Well, I did it for the first time today. I had been wanting to do it since Saturday's meet but I didn't have time to do it until today.

I took the advice given to me by BOXER and Celtfire and sprayed Simple Green everywhere in the engine bay and the inside part of the hood. Now, the bottle of SG we had at home was only 1/6th full and it didn't seem to be enough to adequately cover and degrease all the components of the engine.

Anyway, I sprayed it on and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Afterward I turned the hose on the Jet setting and sprayed the greasiest parts of the engine. I then put the nozzle to the Shower setting and continued spraying the rest of the engine bay for another 5 minutes or so.

Afterward, I used the blower on my shop-vac to blow dry most parts of the engine, paying special attention to any electrical connections. The Simple Green and water was enough to clean the engine bay thoroughly and I did not need to wipe down any part of the engine.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes to complete the whole process, with the blow drying step taking the longest.

What did I learn?

1. Use more Simple Green next time - There were some spots that were still greasy due to the fact that I simply did not have enough product to saturate the engine bay.

2. Cover my alarm speaker - After letting the car sit for 30 minutes or so to dry off, I closed the hood and pressed the "lock" button on my alarm system. The usual hearty "boop" had turned to a muted and emasculated version of its former self. Hours later, the alarm was back to normal..

3. Do this about once a month or so - In the nearly 3 years I've owned the E I had never cleaned the engine bay. In fact, I have never cleaned the engine bay in any of the cars I've driven. It seems easy and safe enough to do, as long as I allow adequate time to dry.

Hope this helps some of you!

At a do-it-yoursef carwash by me, they have a engine degreaser setting for the power sprayer and it works great. Believe it or not I armor all the plastics and one time I sprayed a little stoner tire shine on the hoses and it looks like new under there. I have sprayed wd-40 on metal surfaces like the valve cover and wiped down with a cloth for a quick cleaning also.

Shen,

You should take some pics of the clean engine bay so we could post the before and after pics. I think Tailoin has the before picture.

Instead of armorall and WD-40 I use a product called CD2 you can buy at your local auto zone or pep boys. This stuff keeps your hoses from drying up and it gives a good shine to the engine. Dont use too much or it will attract major dirt. Like I always say, a little goes a long way. You guys that went to the SoCal meet this saturday saw the end result.

Shen,

You should take some pics of the clean engine bay so we could post the before and after pics. I think Tailoin has the before picture.

Instead of armorall and WD-40 I use a product called CD2 you can buy at your local auto zone or pep boys. This stuff keeps your hoses from drying up and it gives a good shine to the engine. Dont use too much or it will attract major dirt. Like I always say, a little goes a long way. You guys that went to the SoCal meet this saturday saw the end result.


i totally forgot to take the before picture but here is the "after"... the lighting isn't great since it's dark outside but you get the idea.

i think the 2nd time i do this i'll actually "dress" the engine but for virtually no work i think it looks great!

Hey Shen,

I would really stay away from spraying the engine bay with water on JET. In general, there are so many sensors and electrical components that I can't justify that action...

I would try the spray SG on a towel and wipe... That seems to be the safest way to clean the engine. Also, try not to clean the engine bay while the engine is HOT... You can crack the aluminum head or the engine block...Different types of metal contract differently to COLD water.

I myself don't use any cleaners... I use just regular left over oil from my oil changes. They disolve the grime away just as good as SG...

One more thing, THANK YOU for you write up on the Turn Signal/Blinker Modification... That was EXCELLENT!!!

This is the before....This is a pic of my car, but his looked exactly the same(minus the hand)....
9935
When I get a chance I too will be doing this...:grin:

Hey Shen,

I would really stay away from spraying the engine bay with water on JET. In general, there are so many sensors and electrical components that I can't justify that action...

I would try the spray SG on a towel and wipe... That seems to be the safest way to clean the engine. Also, try not to clean the engine bay while the engine is HOT... You can crack the aluminum head or the engine block...Different types of metal contract differently to COLD water.

I myself don't use any cleaners... I use just regular left over oil from my oil changes. They disolve the grime away just as good as SG...

One more thing, THANK YOU for you write up on the Turn Signal/Blinker Modification... That was EXCELLENT!!!

I would be cautious about what the Simple Green gets onto also. I had bought a chain cleaner device for my bicycle and the girl at the bike shop recommended using Simple Green instead of the solvent that they sold for the cleaning tool. The cleaning tool hung on the chain and did the cleaning as I turned the pedal. It got the chain sparkling clean, but some Simple Green worked its way into the rear hub, dissolved the grease, and I ended up getting experience at repacking the wheel bearings as well.

I would also be careful with SG. I have seen it cause discoloration on aluminum parts.
Here (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-engine.html) is a step by step guide I had bookmarked.

Simple green works Just fine. I've cleaned my CRV engine with it several times. So far no trouble with wireing or sencors. I asked the dealer, B-4 I did it the first time. I asked the question, about waiting for it to cool. He told me that B-4 they clean an Engine they warm it up, " the hotter the better " Is what he told me. They Presser Wash it, I went out back to the used car prep area to see for myself. So i use Simple green, and a garden hose, with the high presser nozel.

It does a nice JOB !

I use cold water and wipe it clean. :)

I also do it when engine is cold.:grin:

Thanks Shen. Your post was helpful. Like you, I've never cleaned out the "engine bay" on any car I've ever owned (although I have swiped parts of the engine and other components before selling a car to a private party). So, the other day, I was checking my oil, and lamenting that after 4 months of owning my E, the engine area is no longer pristine. Now I know what I need to do next time I'm at the store--get some Simple Green.

Now I know what I need to do next time I'm at the store--get some Simple Green.

Get the Automotive Simple Green or get Gunk Engine Brite Cleaner.

I have used simple green for over 8 years on my engines. I have done at least 20 times on my Isuzu Trooper's. We had 2. ( Now its an 03 CRV, and an 05 E ) The stuff works wonders. It did not seam to do any damage to anything in over 180,000 miles on one and over 200,000 on the other. They had alum. blocks and heads also. I always started with a warm engine, and uaed the Jet setting on the hose. They come out Clean and Mean.

any suggestions about using the 'clean engine' selection at the local diy car wash?? things to spray away from? I dont want to hurt anything under there... :confused: or should I just let it be dirty until next spring...???

Every time I wash my car the last thing I do is hose down my engine, wipe stuff down with the car wash soap, than rinse. so far (12K mi) the engine bay still looks new :)

Secondly, what's that silver box on the passenger side with the black metal lines coming out of it attached to the shock tower under the A/C lines? My E doesn't have that.

Every time I wash my car the last thing I do is hose down my engine, wipe stuff down with the car wash soap, than rinse. so far (12K mi) the engine bay still looks new :)

Secondly, what's that silver box on the passenger side with the black metal lines coming out of it attached to the shock tower under the A/C lines? My E doesn't have that.


That's the ABS controller.

That's the ABS controller.
lmao....good thing we figured that one out last meet :grin:

lmao....good thing we figured that one out last meet :grin:

lol... that was the easy one...

the Delphi box with "ED" on it... that took a long time to figure out!!!

(PS... it's the cruise control module)

So that's what you guys do at the meets.
:grin: