92hatchLX

I just use engine degreaser, let it soak for an hour or so and wash it off with a garden hose. I'll usually use a dry towel to dry off everything I can so that I don't get water spots.

bdwjdw

I use a household cleaner called Mean Green, It works GREAT. After it is dry, I use the cheapest tire shine in a can and spray it on the whole engine. No wiping and in about an hour it will look good as new!

35CI X2

Yes the tire cleaner is a good way to get the hoses and everything nice and shiny, just remember to keep it away from the belts. That stuff is greasy and will cause belt slippage.

aode08

if you dont cover up the right stuff, your gonna be in for a very nasty and costly suprise down the road or immediately

MACDRIVE

There's no need to worry about electrical or electronic components getting exposed to water, as long as the water is gone before you turn the key. How many of you guys have air compressors? Hook a blow gun on the end of the hose and blow all the water off.

90lxstang

I have one of those, it's called a leaf blower[8D] But seriously, it works just as good. I use it every wash to get rid of water spots. Only catch is you look like a retard using it.

88BlueGT

99.9% of the time you dont need to cover anything up. My boy details cars for a living.... from Civics to Lambo's. They spray down the motor bay with degreaser and than just powerwash the whole motor bay. I know what your saying about covering up stuff though, I get a little scared sometimes. I just pull the ignition wires and cover up the distributer.... thats it.

Spray 2-3 bottles of Purple Power or Simple Green (or anything else like that).
Let it sit for however long you want. I usually let it sit for about 10 mintues.
Powerwash everything for a good 5-10 mintues.
Start car and close the hood and let all the water dry up.
Let the motor cool down and than spray any rubber, plastic, etc. pieces with tire shine. I like Armoral "Extreme".

I have done it thee times on my Stang, once on my Intrepid, a Saab and a BMW. Never any problems.....