engine cleaning

[Cavalier_Man]

Hello. I have a 2012 chevrolet cruze lt..and the engine bay isnt exactly filthy but i want to do a little cleaning in the engine compartment. What my question(s) is, Is there a good and safe way to do this without harming any sensors or other electrical components? I believe there is a bag method where you can use a plastic bag to cover stuff like the alternator and other electricals up but didnt know if there was another safe way to do this far as washing and drying techniques. Thanks

[Markus Kleis]

Re: engine cleaning

I moved this over to Engine Compartment Detailing as Hot Topics is an area only for moderators to post or move posts into. Thanks!

[imacarnut]

Re: engine cleaning

Try using some tinfoil, you can mold it to whatever you need to cover.

[Shawn T.]

Re: engine cleaning

I usually use a low pressure sprayer to do engines just because I'm too afraid of pushing water where it shouldn't go.

[s word]

Re: engine cleaning

I usually use bag method. I have an open air intake so 1 over that, 1 to surround alternator, 1 for coil packs near engine if exposed, and 1 for oil fill cap area because mine in the low point in the engine cover. If the car has exposed battery terminals or exposed wire connections I try to protect those as well. Other than that a simple green or APC diluted, a brush to agitate, and a mop up towel and you are good to go. Your Cruze sounds to be new so you may just have a ton of dust no gunk. Should be fairly straight forward. Post up pictures of the job when done!

Also these components can get wet jsut don;t flood or drown them. But if the bags move around when cleaning it is not the end of the world.

[Detailing by M]

Re: engine cleaning

I clean engines all the time with no problems.
If your enging is just dusty then go with a waterless wash, spray and wipe.
Usualy I spray with APC + let it set a little, carefully power wash it and wipe down the dirty spots.

[JG_Detailing]

I usually go to the car wash and do mine their. Sometime I'll do it at my house. Depends how bad it is. Like after winter I would take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer to get the salt off the engine and under the car too.

[Don]

Re: engine cleaning

I usually go to the car wash and do mine their. Sometime I'll do it at my house. Depends how bad it is. Like after winter I would take it to the car wash and use the pressure washer to get the salt off the engine and under the car too.

I typically spray down my engine bay with WD-40 before winter so the salt doesn't do damage to the electricals and let rust get a foothold (works great, no issues in over 15 years and 4 cars later). That being said, come spring I have one evil-looking mess to clean up. A copious amount of APC and either A) the pressure washer at the car wash or B) a lot of time-consuming low pressure at the house and all is clean again with no electrical issues. Auto electronics are tougher than you think and an occasional hose down doesn't do any damage. I always make sure to take the car on a short drive to heat everything up and dry out the nooks and crannies.

[james1300]

Re: engine cleaning

I don't advise using tin or aluminum foil to cover any electrical components. Especially alternators.
You have a potential of making an unwanted electrical contact and causing an un wanted short.
I like and use plastic bag's or plastic sandwich wrap.

[aris]

Re: engine cleaning

This should help you...this is off of autogeek web site

http://www.autogeek.net/engine-guide.html

[tonyscott]

Re: engine cleaning

I think first you use the water resistant spray and then cover it most important parts with tin foil or aluminium foil. You can also use the plastic bags for covering the engine parts and then you can was h you vehicle engine.

[Detailing by M]

I've never covered anything on an engine when I cleaned them.
just use common sense and you'll be fine

[Top Gear]

Re: engine cleaning

As long as the engine is cold, say overnight, all I do is rinse gently and even do a little sudsy mitt-washing. I then blow it all dry with the leaf blower and allow it to sit for a good while. You can't really hurt anything that way. I don't spray on anything else for the engine.

BTW, for the wheel wells, I use the mitt when I'm doing the wheels and occasionally spray some tire foam on the various surfaces. For the undercarriage, I rinse thoroughly occasionally (like after driving in the rain) with a pressure washer or hose at home, and then spray tire foam all over everything. Tire foam acts like a wax or a dressing, and no, it won't hurt anything in the wheel wells or undercarriage.