Engine compartment clean up?

[WilliamBos]

What ae you guys doing to keep it neat and shiny under the hood? I fear taking a water hose to it, just too much electronics.

 

Open to suggestions.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Good thinking! I knew better to use a hose on mine, but I had doused it with kerosene and ......just......had...to get it out of my system. So i drove a quarter mile then fogged the engine bay.

 

 

 

 

my advice to you is just do what you can when you can. For the painted surfaces use spray wax and buy a rollof blue shops.for rubber and plastic use armor all wipes or equivalent. Just wipe what you can reach. For metals, wd40, kerosene or some thin oil may work.....maybe plastic safe silicone spray. Get a paint brush for corners, wedges and points where two parts meet. Use the brush on the fuseblock.

 

 

 

After you do this a few times then you can probably just use a spray bottle of plain water, since it wont attract dust, dirt and sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to spread the word about the good stuff, so look into Kimberly-Clark products such as Scotts blue shops and here isthe gold: wypall wet wipes. It may be tough to find them, maybe try fastenal. A brand new roll fell into my lap and they have a slight scrubbing action and leave a protective film behind. Good luck!

[cuttingedge]

Waterless wash or Steam cleaning is a very safe and effective way to clean your engine compartment.

[dbbspider]

Damp rag and an air compressor

[SLESierra]

I have to ask if a person fears using the water hose do they drive their vehicles in the rain? I can understand covering the underhood electrical center and alternator due to the volume of water but the rest of it I would think could handle it as long as it is not high pressure. If it could not get wet then they would seal it imho

[BlackZ71Silverado]

There should not be an issue spraying a hose into the engine bay. It gets wet in he rain, no difference. Just don't go blasting away with a high power pressure washer.

 

I spray my trucks under the hood all the time, nothing to worry about.

[Speed Buggy]

here is a step by step guide with product recommendations

 

http://www.oldetownautospa.ca/blogs/news/16194895-otas-guide-to-engine-detailing

 

 

[Cowpie]

Same thing I have used for years on everything from my personal vehicles on up to my semi trucks. Using washing wand at the car wash in town, I don't put anything on the plastic for shiny purposes. I live on rural gravel roads and the motor would get dirtier even faster with junk on it to look good.

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

With these newer trucks they can handle the water better than you think because they don't have a distributor anymore. I've sprayed the engine bay a few times at the car wash pressure washer with no problem. Of course I do it kind of quick. All you'll see is steam off the exhaust manifold. My old 98 I would just stay away from the distributor (had a rotor but no "points") and didn't have any problems. The electronics like the fuse box are sealed pretty good. If anything as someone mentioned, a damp rag will clean up the plastics pretty good. I don't go mudding in my '14 at all unlike my 98 so I don't really need to pressure wash the engine bay. Maybe once after the spring because of the pollen.

[Babyhauler]

There was a great procedure using windex & rinsing with water on an Impala SS forum.

 

I believe it said to spray down a warm, not hot engine with Windex or similar glass cleaner. Brush or wipe extra dirty areas and close the hood while you wash the outside or wait 20-30 minutes while it eats. Open hood & rinse off engine. I think they said to spray the cleaner again, wait again & rinse.

For cleaning the car engine, I just did the 1st part several times a year. It was not a full detail, but it was not as harsh as other chemicals.

As someone that has replaced 3 sets of knock sensors on different Chevy trucks, you need to be careful spraying the front or under the intake manifold. The foam GM placed there does NOT keep enough water out to prevent sensor corrosion. Maybe that only happened on my high mileage 02 and 05 trucks and will not be a problem on newer trucks.

 

Good luck.