Underhood cleaning

Whats with the attitude man??

 

hey bro...........cleaning the engine compartment is as important as cleaning everything else............good to hear you are cleaning it!! usually, i'll use some simple green on most stuff under the hood.........watered down a bit, and not on the alternator. then, i'll let it dry and i got some stuff i got called cd2 engine detailer that i spray all over everything under there and let it dry. then you go back a little while later and spray a bit more if you need to. it really shines up the underhood area nicely......especially all the plastics and hoses. and dust doesnt stick to anything under there real bad either.

 

I used to be obsesed with keeping my engine compartment clean. However, after the second time I had to have the truck towed to the dealer because I got water in the wrong place, I was cured. On my new truck I was thinking I’d just blow the dust out with my air hose. I haven’t tried this yet since the truck still has less than 1000 miles on it.

 

Not that it matters, but I wash my Tacoma every week. After I dry my Tacoma, I open the hood an wipe it down. I wipe everything from the bottom of the hood, the different accessories, hoses and painted surfaces. If its done once a week, it doesn't seem to get that dirty!

 

No, it matters ALOT because your method actually is SAFE and keeps you way ahead of the buildup! I do the same

 

This product works great... I've never had any problem using gentle spray of water to rinse, taking care to avoid sensitive area of course.

 

I've always used Gunk's Engine Brite foaming cleaner on my motors. I do it once a year in the spring. On a cool engine just spray it all over and let it sit for 15 minutes. Hose it off, then start the engine and let it run for 15 minutes for complete engine drying. Label says to try to avoid electrical components such as a distributor. I've never had any problems from using this on any of my trucks, but if you possibly need plug wires or are having any electrical problems with your vehicle I would suggest fixing the problem before getting your engine wet.

 

Another good way to get alot of the water off your engine is use a leaf blower on it. It will get all the nooks and cranny's in there you can't see....works real nice.....

 

Here is what I usually do...

1. With a warm to touch engine - spray it down with some water. (note: cover your air intake and anything that you think might be affected by the water).

2. Next spray it down with P21S Autowash.

3. With a brush agitate the dirt and grime. - I used my boars hair brush.

4. Spray it down again to remove soap and dirt.

5. Wipe dry. **I just used a cheap terry cloth towel, hence the fibers you can see in the picture. I didn't have the heart to dry my engine bay with one of my $$$ Adam's MF waffle towel. []

6. Adam's VRT w/ detail sponge and In and Out Spray

Here is my engine bay (before and after):
BEFORE #1:

BEFORE #2:

AFTER #1:


AFTER #2:

 

Here's a great product- SIMPLE GREEN. it comes in a pump-spray- spray it on a cool engine and spray off with a hose for general dirt/dust as in the picture. If you have grease/oil on things use a paint brush to work it a bit and spray off with the hose. As was mentioned before- don't use a pressure washer- too many high buck electrics under that hood. They also make a car wash product in a jug that works good AND its bio degradable
as are all simple green products so the eco dweebs won't complain. (sorry eco dweebs)
My son got a 92 4-runner and we did the entire underside-let it sit for 1 hr. then power washed it. Had to redo a couple of places where there was heavy grease with a scraper and a wire brush but WOW did that thing come clean or what!

 

I power wash mine the soak it in armour all

 

S100,the ENTIRE engine bay(motor cold) let it set for 10 minutes wash with garden hose.Then take the misses out for ice cream to dry it out.Did that for a year and now sometimes she will do it so I will take her for ice cream..HA!!!!

 

I did this today. I went in for an alignment yesterday and my buddy said I had an oil leak, I thought it was from the cam seal but it turns out that my valve cover bolts were actually loose, and the oil was seeping out. Bad thing though, on a 3.4 you can only reach the outside bolts to tighten them, so now I have to take apart the 2 piece intake runner to get to the other half, will do this once I get a new set of valve cover gaskets to fix it right, btw, I used a weak solution of purple stuff and an old paint brush garden hose set to a low psi and it looks pretty good for a 9 year old truck,

 

After cleaning driver side valve cover that was leaking, I need to change my brake fluid though.

 

I just wipe everything down with a couple of wet towels. I try not to use too much water under there.

 

wow! nice.

 

Subbed, gonna clean mine up next week and this thread had lots of good ideas.

 

Why take the risk!!!....use only low pressure water,and,of course ,don't soak the freakin thing.