Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

[razingkane]

I found some info here on engine cleaning but not a lot, so here are my questions.

I did Mequiers 5 step program....which looks absolutely awesome. However, and I hate to admit it....the engine compartment needs a bit of lovin. I swore to myself I'd never do something like this as it's an engine, it's dirty so what. But I makes the rest of the car look incomplete. So, reading here I've found that I need to bag my alternator and fuse box. BMW puts all the electronic stuff in one area which I'll bag as well. Is there anything else I need to bag?

I've read here that APC or something else works well. Do I dilute the APC? Do I put the APC in a spray bottle or what? Is there anything in the engine bay that I should not put APC on? Do I need to somehow dry the engine once it's cleaned? Once it's cleaned is there anything else I need to do?

There's a rumor going around that another German auto club will be hosting a car show sometime in May in Colorado Springs. I hope to have all this done by then.

[razingkane]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

Ah I forgot one thing. The sound deadening stuff on the inside part of the hood. How do I clean it?

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

You could use APC, but Super Degreaser would probably be a better bet. recommended dilutions are on the bottle.

[Tuck91]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

Ah I forgot one thing. The sound deadening stuff on the inside part of the hood. How do I clean it?

I usually use Meguiars Hot Shine Tire Foam on the underhood pad. It cleans and protects in one step.

From my experience, they do not seem to clean up really well with either APC or soap and water.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

Do I dilute the APC?
APC should be diluted 4:1 for heavy cleaning but it sounds like you may need some Super Degreaser as the engine compartment sounds pretty dirty.

Do I put the APC in a spray bottle or what?
Yes, you put it in a spray bottle. Preferably you would want to use a Detailer APC spray bottle with a chemical resistant spray head. These bottles have the diluton levels on the side which eliminates the guess work.

Is there anything in the engine bay that I should not put APC on?
From my experience, there is nothing that APC can be put on. Obviously, I would not concentrate on electronics but you are bagging them anyway.

Do I need to somehow dry the engine once it's cleaned?
You cna go around with an old towel once it is cleaned and dab up any puddled water and dry it pretty well. I would turn it on for 5 mins or so to dry off anything you could not reach with the towel.

Once it's cleaned is there anything else I need to do?
You could dress it with a water based dressing of some kind. Do not use a solvent based dresing as these are flammable (I believe......) and I am simply not a fan of leaving anything flammable in an engine. Natural Shine, Supreme Shine, M40, Hyper-Dressing are all very good water based dressings. I have used them all except Hyper-dressing and have been satisfied with all of them.

I do not spray water into the engine but will sometimes (if the engline is really dirty) let the water flow from the hose without a nozzle so that I can direct the water with as little pressure as possible. For engines that are not terrible, I liberally spray APC or Super Degreaser (or an equivalent) and then wash it with car wash soap and a brush. I then empty the buck and fill it with plain water, rinse my brush out, and proceed to "rinse" the engine with my brush and plain water. I do this with engines that have not been cared for or older cars (my mom's civic's enigne has never been cleaned so I took this one nice and easy as to not disturb anything that may have dried out). Then, I usually dress with M40 or Supreme Shine.

[razingkane]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

I do not spray water into the engine but will sometimes (if the engline is really dirty) let the water flow from the hose without a nozzle so that I can direct the water with as little pressure as possible. For engines that are not terrible, I liberally spray APC or Super Degreaser (or an equivalent) and then wash it with car wash soap and a brush. I then empty the buck and fill it with plain water, rinse my brush out, and proceed to "rinse" the engine with my brush and plain water. I do this with engines that have not been cared for or older cars (my mom's civic's enigne has never been cleaned so I took this one nice and easy as to not disturb anything that may have dried out). Then, I usually dress with M40 or Supreme Shine.

I was kind of wondering about this. I've seen people blast engines at do it yourself car washes engine with the power washer. I don't recall seeing bagged parts.

So just gently hose the engine, spray Super De-greaser, hose engine, dry, and dress if needed......

Geesh, I can't wait for this all to be over. I've read here that many of you love to do this...Bless you guys that can do this and make a living at it. Me, I hate it with a passion.....but I know it needs to be done. Thanks for everyone's help with this.

[Tuck91]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

I was kind of wondering about this. I've seen people blast engines at do it yourself car washes engine with the power washer. I don't recall seeing bagged parts.

So just gently hose the engine, spray Super De-greaser, hose engine, dry, and dress if needed......

Geesh, I can't wait for this all to be over. I've read here that many of you love to do this...Bless you guys that can do this and make a living at it. Me, I hate it with a passion.....but I know it needs to be done. Thanks for everyone's help with this.

I would try APC at 4:1 before Super Degreaser. You may not need something as strong as Super Degreaser.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

If you are concerned about the heavy spray that comes from the hose....you can use a garden sprayer. You know the ones that you pump up with air and then spray. You get a good spray that is easily controlled.

[Calais]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

I prefer to use the "mist" option on my garden hose attachment with pieces of foil covering sensitive areas. I also spray WD-40 where wires attach to electronic parts, as that is what it was originally intended for (Water Displacement - Formula 40), that way even in a bit of water finds its way into these areas, it won't end up messing up any other wires.

[roushstage2]

Re: Newbe with a bunch of engine cleaning ?

Here's mine with steps and products:

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31169

I generally follow this procedure with every engine and they all come out great. My Dodge Neon engine looks pretty much the same as above too.