Just looking for quick how to on cleaning the engine bay. Have heard that simple green works good but are you suppose to dilute it like it says to on the back of the bottle? I am pretty sure I have the basics down about covering the air filter, batter, and fuse box. Do you just spray it then run hose water over the engine bay? Do you wipe it down or just turn on car and let the water just evaporate? Have heard both ways so thanks for the help.

 

Just take it to a car wash and use a pressure washer, cover your air kit if its an open air, should be fine.

 

Any home remedies just for my information even though might go that route

 

I just used a garden hose on the "fan" mode or whatever, sprayed everything down, used a new paint brush to brush the dirt away, rinsed it again in fan mode, and that was that.

Some simple green or whatever is a good idea if there's lots of grease and nastiness on everything, mine wasn't bad at the time so I didn't bother.

I also didn't cover anything and it was all fine. If you have a CAI or whatever with an open filter, good idea to cover, but I don't, so I didn't bother. Might be a good precaution to cover the fuse box, air filter, battery, etc etc, but I don't think it's actually necessary. Just don't directly spray water into anything for an extended length of time and you'll be fine.

I also did this at night after I was done with the car for the day, and let her sit overnight before starting it again, just so everything had a chance to dry off in case I got too much water into anything.

It's easy, and if you're worried about the water doing harm, don't be. You drive it in the rain, right? It'll be fine. Like I said, just nothing excessive in terms of water usage/volume.

 

Yea i know about that just did it just in case but I was just looking for what others to as I have never done this

 

Oh my god... DO NOT...I repeat again for you guys who said it....DO NOT hose down your engine.

Yeah, you drive in the rain, but do you drive without a hood or with a huge *** opening in the front? No. Hosing your engine down is just dumb, no offense guys.

Do yourself a favor and spend an extra ten minutes doing it the right way. Go to the store and buy Armor-All Cleaning Wipes for cars. Then use the wipes to wipe away the grim and dirt. When I want to clean my engine bay, I just use those. Fifteen minutes and it looks new from the factory.

You COULD use water, but not from the hose. You would need a spray bottle that has a precise shooter. Hose is too powerful and too open to use on an engine.

Anyways, that's my advice. GL.

 

Care to justify any of that? Countless people on here (myself included) have used a garden hose or pressure washer or whatever to clean their engine bays, and have had 0 problems. What are you basing your advice on?

 

^^ yeah....uhmm, while a pressure washer could do some damage if not used with care
a garden hose just running over the engine or a moderate spray won't do any harm if things are properly covered up.

armor-all looks great for a while, then it begins to degrade plastic/attract dust
necessitating more amor-all, and the vicious cycle starts all over

 

so then what would you recommend burnsy?

 

This thread has some good tips. It is pretty simple.

Cover the water sensitive areas.
Break dirt loose
Rinse
You can use a mild degreaser if you want
Rinse more

Use a small brush to get in tight places, etc.

dont be too intimidated by the engine bay, its pretty tough. Especially if you cover up the areas specified in that thread.