cleaning engine and engine compartment?

[aloxdaddy99]

On a cool engine I use a spray bottle and coat the entire engine and bay to include the underside of the hood. Give it a few minutes to do it's thing and rinse with a garden hose. As was mentioned before I try to keep the water away from the intake manifold area. When I rinse the top of the engine I directly spray the water down onto the plastic engine cover from above. And I do this often.

[newcheylover]

On a cool engine I use a spray bottle and coat the entire engine and bay to include the underside of the hood. Give it a few minutes to do it's thing and rinse with a garden hose. As was mentioned before I try to keep the water away from the intake manifold area. When I rinse the top of the engine I directly spray the water down onto the plastic engine cover from above. And I do this often.

what cleaner do you use

[aloxdaddy99]

Sorry about that. I use Simple Green.

[K15 Blazer Guy]

Now i just use WD40 for everything. keeps dirt from sticking and it washes off easily, should i choose to really hit mud holes.
inner fenders look great, frame looks good, mud flaps stay clean. certainly better than what i was using before =)

[TimTom64b]

Simple green works awesome as a degreaser...

[The Heater]

Hi, Freddie:

You can put sandwich bags over the smaller electrical items/relays/switches or cover them with some painter's plastic and wrap gently with some masking tape, such that it takes maybe 10-15 min of your time to prep prior to cleaning.

I try not to use a nozzle on the hose, instead using a control valve on the end and try to cascade water over things. This is less likely to force water into places where it has no business, like back up sirens for car alarms and non water proof relays.

I usually use Kit or ZipWax car wash detergent. It has wax in it, and makes the cleaned surfaces nice and shiny. I go over inner fender and other large metal surfaces with a spray cleaner/wax. Many are available for this purpose. Only use these after removing dirt particles with your water and soap, or you will end up with lots of scratches.

Other advice I have is to try to only detail a portion at one time. Otherwise, you take up so much time and labor you won't want to do it again for a long time, and then it is lots of work. Try washing just the radiator area or front first, getting all metal surfaces and the plastic housing on the side of the radiator toward the engine. Next time try doing one fender well area. Then the other, then the engine, then the firewall area. You will find more satisfying results this way.

[TimTom64b]

I just use simple green... non diluted. Nice thing is it is environmentally friendly.