Yes im new to cleaning my engine and was wondering for a few tips.. Do you guys just spray degreaser all over the place and then use a garden hose or what?

 

Let it run until its warm, shut it off, soak everything in degreaser, let it sit for 2-5min, start engine, power wash everything. If the engine starts to die when spraying a certain area, stop spraying that area.

If you need to touch up any spots with degreaser, shut it off, spray the area, let it sit for 5 min, spray with degreaser again, then power wash it.

A garden hose doesnt have the pressure behind it to cut some of the heavier grime. If you dont have a power washer, take the degreaser to a self wash car wash with a power washer, and do it there.

Be cautious around rubber, plastic, and wires. Some power washers are very high pressure and can cut through those materials.

Good luck.

 

cover intake w/ a garbage bag and be careful around any electrical connections- fuses, PCM, the evap canister... focus on the engine block and head more...

EDIT- what Grip said...

 

Thanks a lot

 

You dont need to cover anything with a garbage bag. You need to do it while the engine is running.

If you have an exposed aftermarket air filter, do not spray it with water.

You can spray everything inside the engine bay if you have the stock air box.

 

Yep I got the stock air box, so I guess it's all good

 

I detail cars and the only vehicles I've ever had problems with are Fords. For some reason, even if you avoid the coils and wires on the Fords, they still start to misfire when you spray the motor down.

Common sense says not to spray directly into things like the alternator, coils, dist cap, etc... just avoid spraying things that you don't think would like water in them.

And if anyone tells you that spraying a warm motor is bad, they're idiots. I had someone freak out when I suggested leaving the motor running while spraying it, saying "COLD WATER ON A HOT BLOCK WILL CRACK THE BLOCK!" and crap... ok, engine blocks aren't made of porcelain like coffee cups, and if water is all it takes to crack your block, I guess you'd better avoid puddles then eh? All of those guys taking their trucks through mud never seem to have any trouble with cracked blocks.

 

Just look for a self car wash with the wheel/engine degrease option.Car washes ( in my area any ways ) use heated water also so that will help a little as well.