under the hood

bob002500 · September 11, 2004

any one know of a good cleaner to get all the dirt and junk from under the hood. i was thinking simple green? any one use that

budhayes3 · September 11, 2004

Personally, and this is just me, I'm not a big fan of using liquids under the hood. As a technician, I saw quite a few electrical problems caused by underhood washing and steam cleaning. I usually just do some wiping with shop rags and use brake cleaner and compressed air on a cold engine when I have messes caused by leaks or repairs.

If you are going to use Simple Green (very good stuff IMO), or some other degreaser, be ready to prep the engine bay really good first. Be sure to try and seal or cover electrical connections as best as possible.

teamjnz · September 11, 2004

I used Simple Green and a cold water pressure gun, from Harbor Freight, to clean up a motor on a Mitsubishi pick up before I sold it. It worked real good. I bagged and duc taped the alternator best I could before cleaning. The greasy grime flies off.

teamjnz

99silveradoz71 · September 12, 2004

I currently use simple green, let sit, then mist off using the very light mist setting on my hose nozzle. I haven't had any issues with it, though I do monitor closely where I'm spraying. A coating of protectant under the hood will help make regular cleaning easier.

dannyukonxl · September 12, 2004

not sure where i read it but i read that simple green corrodes aluminum, i used to use it on the dirtbikes but switched to regular dish soap in a bucket with a soft, medium, and stiff bristled brush, i also use that engine degreaser stuff from pep girls and about 5 minutes later everything looks new, and the key is to turn the hose on half way so you dont push water past seals

Mighty HD · September 12, 2004

I use purple power degreaser and soak the engine, then soak it down with the hose for about 5-7 min. I dont cover anything up, havent had a problem for as long as I've owned cars....thats quite a while.

Once I'm done, i usually dry as much as I can with a towel, drive it for about 30 min so it will evaporate the water, then when it cools back down I'll get armor-all detailers advantage tire foam and spray it in the entire engine bay. It looks like a show truck when I'm done.

Tolliverme · September 12, 2004

I have done under the hood cleaning on every vehicle I ever owned and never had a problem. I have used 409, simple green and others. The one think that you want to remember though is do it when the engine is cold. If you spray most any cleaner on a hot engine it will dry immediately and tends to discolor the black plastic components.

When your done take a blower and blow the excess water off and the take it for a little drive this will warm up things so they can dry completely.

Spraying wd-40 or similar product on electrical connections wan't hurt anything either.

I worked on military aircraft for 20 years and we did pretty much the same on tactical jet aircraft.

I believe a clean engine lasts longer. i f nothing else you can sure spot any leaks as soon as they happen.

KENWORTH-1 · September 12, 2004

Try Orange Citrus Engine Brite..Great New Product from Gunk. Its two things in one..Engine Cleaner and Engine Detailer. Leaves your hoses and Engine Brand New looking again!

tmf6902 · September 12, 2004

As far as water on electrical components......doesn't rain get up there when your driving in a big storm anyway???? You can't tell me the alternator stays dry when your driving????

budhayes3 · September 12, 2004

As far as water on electrical components......doesn't rain get up there when your driving in a big storm anyway???? You can't tell me the alternator stays dry when your driving????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, think of the amount of water during rain as opposed to running a hose directly into the engine compartment. Funny though, after reading this thread, I just went out and took a good look at my engine compartment, and it's lookin kinda grimey. Not real bad, no leaks or anything, but I'm thinkin I may have to do something about it. Back in my dealership days Gunk was the degreaser of choice, and the stuff that Kenworth mentioned sounds pretty cool.

Now just because I said that I wasn't a fan of liquids under the hood doesn't mean that I haven't done it. You just have to be careful. We had a Supra towed into the shop once that would have burned to the ground if the fire dept didn't show up so fast. The owner had the engine steam-cleaned and her spark plug wires were pretty old...needless to say she developed a misfire and dumped raw fuel into the catalytic converter. She was sitting at a light when the shifter started getting really warm...looked down and flames started coming through the console when the heat from the cat ignited the raw fuel. The car was like a piece of half burnt toast when we pushed it onto my lift.

I don't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, just sharing a past experience. The nice thing is though, I think that we're all smart enough to realize if there's a problem, and take the necessary steps to avoid a toasty experience. Now to decide what I want to do about my less than clean engine bay...maybe some Gunk citrus in my future.

teamjnz · September 12, 2004

I ruined an alternator once on a Pontiac Boonville with getting really wet with a hose. When I was done cleaning the engine I started it up and from under the hood with my hand gave it a few revs and heard a pop noise. A day and a half later I was replacing the alternator. I guess I shorted it out with the water being in it. That is why I never clean my engine with out covering up the alternator now. I suppose they are engineered for wet weather driving but not being drenched with a hose.

teamjnz

commanche1 · September 13, 2004

hello, expert engine washer here, ha. but i have the scoop. i was talking to the gm service techicians. they say water around the electrical is bad for engine. they said that it can mess up a engine bad and hard to find out what is wrong. i have washed mine with no problems but i only mist it and never water it near electrical areas.i know on FORD trucks that have COPS on top of the spark plugs you never water them. i dont think water is good for our engines.as for water flying up from road. i stopped and looked under my hood on a rainy day and found very little water on the engine.so, i wash mine but guess i am lucky.

joe041500 · September 16, 2004

Hey guys.

I guess I have to join those with the dissenting opinions.

I used to clean my engine maticulously and one day noticed that I seemed to always have some sort of electrical problem. Well, when I stopped doing it, my problems went away. But, that's me.

In all honesty, you shouldn't worry too much about getting your engine compartment wet (using low pressure of coarse!). That's because those electrical components can get wet. For that matter, any electrical component can get wet: computer, t.v., radio, cell phone, etc. These components only fail when you apply power to them while they're still wet! The key is, if one of your devices gets wet, you can use it again but you must allow it to dry COMPLETELY before applying power. For some devices this might take a week. But, I digress.

Cleaning your engine compartment is fine as long as you give it time to dry. Don't drive your truck immediately after cleaning to let the engine heat dry it, that's like turning on your cell phone after you dropped it in the tub. As for me, I just let my engine stay a little dirty.

Joe

99silveradoz71 · September 16, 2004

Did mine up with Simple Green about a week or 2 ago followed by some protectant on the plastics. Washed the truck today and it looked really clean under the hood, just put on more protectant and it looked as good as before.