Cleaning engine bays on older cars without damaging?
Discussion
I want to clean/semidetail my engine bay on my 97 e36 m3. The bay is generally grubby with the traces of old oil leaks in a couple of places and lets down the rest of the car.
I have a Karcher, etc but not sure what I can get away with without the car never starting again/running rough afterwards.
Anyone here an expert on what I should get/how I should/shouldn't approach this?
I have a Karcher, etc but not sure what I can get away with without the car never starting again/running rough afterwards.
Anyone here an expert on what I should get/how I should/shouldn't approach this?
Too many electrical connectors & electrical components to use high pressure water.
I prefer to use a solvent - clutch & brake cleaner is very good for getting rid of grease, oil, tar spots etc & to date I've never had any paint damage issues - with plenty of rags & a toothbrush to scrub stubborn bits. Paint brushes also come in handy on larger areas
Paper kitchen towels are very good for the job too, especially to mop up & wipe the surfaces after scrubbing, I use a lot of Lidl's 'Saxon' brand. The blue roll stuff is useless.
I prefer to use a solvent - clutch & brake cleaner is very good for getting rid of grease, oil, tar spots etc & to date I've never had any paint damage issues - with plenty of rags & a toothbrush to scrub stubborn bits. Paint brushes also come in handy on larger areas
Paper kitchen towels are very good for the job too, especially to mop up & wipe the surfaces after scrubbing, I use a lot of Lidl's 'Saxon' brand. The blue roll stuff is useless.
Edited by paintman on Tuesday 6th July 15:20
There's a YouTuber called "car cleaning guru" who does some pretty detailed videos on how he does different aspects of it, and there are several on engine bay cleaning. Worth a watch, I seem to recall he uses a combination of rubber gloves and plastic bags to protect things like electrics and air inlets.
V1nce Fox said:
I'm watching the ChrisFix one now. Also ordered some APC as well.
Weird, but I've kept the rest of the car really clean but always neglect the engine bay.
+1 for ChrisFix, he does keep it quite simple and easy to follow.Weird, but I've kept the rest of the car really clean but always neglect the engine bay.
Would also +1 on the paint brushes, great for working any SopeyWarda into hard to get places.
I haven't done any major cleaning in the engine bay, but a squirty bottle, paint brushes and microfibre cloth (or kitchen towel to start with on the really dirty stuff) will do a great job of tidying things up. just be a bit careful where the water goes, but anything from and a hand held squirty bottle is not going to do any damage.
P.S. Before/After pictures would be nice.
Do the oily rag thing. Do not ever use Karcher or steam. Garage I was associated with used to do that.It ruined the ECU on a Nissan QX, a great barge in its day. The ECU then was £1250 at trade price. Just do it gradually with familiar domestic products and WD 40. What may have worked for a Morris Minor with a plastic bag over its distributor is not suitable for modern engines, governed by electrical gadgetry.
Edited by Lester H on Wednesday 7th July 09:13
You can use tin foil to wrap up connectors and reservoir caps etc and then you can use a hose to at least rinse. You can use a power wash just bursts in certain areas, some of the cleaners can need quite some rinsing.
On some engines water can easily get into spark plug wells and give issues, just think about what you are doing and don't just wade in with all nozzles blazing!!
On some engines water can easily get into spark plug wells and give issues, just think about what you are doing and don't just wade in with all nozzles blazing!!
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