cleaning / degreasing engine tips?

[1KWIKSIX]

Am about to embark on cleaning / degreasing 24 yrs of dirt / crud / grease, etc on engine and in engine bay.

Short of pulling out the motor to accomplish this, any tips on what works best?

I've pulled off the turbo, DP, alternator, AC compressor, MAF pipe and cold air intake.....was planning on removing the AC compressor to engine bracket too, heck maybe even the intercooler.

Was thinking of covering up any remaing electrical that may be moisture sensative and spraying the entire engine with a degreaser and pressure spraying off. Maybe gunk or an orange based degreaser.

If anyone can recommend what works best with the least amount of elbow grease, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


dave

 

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[Turbo-Archie]

There is no good way with out alot of elbow grease and hot water.

You might want to address the leaks that are causing the buildup.

Soulds like you need valve cover gaskets, if not oil pan and crank seal..



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[Butchman]

I used Adams all purpose cleaner to clean all the grease, dirt etc. Simple green is very similiar. Like Archie said no real easy way to do it. Get yourself cheapo microfibers and start cleaning.

 

[A2000RICH]

Am about to embark on cleaning / degreasing 24 yrs of dirt / crud / grease, etc on engine and in engine bay.

Short of pulling out the motor to accomplish this, any tips on what works best?

I've pulled off the turbo, DP, alternator, AC compressor, MAF pipe and cold air intake.....was planning on removing the AC compressor to engine bracket too, heck maybe even the intercooler.

Was thinking of covering up any remaing electrical that may be moisture sensative and spraying the entire engine with a degreaser and pressure spraying off. Maybe gunk or an orange based degreaser.

If anyone can recommend what works best with the least amount of elbow grease, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


dave

i buy a lot of used GN's and i usually give them a good underhood cleaning-------i have found it best to leave everything intact-------removing stuff just creates extra work and complications and the possibility for contamination such as the AC lines, intake etc----------first run the engine and get it thoroughly warmed up-------immediately get three cans of gunk and liberally soak the entire engine and bay surfaces--------let it sit for about 15 minutes and hose off with a garden hose--------the water will not hurt anything under the hood unless something is in really bad shape and if it were its likely the engine would not run good enough to warm it up anyway---------when you are driving down the highway at 60 mph and its pouring raining you can bet everything under the hood is soaked much worse than your garden hose is ever going to--------been doing it lilke this for 20 years with no problems and it works great.............RC

 

[1KWIKSIX]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

Sounds good Richard.

Rich, my car is not running at the moment and thought I'd give it a try with Gunk and hot water spray off from the gardeb hose while it's still partially disassembled to expose more grungy area in need of cleaning.

May baggie any areas of concern.

Appreciate your thoughts and advice.

Dave

 

[Pittsburghkid]

Pressure washer. Thats the best way to get rid of the gunk and you need the power to cut through it as there are simply places you can't get into and a garden hose isn't gonna cut it. Bring the engine up to temp, soak it with degreaser, let it sit for about 10mins and the get the pressure washer and go to town.

 

[bison]

The best way ive found is to go to a car wash and empty a can or two or degreaser on the hot engine. Be sure not to spray high pressure water directly at the powermaster motor, alternator, maf, or tps sensor. The rest of it can get hit hard with the water and it will blow most the grease off.A second application and cleanup with a small brush might help more.

 

[turbocamino1]

I ran the detail/recon department at a buick dealer for 20 years and do yourself a favor and get what we call a door-jamb brush....basicly a course bristle brush witha 2 foot handle.....warm engine...gunk, or the like is good,but i would pass on the pressure washer...way too many things can get blown off or water forced into them that shouldnt. a garden hose with light pressure is cool. we have an assortment of small, med. and large brushes for hard to get to area's. like richard said....no reason to strip the motor..all those items need cleaned anyway right? i would wrap some of the electrical plugs,coil pack,MAF wires with baggies or saran. good luck.

 

[Turbo-Archie]

,but i would pass on the pressure washer...way too many things can get blown off or water forced into them that shouldnt. .

First thing that comes to mind on a nice car would be the stickers on the rad suport, on the head, and on the valve cover..



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[aminga]

Try Meguiars Saf-D-Greaser. It's in the detailer line so you have to buy it by the gallon but it makes 16 gallons.

 

[xrunner123]

Purple power or simple green. Let soak then use a power washer.
Repeat.

 

[PSU 98]

Some good info in this thread. What I have usually done is to cover anything you don't want water to get into / onto (alternator, electrical connections, etc.) with plastic bags or aluminum foil. Run the engine to let it get warm. Spray some all-purpose cleaner / degreaser on everything. Clean with whatever you have available -- shop rags, towels, scrubbers, etc. The course bristle brushes work great for getting down into the crevices. Then rinse everything off with a garden hose -- I would not use a pressure washer under the hood for anything. Soak up any standing water and run the engine again to expedite the drying, and apply dressing to hoses, plastic, etc.
There is a good video by Adam's Polishes on YouTube going through this entire process, if you have time check it out.

 

[ttaowner]

I also leave everything intact and power wash. You could probably rent one at home depot or a tool rental store. I also like purple power and i usually apply it with a cheap $20 hand pump /bug sprayer and it works pretty good also pressure wash. From my experience early on dont get coilpack module wet it took about 2 weeks to dry and i thought i initially ruined it. Also if you have valve cover breathers remove them and put the stock stuff back on. Once again this was learned the hard way and it took about 10 oil changes to get all the water out. Lesson learned

 

[Turbo-Archie]

If you really want to detail it buy a steam cleaner..


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[DCVING 6]

I've heard it works good to use a pump sprayer like you'd use to spray weeds in your yard. It sprays at a high pressure but a relatively low volume of water.