cleaning the engine (1 Viewer)

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idaho4x4

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I was searching around and i couldnt find anything about cleaning up an engine. Im just about to go down to the car wash with a big spray bottle of degreaser. Are there any good brushes i can use, i have a wire brush but its kind of hard to reach a lot of stuff and it has trouble prying the inch of grease caked on some parts.

any suggestions?
 
I knew a mechanic that used to use the car wash brush on his engine. He would run the degreaser spray on the engine, then brush it with the foam brush then rinse with the high powered rinse. He swore by it but I think the next guy after him swore about him!

I would get the motor warmed up and then spray the heck out of it with degreaser then drive to the car wash and use the high powered spray to rinse it off. You only want the degreaser on it for about 5 minutes or so, so if you are further away from the car wash guage it. If you think you will need to use a brush go get a toilet brush or something similar from the floor care isle at the local home depot with a short wooden handle and scrub away.

Good luck.
 
Take a roll of paper towels to dry the inside of the distributor cap and a can of WD40 and give it a spritz inside the cap before replacing. Get the kerosene-based degreaser and soak it down then hose it off with the engine running.

That's what I do.


Ed
 
I use castrol degreaser in the purple bottle and spray it on before I was it. It does a really good job. It may take several tries if really dirty.
 
If you are staying on top of a new motor, it takes very little to keep it clean. But if you are trying to clean a motor with 30 years of grease, oil, dust and crap on it.......it may take several passes at the carwash AND some scrubbing. And wear some eye protection when using a pressure washer. It ALWAYS comes back in your face:mad:


Ed
 
not trying to hijack here...

i have wanted to clean everything off under the hood too. but wasnt sure if that was a good idea to head to the car wash and start spraying like mad...
what potential problems could i have by taking the high pressure to the engine compartment and what should i not spray?
 
1973Guppie said:
what you really want to use is a heated pressure washer, they work well, used to have one in our high school shop class, you could probably find a local shop that would degrease your engine for a fee........

Noah
Click to expand...

Like a HotZ? They rent those around here. They clean like a pissed off wife.:D
 
fjwagon said:
I use castrol degreaser in the purple bottle and spray it on before I was it. It does a really good job. It may take several tries if really dirty.
Click to expand...
I second the Castrol. Cover your electronics with plastic bags, slightly warm engine, spray with Castrol, let sit and spray off. Use a brush on heavy deposits. Works great.
 
Degnol said:
Like a HotZ? They rent those around here. They clean like a pissed off wife.:D
Click to expand...

We used a propane-fired HotZ steam cleaner to clean bulldozers, dump trucks, manlifts, etc. when I worked for Hertz equipment rental. Hertz bought new equipment and sold it after 3-4 years of service. Every truck we sold had rust on it somewhere, mostly in the engine compartment. I'd say you could get away with it on the frame and undercarriage, but not in the engine bay. That steam gets into everything.

Ed, how the hell do you get your wife to clean when she's pissed? I think I might like to try that. :D
 
theo said:
Ed, how the hell do you get your wife to clean when she's pissed? I think I might like to try that. :D
Click to expand...


Easy.........open a beer, sit in recliner and turn on TV. Works every time.:D


Ed
 
I sprayed mine with oven cleaner .99 at Big Lots, use the cheap brand, let it sit for 20-30 min. Hit it with a power washer and watch the sh%t start flying. Where a mask and goggles. It took about 3 cleanings to get it all off, Oh yeh and a wire brush.
 
Last edited:
what i find works is first you soak everything with a mix of transmission oil and kero/diesel
let it soak for a while and then hit it with hot water. ( cold works aswell.

The tranny oil seems to be water soluble, straight tranny oil works best.

The above works great for engine bays and undercarriages that are stained by mud.

Looks shiny after a wash too :)

JEs
 
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