Engine Bay Cleaning

[Grant 4]

Hello

I am keen at some stage very soon to clean my engine bay and engine.

I have some questions:

1) What do you use to get rid of the cosmoline?

2) What parts should I cover over before using engine degreaser (I am thinking alternator/ battery/ fuse box...anything else)?

3) I have read (and seen pictures of before and after) that using a whole can of WD 40 all over the engine and its components after the water used to get rid of the degreaser had dried makes everything look nice and shiney and new. Has anyone tried this? Does this really work?

4) Any other hints/ things to watch out for I should be aware of?

TIA for any help.

Cheers

[Guest 325eye]

Most people use a steam cleaner on their engine, although personally I think this is a bad option... Aspecially on an older car.

Too much heat, water, and pressure.

When I have my car serviced I have the mechanic clean my engine bay, he is a Euro nut case and I can eat by dinner of the engine afterwards.

He uses Kerosene as a solvent and clean rags, then basically cleans and polishes, (ask your mum for advice on that)

But seriously, it does a great job and I do not have to worry about water, heat etc...

BUT my engine has never had large amounts of oil or other petroleum type mess on it, so does not need real serious cleaning. Also, the first time I had him clean it he spent 4 hours at about 45 + GST an hour... I sh*t my self when I saw the bill... so do it yourself.

If you are going to put a hose under there you need to cover any electrical things.

There is no reason why WD40 would hurt your engine (that I can think of) to be honest the degreaser you can buy would not be much different to WD40.

Matt

[Guest Andrew]

Just keep the engine running.. spray some multi purpose cleaner and "ripper" and go for your life with the steam cleaner... (lowest pressure setting).. and don't aim it too much at the alternator or the dizzy..