Hi, I have a question about engine cleaning.

A beginner's book called "Auto Upkeep" says to clean the engine like
this:

"Open the hood. Wet a shop rag with a multipurpose cleaner and wipe
grime, dirt, and dust from the engine compartment. Close the hood."

What kind of multipurpose cleaner would work--Ammonia-based spray?

Also, do I have to worry about accidentally cleaning off
intentionally
lubricated surfaces inside the engine compartment?

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:50:56 -0700, Built_Well wrote:

That is only good advice if your engine and engine bay is already pretty
clean. If you have some oil leaks and operate in a dusty environment then
your engine bay might be filthy.

Kerosene cleans really good. Wash it off with detergent water. Really
tough stuff can be attacked with steam cleaner, high pressure sheep urine
etc.

Not unless you deliberately fill the sump with detergent.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:50:56 -0700, Built_Well wrote:


What car are we dealing with here?

We used something similar to Simple Green, we would spray the engine with
it and let it sit for about 5 minutes and then rinse it off with a high
pressure hose, but a garden hose works just as well. On newer cars this
works quite well. When I did it to my Supra at closing time, the Service
Manager was quite angry with me because the car wouldn't start because
everything was wet and we couldn't get the car out of the wash bay. On
older cars it is best to leave the engine running, but take care not to
get water into any air intakes.

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ce3f4006-e31a-4b71-aaf0-c1a0e2a15716@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
wow, that must indeed be a book for beginners.
It's like instructions for taking a bath saying
"First remove your clothing, shoes and socks, and your wristwatch. If
you're going to shampoo your hair, remove your hat."
Duh!
Seriously, the only thing to worry about is getting the rinse water on or
near electrical parts, so covering those parts with saran wrap is a worthy
idea. Don't soak the engine with a full-force garden hose or you likely
won't get the engine started when you're finished.

Built_Well wrote:
Do not use cleaners or solvents on ANY decals or stickers, dry rag only.

Honestly? Just leave it alone...

When you start cleaning an engine you knock things loose accidentally,
water gets places it can't normally get.. brittle plastic parts get
snapped off. I've never seen a car cease to run because the engine
wasn't cleaned. I've seen tons of cars that don't run anymore after
the engine is cleaned.

If you really want to have it done have a professional steam clean the
engine.

Steve B.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:50:27 -0400, Steve B. wrote:


I cleaned hundreds of cars with a grease cutter like Simple Green.

Unfortunately, the only one that wouldn't run afterwards was my Supra...

On 2008-07-01, Steve B <none@none.com> wrote:

Not if you show just a little bit of care.

But a clean engine compartment and engine is so much nicer to work with.

A little bit of care prevents that. And the condition should only be
temporary and self-correcting unless they were VERY stupid.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:06:50 -0400, Hachiroku ???? <Trueno@e86.GTS>
wrote:


is the mid 90s Lincolns that grampaw washes. Water gets in those deep
spark plug wells and the car runs like crap. Being around used cars /
trade time I see a lot of "first time washers" and the destruction
they inflict.

Steve B.

What I do, and have done for a long time, is when I take the rig to a
"do-it-yourself" carwash I LIGHTLY spray under hood with the soap spray,
ease hood down and wash car - then when I rinse, I rinse under the hood
again fairly lightly - but then I do it several times a year so don't need
the pressure. Need I say Toyotas stay fairly clean w/o oil leaks?

Ron in Ca



"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ce3f4006-e31a-4b71-aaf0-c1a0e2a15716@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...

"Steve B." <none@none.com> wrote in message
Double ditto this post.. If he doesnt know how to do it, he shouldnt.
You CAN cause a lot of problems with injudicious engine washing.
Leave this until a little later in the development of your automotive
hobbying.

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:37:29 -0700, ron wrote:


I WISH!!!! My last three have leaked like sieves!

One of them had the oil pan bolts working loose and the entire underside
of the car was oil undercoated.

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ce3f4006-e31a-4b71-aaf0-c1a0e2a15716@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
Get some Simple Green - I bought a gallon about a decade ago and still have
plenty left. Simple Green works on grease and just about anything you spill
in the interior, it works as a household cleaner, and driveway degreaser.
Of, you can try stuff like Gunk Engine Brite.

