I don't think there has been a thread on this in the 2.3 section, so I'll post a sort of basic how-to. I've been wanting to clean my engine for a long time mostly because of the grime that builds up on the valve cover. I did a little research and found that a lot of auto enthusiasts use a Citric acid orange cleaner with good results as a de-greaser. The advantages over an automotive de-greaser are the price, and the safety for your painted, plastic, and rubber parts under the hood. I have been told that "Simple Green" is even better than a Citrus based cleaner, and doesn't require any scrubbing.

The first thing you want to do is cover up your sensitive electronics and other places you don't want water: battery, air cleaner and MAF, and distributor/coil packs. I just used Wal*Mart bags, which were big enough and didn't really need held down very much. Everything else should be able to withstand a little water.



**Disclaimer: I should mention at this point that oil and any other engine fluids are harmful to the environment and you should take all precautions to catch drippings from the car and dispose of them properly.**

Then, spray your de-greaser liberally on your COOL engine. With the citrus cleaner you can scrub at some spots, wipe some right away, and just soak hard/difficult spots to be scrubbed or rinsed off later. Don't let the de-greaser dry. Rinse with a hose, being careful not to use a ton of pressure. I'm told that if you use simple green, you need not scrub at anything. Just spray, wait for it to lift the grease, and rinse with water. Perfectionists will seek out hard spots, but I'm just going over a basic wash. You may want to use a toothbrush for hard to reach crevices, such as around the valve cover, and near the spark plugs.

After rinsing off the engine, remove the water protection from your engine, and start the engine for a few minutes to cook off any standing water on the engine. Here's mine, I only spent half an hour, but it still looks much better than before.



Any questions, comments, or tips please reply.

 

I go to the car wash and do it there... Engine cleaner function FTMFW!

 

I always wanted to do this with my old stang, but I was too afraid of breaking something and I didnt even know what to use. I'm gonna do this if/when I get a new one. Thanks for the tips

 

I can give you guys some more tips here. I always have the cleanest engine compartments compared to my friends cars.

Simple green does work wonders, but it will chalk up your aluminum. The citric acid cleaners don't work as well as Simple Green, but it's a little less harmful on your aluminum. Another option is to use the citric acid cleaners, and then a larger amount of Dawn dish washing detergent in a bucket with warm water and a brush and/or rag. Dawn works great.

Don't be afraid to use pressure. Be easy around your vacuum lines and main harness at the firewall, but everything else, give it hell.

If you have some really nasty, thick and built up grease, get some rags and Brakeclean, the stuff in a red can. Use some rubber gloves if your hands can't handle the chemicals. Soak the rag in Brakeclean and scrub down the offending area. Once it's broken up, spray that particular area down with the brakecleaner, then follow with the citric acid cleaner, which will help reduce the harm the brakeclean can cause.

Once you get it clean enough for your liking, get a can of tire foam and shine stuff. Let the engine bay dry completely, and with it cool, spray down the entire engine compartment and walk away. In about a half hour, come out and use a clean rag to wipe away the excess.

This is an old picture, but it shows the results of the cleaning method I use.

 

Wow, that is very clean! If you use simple green, can you clean up the aluminum with dish soap to get the chalking off? I did notice that the citrus cleaner didn't clean the aluminum at all.

 

The chalking is the aluminum actually corroding slightly. The tire shine helps remove and mask over some of the corrosion.

I'm not sure if dish detergent would work with removing the chalking, I never tried it.

 

That looks awesome! I never really thought about using the tire shine

 

Lexol rubber cleaner works really good for the plastics under there also. It doesn't leave it shiny like tire shine but it cleans under the surface of the material and will last for about a month, longer if you don't drive 600 miles a week like I do. I also hydrates rubber.