I just spray the thing down while its running LOL. I just make sure to get nowhere near my intake.

 

thats fine till you get the engine hot enough and the cold water shocks the hot metal and cracks something

 

I've always been told that if the engine is warm, you need to keep it running when spraying it off. Of course you don't want to do it when your engine is really hot. Keeping the engine running will keep the engine at the same temp.

 

thats true i just prefer to do it when it is cool

 

I will agree, its most definitely better and less risky to do it when the car is cold. Its also almost impossible to clean a hot engine with any detail. I usually just give it a quick spray down when washing the rest of the car.

 

I wanna do mine all over soooo bad. I'll usually take a spray bottle of water and a roll of shop towels to the engine bay, and it's "okay." Some residue gets left behind and areas that I can't reach down too still look a little grungy. And the fact that I spend so long just hitting the main areas...back gets tired, etc. LOL.

I've heard variations on what to cover up though...some people just say the fuse box and alternator (air filter too, if exposed). I guess the COPs make sense too.

 

I dont like using degreaser to clean engine bay. I always use wheel cleaner , chemicals aren't as harsh .

 

wheel cleaner collects dust

 

Thanks for the tips!!!!!

 

I use brake cleaner and carburator cleaner to clean the bay with a water spray bottle. it works super good and fast you can see right away the dirt and grease falling. i see all the dirt and grease right after i move the car from the drive way, unbelieveable how dirty can the bay get