Spray the cleaner on the engine, avoiding the coils, spark plugs, electrical
connectors, engine air intake, and throttle body. Let the stuff sit for 5 ~
10 minutes, rinse off with a gentle spray. A full power shot from a hose or
pressure washer can knock stuff loose or force water into the intake (very
bad - you can end up needing a new engine).
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

=?iso-2022-jp?q?Hachiroku_=1B$B%O%A%m%=2F=1B=28B?= <Trueno@e86.GTS> wrote:
Good thing. Prevents body rust.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I guess when I clean underneath the front hood, I'll just do it
the careful, tedious way, with a shop towel passed over individual
surfaces, one at a time, like Auto Upkeep recommends.

It sure will take a lot longer, but for a beginner like me, it's
probably safer.

On the other hand, in the '06 Camry, the engine's spark plugs are
protected by a large plastic engine cover, and I guess I could
cover the air filter housing's air intake with something, and
cover the alternator and MAF sensor, but I think I'll just follow
the book and use a dampened shop towel.

I've always used the gunk "Engine Brite" spray. Start with a cold
engine, idle for 2-3 minutes to warm it up just a bit. Then let loose
with the entire can of gunk and have a toothbrush handy. Go around the
entire engine compartment and use the toothbrush on any dirt you see,
hit the firewall, strut towers, manifold shields, hoses, clamps, etc.
The solvent will keep the dirt loosened up once you touch it. Once
you've hit everything use a garden hose to rinse it all out. Whala,
perfectly clean engine compartment.

Now you do need to be careful if your engine has the plugs down inside
a 'well', because water will invariably get down in there and keep you
from driving until you get it all out. I use compressed air to dry
this area off, but if you don't have that option you need to mask that
area of the engine off with a block of some sort(plastic bag and
tape?) to keep water away from there. Another area to avoid getting
intentionally wet is the distributor, cap and wires. Or if you don't
have a distributor, keep the coil packs and wires dry.

Chris

"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:12f5f624-55d6-4bcd-8dff-2b0d4b35bf63@r66g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
When I do this, I am careful to plug the air inlets, cover the alternator,
distributor,
etc (as it may apply to the vehicle) with plastic bags and tie them snugly.

Gunk, Dawn, etc will usually work fine. Kerosene, as mentioned before is
great
for dissolving oil without hurting most paint. Easily flushed away with
soap and water.

When you get through, take away ALL the bags and rag stuffing, wipe off the
visible
water. You can use WD-40 on plugs, wires, etc if you wish.It is a darn good
water dispersant.

Start the engine immediately. Let it run until hot enough to evaporate the
water.

You may want to (need to) lubricate hood hinges, pins, linkages, etc when
you are
finished. Removal of grease or oil by the bath may make this wise.

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 08:02:54 -0700 (PDT), Built_Well
<Built_Well_Toyota@hotmail.com> wrote:

Does your girl friend/wife/significant other get turned on by a clean
engine? I don't understand why you want to clean your engine, it
won't make the car run better. It won't help the engine to run cooler
or the A/C to work better. Well, maybe the A/C might work better if
the condenser is plugged up with bugs and stuff.

Keep the outside clean and the hood closed.

Jack

On 2008-07-02, HLS <nospam@nospam.nix> wrote:
Don't most modern cars have their air inlets inside one of the fenders
these days? I can't recall the last time I saw a car that didn't.

On 2008-07-02, Retired VIP <jackj.extradots.180@windstream.net> wrote:

Do you ever do any of your own work on a car? It's a lot easier when you
keep things underneath and under the hood clean or at least somewhat
clean. Tracing a leak is a lot easier when things are kept clean. And as
far as the engine working better, when clean it is working as it was
designed. Accelerated life testing may not get the engine and other
parts coated in the sorts of grime they do over a period of years of
real operation. Grime can do harm in a number of ways. Sure it may
something that isn't measurable and can't be pulled out of the noise of
random and old-age part failures, but other than some rare exceptions
its not doing any good being there.