate a repeat of it

the hood pad is there for sound insulation and fire supression, but all torn up and covered in oil and goo it's a fire hazzard.....get rid of it, i've seen new ones on ebay already

[1987cp]

I had OK luck with grease removal when I hooked my garden hose to the hot water tap inside the house. Gunk Foamy Engine Brite is OK stuff, but pricy if you rely on it and it alone. AutoZone solvent-based spray degreaser is a useful product with a friendlier price, but you'll still want to be armed with an assortment of brushes and plastic scrapers, and of course hot water will still help you a lot. Cheaper still is to just get a jug of Purple Power or similar product, mix it up in a bucket, and apply it with a brush, but you won't get the benefits of having a cleaner that contains solvents.

I actually came across a few recipes online for making your own solvent/degreaser mix - IIRC, most recipes seemed to recommend some combination of gasoline for a petro-solvent, purple degreaser and/or Simple Green, and ammonia as a surfactant. Obviously, this is a mix you'll want to mix in small batches and apply with care in a well-ventilated area. I tried this mix in a normal Windex-type spray bottle, and the pump sort of quit working.

[91grandmarquis]

i've seen new ones on ebay already

I have not seen them on ebay... Are they floating around again. I had given up and settled on getting some dynomat hood liner and making my own at some point. Ill just yank it down for now until I get some money.

[hemihotrod402]

this is what I was going to follow. The guys mustang has by far the nicest engine bay for a car that is driven.

http://www.moddedmustangs.com/forums/general-car-care-detailing/72337-engine-bay-cleaning-look-here.html

EDIT: Here is a picture of the result, this is on a daily driver car nonethless:

[91grandmarquis]

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... why is the factory wiring so messy... Anyway I removed the hood liner and ran the hood light wire through the hood frame. Also de greased and pressure washed. It needs more. I will get back with pics sometime as thus far.

[marquisman]

when your done with degreaser, there is a "engine dressing" spray that gives the engine bay shine and a finnishing touch. i wish i rememberd what it was called lol

[P72Ford]

I use Power America fleet wash soap, applied with an agricultural sprayer.

If its bad, I use a bursh. Otherwise, I let sit, and then rinse. You may have to repeat it several times, but it works.

The picture of the Mustang above isn't that hot. When I wash mine, and go to town with armorall, it would put that to shame. My radiator is peeling a little, but I'll get to that one day.

Also, my truck's wiring harness originally had quite a bit of wiring just taped, and not loomed. Its now almost entirely loomed in black tubing, and looks blissfully stock.

Jr. If it doesn't look right, I'll be sure to let you know.

[91grandmarquis]

Well my problem is it looks like some redneck electrician went to town... there are fusable links heat shrinked/spliced in everywhere..... It looks like it isn't factory (although I am sure it is.) also there are wire looms going in every direction imaginable. I have about 300 feet of loom left from wiring a boat trailer, so I can use that to fix things up... first step is to remove the tape that is peeling.

Oh yeah also all the aluminum everything is pitted beyond belief. I am tempted to take it all off and glass bead everything, but seeing as it is getting a new motor eventually, that may be overkill. I will touch up any extremely ugly brackets or whatnot. I would love to re route all the wires... but again, I don't have the time to make this a "project" car yet. It will someday be cleaned up to my dads standards under there.

He cleaned the engine in his DD, and somehow it looks brand new... he did the same thing I did, I guess mine has just been neglected too long.

[packman]

I hate thread jacking a good thread, but since we're on the subject; what's the best procedure on getting the engine bay clean with the engine and trans out of an EFI car? I figure that I will have to flatbed or tow the car to the car wash, but what product will work with wiring and rubber grommets and what not hanging loose? If I use degreaser and a high pressure washer, will it be too harsh for the fire wall?


Packman

[P72Ford]

My truck has pitted aluminum. Nothing you can really do, without going seriously crazy.

Also, the messy wiring is factory stuff. I refuse to mess the harness up to beautify it. I am happy with clean, and factory appearing. And factory appearing means somewhat messy wiring.

[91grandmarquis]

Ehh.... it looks terrible.. there is also a red wire that runs outside the loom and goes through the firewall in an odd place, I am not sure why it is there, because it goes in through a grommet in the firewall, but on between the edge and the metal, not through the middle. Oh well I am not going to go crazy over it... you can't really see the motor in these cars anyway. It is basically just intake and wires. I really want to make a custom air intake for it that looks cleaner and takes up less space, but I don't want to replace the inner fender and windshield fluid jug to do it. I guess I am too anal about things.

Also there is this weird patch on the cat I saw today while peering into the engine bay... it is on the inside of it, and appears to be stuck on but made of some like paper or some shit??? it is weird, and occasionally I smell rubber burning.

Also when I changed the spark plugs, I found a half inch bolt wedged between a exhaust manifold and plug wire, it had melted the plug wire to shit.. amazing what you find when you dig a bit deeper.

[packman]

Aw crap, I gotta re-word that, will degreaser be too harsh (as in eat into the wires) on the wires and grommets if it gets on them? Will a high pressure sprayer put water into places that you don't want it (i.e. through the grommets and into the back of the dash)? I figure that I would clean the fire wall and inner fenders; then use some brush-on paint for the fenders and POR15 teh firewall.



Packman

[91grandmarquis]

If all the wires are gone then I would assume water could get through to the inside of the car.... I would hand scrub that shit with some degreaser, it shouldn't be too hard on the grommets. I blasted my fan shroud pretty close with the wand at the car wash and it was fine.

[dugal]

I always put a plastic bag over my alternator when power washing the engine. It's casing is so open it would not be good to get gunk inside of it and burn it out.