I found a couple of old post's, but does anyone have any "New and Improved" ways to clean the engine?

 

get a degreasing engine cleaner spray, cover power distribution box and battery and go to town. wait 10-15 minutes and scrub hard build up or spray off with a hose. make sure the engine is cold too.

 

i use armorall wipes on certain pieces also like the raditor hose and plastic peices

 

has anyone used cd2 cleaner i heard good things about it but i cant find it anywhere. Will it discolor my polished intake?

 

So all that needs to be done is cover up the air box lid, battery, alternator and what about the distributor does that need to be covered up also? Coat everything else with engine degreaser let it sit for a beer or two, go back out and spray everything off and maybe scrub some areas? Sounds too easy to be true, I'd be afraid of getting water into the engine or my intake of somethin, I know if I cover everything correctly it won't happen but I'm going to be paranoid of it until I do it lol. Will any engine degreaser work?

 

I clean my engine with a power washer once a week. I cover nothing. Only problem ive ever had is waster in my dist cap (MSD) This didnt happen with the OEM cap. Now i dry the inside of the cap out when im done and thats it. If you go to the do it yourself wash, hit the engine with the tire cleaner (engine cleaner if they have it), let it sit 30 seconds, and they high presure rinse it off!

 

You dont have to cover anything. You spray it down and then start up your engine and let it run for a while. Thats it i have done it forever and my car runs fine.

 

Stay away from those harsh engine cleaning degreasers! Those chemicals can attack many of the materials found under your hood, not to mention screwing up your driveway, possibly messing up your paint finish and literally killing any vegetation the concentrate comes in contact with. The best all around engine cleaner I have ever found is Simple Green...full strength. Or, go to a auto parts store and look for "Automotive" grade Simple Green. It is biodegradable, can not hurt anything on, in or around your car!

Your engine should first be "warm", not hot or very warm as that will cause the Simple Green to evaporate way too fast before it has had a chance to work. Even on a cold engine the stuff works good.....best on a warm one though. Simply apply liberally, wait about a minute and spray off. Use the higher pressure setting on your nozzle for tough areas of concentrated grime. On especially dirty engines with built up grease, etc. it may be necessary to also use some sort of brush on those areas immediately before spraying off with water. Once your engine is cleaned, it only takes about 5 to 10 minutes before it is completely dried. It also has a tendency to actually shine any chromed parts you may have under your hood and all other briteware as well. You can spray EVERYTHING under the hood....engine, firewall, battery, radiator cover, shock towers, etc. Works great and actually leaves a nice odor behind.

Don't forget to take your car out of the driveway first if your engine has excessive oil, grease and grime build-up. Anything you clean off your engine that is so caked on will end up below your engine bay and on the driveway. No sense making a total mess of your driveway. The Simple Green can not hurt it at all, it is the crap you clean off that will. I'd say I average about one to two cleanings a month in the good weather and have never had the slightest bit of problems with this procedure or the products reaction to my engine bay's materials.