[GGMUE90]

What’s up guys, my engine bay is pretty dirty and I’d like to clean it but I don’t wanna mess up in the process.

Anybody have any suggestions or YouTube videos on how to safely clean your engine bay?

Would appreciate it. Thanks!

[Run Silent]

The E series bay is pretty well protected. Just use a nice degreaser or APC, let it dwell for a few minutes, then spray it off with low pressure water. Best way to dry would be a blower.

[GGMUE90]

So something like WD40? And I don’t have a blower. Would a damp towel be good?

[tony55343]

Not WD40, go to your closest auto parts store and ask them for a good engine degreaser and they will point you in the right direction. These can be had for fairly cheap ( less than $10 easy)

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by GGMUE90

So something like WD40? And I don’t have a blower. Would a damp towel be good?

No! Not WD40, that isn't a degreaser, it is a water displacer, hence the 'WD' in the name.

These are probably my favorites, but really, as the previous poster mentioned, anything that a good auto parts store recommends is fine.

https://www.autogeek.net/chemical-gu...degreaser.html

https://www.autogeek.net/mg10101.html

As for a towel, sure - that is fine - I just like the blower, cause I feel it gets more water out of the crevices.

[Tdenardo218]

Originally Posted by GGMUE90

What’s up guys, my engine bay is pretty dirty and I’d like to clean it but I don’t wanna mess up in the process.

Anybody have any suggestions or YouTube videos on how to safely clean your engine bay?

Would appreciate it. Thanks!

I use meguiars natural shine protectant for all of the plastics and meguiars ultimate detailed for the painted areas. It looks amazing afterward!

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by GGMUE90

So something like WD40? And I don’t have a blower. Would a damp towel be good?

Well, the idea behind the blower is it won't put undue pressure or shearing force on anything while it's wicking the water off. Also a LOT less effort (you should use that for your wheels after you rinse off as well).

But if you just have rags, use them with very little force on the areas with hoses and wires (I actually would recommend NOT wiping those areas, at all). You'll still need to let it dry out awhile.

Also, cover the alternator area with a bag when you're shooting down. It'll be fine after it dries out, but if you can avoid that anxiety by not getting water into it, your heart will be better off.

[tcphoto]

I’m probably a little conservative when it comes to cleaning the engine. I use a degreaser, a nylon brush, spray bottle with water and a towel.

[mvee90]

The engine bay on these (and most modern cars) are pretty resilient to water. Most everything is sealed up with gaskets and weather-pack electrical connectors and covered in plastic. As long as you're not being aggressive while wiping things down or forcefully spraying water directly into things you have a low risk of harming anything.

It's pretty simple to clean an engine bay. If it is just dusty I would just spray it down with a good automotive all purpose cleaner, let it sit for a few minutes, then hose it off with a regular garden hose. Any spots that still show dirt you could hit with the APC again and wipe down with a towel. Let it air dry and then follow up with a plastic protectant if you want to darken and even out the color of the plastic coverings over the engine.

[Alexdevera]

If your engine is really dirty, what I like to do is loosen any loose dirt with a light shower of water, then hit it with a good degreaser as mentioned above (my personal preference is simple green). After, I would use a soft bristled parts cleaning brush and work off any tough dirt stuck on the surfaces. Shower it lightly again, and wipe dry.

I wouldn't waste a good microfiber towel on this honestly. An old rag/shirt would work.

Some people say interior plastic protectants are good, but I actually use tire shine. If you think about it, the tire shine is designed to stick to the surface of a part of the car that endures a harsher environment. So, from what I've seen tire shine lasts longer. Or you can just use engine shine by gunk.

Got a tip the other day that black plastic restorer also works very well. Trying this myself soon. I'll try to update you guys on this.

[pizza_nightmare]

My local DIY car wash has an engine cleaning mode. The spray wand will gently release foamy de-greaser. After that I'll way about 30 seconds or so then turn it to rinse, which provides a low pressure water spray.

I've done this after my valve cover gasket was fixed. Prior to that I had a pretty bad leak and the engine had lots of oil and shitty build up.

This process, doing it only once, greatly reduced the residual burning oil smell. It also looks very clean.

[bluewater328]

If you have that option it's nice. Same effect can be had with this:

https://www.chemicalguys.com/Grime_R..._p/cld_104.htm

Spray and wipe away (works great to clean and provide a decent shine). Or spray and rinse with a hose (then blow dry). Cover the alternator (do that by hand) and give things time to dry out completely.

Happen to have just replaced the VC, so I did by engine bay with that. Worked well under the hood too.

[slavearm]

I have been using the rinseless wash from chemical guys in a garden sprayer. Spray, let sit a few minutes, then wipe down.