Engine Detail...No water?

[chevy08]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Hey HK77

the alternator which is in the red circle should be covered. and also the distributor should also. The distrubutor is bout 3 inch to the left of where you have the red rectangle. if you fallow all the wires you have in the red rectangle back to the left you will find the distrubutor. what you have in the red rectangle should be ok if they havenot been removed withn the past week or so. Hope that helps

[wyseilmykkar]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

I've always covered the alternator with foil to keep water out of it, as well as a plastic bag over the battery.

Use as little water as necessary, and if you're really worried about it when you're done, a leaf blower will get rid of any "standing" water in the nooks and crannies.

[AJ C-Burg]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

the only vehicles i take precautions with are german makes. i cover the battery and any fuse boxs with plastic. i make sure all the plug wires are tight and all the resavoirs are closed on all vehicles. then with the hood down i spray the front clip with water, lift the hood and go to town with super d. let the grime break down while i grab my press. washer wand then say bye-bye to all the dirt. after a good blow job i spray some hyper-dressing then shut the hood and wash the car. after i wash and dry the car i take an applicator pad and wipe the excess dressing off and smooth it out. go ahead and hit all the plastic, metal, rubber, and hoses, it bings it all back to life.

[Jam]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Silly question, but am I correct in assuming your driveway will need to be cleaned if you detail your engine bay and rinse off the grease? I have a concrete driveway and I'm wondering if I should put some cardboard underneath, just in case. Thanks.

[akimel]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Check out this Autopia thread on ONR and engine detail.

[Mikejl]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

The Autopia thread looks like a good guide for using ONR to clean the engine bay, but doesn't mention anything about driveway protection.

If your engine is relatively clean you could probably get away with some cardboard underneath. If it's on the bad side, then I would recommend doing it in the street. Otherwise the dirt, grease, etc... will run off the cardboard and down your driveway possibly staining it permanently.

Mike

[AjNavo61490]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

i have done numerous engines with this method with no problems whatsoever:

Rinse with Hose Pressured Water
Spray with APC/DG
Foam with Car Wash Solution
Agitate with Brushes
Rinse with Hose Pressured Water
Dry with Leaf Blower and All-Purpose Towels
Dress with Tire Shine/Dressing (Spray or Aerosol)
Turn on Engine
Let Run for 5 Min.
Turn off Engine
Wipedown Excess Dressing

[DaGonz]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Beware of putting any water ito an Audi engine compartment. I detailed the negine comaprtment of an S4 and it cost me almost $400 to replace the coil packs. needless to say, I lost money on that one!

[jonmike]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

i have done numerous engines with this method with no problems whatsoever:

Rinse with Hose Pressured Water
Spray with APC/DG
Foam with Car Wash Solution
Agitate with Brushes
Rinse with Hose Pressured Water
Dry with Leaf Blower and All-Purpose Towels
Dress with Tire Shine/Dressing (Spray or Aerosol)
Turn on Engine
Let Run for 5 Min.
Turn off Engine
Wipedown Excess Dressing

Hi, you really dressed the engine using tire shine?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Silly question, but am I correct in assuming your driveway will need to be cleaned if you detail your engine bay and rinse off the grease? I have a concrete driveway and I'm wondering if I should put some cardboard underneath, just in case. Thanks.

Or a large heavy duty plastic tarp like 6' by 9' (like the blue ones, not a painter's drop cloth), for which afterwards you can wipe off with paper towels and dispose of the grease and grime in your garbage can or just throw the entire thing away. Some people would do this over their lawn and let the grass and dirt take a little bit of the brunt versus the driveway which might stain. I've used tarps with pretty good luck, it's not a perfect solution but you can trap most of the heaviest gunk that comes off the engine on the tarp. If you're spraying lots of water then some of the oils rinsing off will float on top of the water that accumulates on the tarp and flow off onto the driveway so again, it's not a perfect solution.

[roger 668]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

I spray a section at a time with degreaser,run a dry vapor steamer over it,run a microfiber dampened with APC,blast it with air,move to the next section and repeat,i divide the compartment into quarters,when complete and satisfied all is clean i dress it.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Water is more of an issue if your using steam cleaning.Exposed air filters 'Must' be covered.Your ht leads boots are not a problem(rubber/silicon sealed) unless they are damaged of course.

When covering items in the bay though,make sure you know how many covers you put on to start with.It's very easy to forget one cover and do damage! Same goes with rags,if your polishing.

[cardriver]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

Bottle of APC 4:1
Bottle of water.
Bottle of Hyper Dressing 4:1 (or alternative engine dressing).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plastic-baggie the exposed electricals & alternator copper-coil w/e it's called.

Mist APC, let soak, mist more APC, go to town with a long,thin brush (bought mine in mop section of OSH for $3.

Mist H20 generously. It'll take like 10 mins of misting. Brush some more, then mist more.

Wipe dry w/ MF.

Mist HD onto MF & plastics, hoses etc. Wipe clean. Wow. Amazing.
The key to your thread here, is the spray bottle filled with water. Use it. Great alternative to the annoying, cumbersome, hose.

[ceyko]

Re: Engine Detail...No water?

So, I can't say I ever cleaned a real greased up engine bay. Just dirty/oily but not too oily.

Mainly that I can remember
03 Mustang GT
05 Mustang GT
04 Trailblazer
05 Cobalt
03 Trailblazer

(listed so people know I'm not working with any other cars besides those)

All I do is lightly wet the motor down with water on a cool/cold engine. As I'm of the opinion that high pressure is what can get you into trouble...

after the hole bay is wet I go to town with simple green.

use my hand to wipe down all surfaces

more simple green

another wipe with hand

keep everything wet with simple green

rinse thoroughly with fairly mild pressure via water hose

Let dry/wipe dry, but get engine running fairly soon to ensure no problems.

I'm going to look into this APC stuff, never heard of it as simple green works fine for me. Maybe APC is better though.

Take care