hi i was just wondring how you guys clean your engine bay. if its really durty

first spray degreaser on it then use a pressure washer on it. try not to hit any components with direct spray and make sure the engine isnt hot

And beware that degreaser will quickly (and almost permanently) stain a porous concrete driveway, so clean the engine somewhere where a stain won't matter.

i have a water blaster (you can adjust the pressure) if you need it yushi

NO!

stray from the the oily types of engine degreaser if possible. those leave a mess.
u can use a automotive brand cleaner thats biodegradeable called simple green.
it won't stink up ur cabin like those greasy type of engine degreaser. and its also pretty multi-purpose as i find it.

with simple green, u can clean ur hands with it, ur rims, tires, and its not harmful to u.

^^^ He is right. I used it on my engine bay and it looks great!

^^^Can you use Simple Green to clean cross drilled/ slotted rotors?

don't use a pressure washer. water DOES get into the electronic stuff in there, and shit goes haywire

on my previous car i used oxy-clean to clean my engine, no smell, cheap and leaves no oil residue

i sprayed my engine bay down with a water from a garden hose and some degreaser just fine. just shielded some of the electrical wiring with aluminum foil.

just be careful if you're spraying water in there. it's not worth saving yourself an hour by spraying water if it's gonna cost you hundreds of dollars and hours of time fixing the electrical problems down the road

very true, i was pretty scared doing it, you really need to protect all the electricals.

don't use a pressure washer. water DOES get into the electronic stuff in there, and shit goes haywire

Why the 3 month thread bump?

An OEM engine can handle a light pressure wash without a problem. Don't go crazy and use a full pressure - just light pressure closer to a garden hose with a finger over it. OEM parts are water resistant. They have to be since water can come up from under the bay when you hit large puddles.

Aftermarket parts are generally more sensisitive so be especially careful with them. They're not tested to nearly the specs required for the OEM parts in terms of reliability. If you've done anything like removing your HVAC to install a RB duct/intake and that wire is sitting out make sure you cover it up with a tightened baggie before any washing.

Also worth noting that people with hood scoops would have problems in rain if engine parts were that sensitive to water.

I used simple green, a hose, and a rag and it worked fine. Shiny new engine.

also, it's best to do this when the engine is COLD.

i've seen the damage, personally, on multiple cars. i didn't see this thread before, as i don't look all around the forums all the time. I pretty much stick to a few specific threads that interest me. do what you will, but if your car starts freaking out, don't say i didnt warn ya.

i've seen the damage, personally, on multiple cars.

Multiple RX-8s? Because 'cars' is a pretty broad description. Older engines used to have tons of problems with water in the bay especially when applied at high pressure. Frankly there are cars with engines where I'd be scared of driving in the rain.

I've seen a few notes here or there of modified cars having issues but don't recall anyone saying that they have had problems with a stock RX-8. I would never use a pressure washer since it's unneccessary overkill and definitely a higher risk but I do know someone with an RX8 who has used the do-it-yourself car-wash coin operated pressure washers on his bay several times.

Again it's not something I think people should do since it adds at least some risk and gives you nothing that you can't get with a little elbow grease.

No, I haven't seen it on multiple RX-8's. Or one RX-8, for that matter. But multiple cars up through the late 90's. There is no point to using a pressure washer, or using large amounts of water. If you're going to use water, I'd suggest using a bucket or glass of water so you can pour the water exactly where you want. Water is very damaging to anything metal, electrical, etc. It's stupid to subject your car's electronics, engine, etc to water, rust, etc. The amount of water that gets into your engine bay from the rain is pretty minimal. Also, a few RX-8's in NJ were damaged pretty severely(fried ECUs) from driving through somewhat flooded areas. Hosing the crap out of your engine bay is essentially the same thing. The question is: Why risk it?

garden hose without a high pressure nozzle and you'll be fine

^what about the alternator?

RX is right everything under our engine bay that is OEM is designed to be waterproof to a certain degree.

yup, just dont' blast it with high pressure and use only the amount of water necessary and you 'should' be fine

The problem is that when you spray water all over everything, then run your engine later, it boils and makes steam. The steam fills up your engine bay (since there aren't vents, and even if there were, it would still fill it up pretty bad) Then, the steam penetrates the stuff that's "Waterproof" but not "steam-proof". Rust, corrosion, etc etc...

failure

simple:

- spray diluted simple green
- lightly hose off
- use rag to dry / clean
- start engine with hood open. Let idle for a few minutes, just about everything should be dry by now

all done. :)

I have used simple green and purple power and both are great. I used degreaser in the past but it leaves a oily film.

I've don warm engine cold engine and never a problem.
Did all of the above on my 2000 civic and 2000 s10.

Spray the cleaner all over and let soak for a few min. Use a normal hose and keep the water moving. Repeat till satisfied.

Afterwards just keep the hood open a while(good chance to wash the back half of the car or detail the inside). Or let the engine run till it all steams off(at least till it warms up)

I never let my engine bay get that dirty lol. If it does get dirty though i use a steam cleaner and the baked on crap just melts away.

I had to replace a throttle body after "rinsing" my engine with water. I took apart the TB and discovered that there was no rubber seal in between the electronics plate and the metal.

Installed used TB(thanks mazmart!) and car ran good as new again.

Go ahead and spray water in your engine bay. I got away with it twice. Third time was the charm.

i am not comfortable spraying my engine bay...
i use meguiars detailer...
spray and wipe

it looks beautiful....:)
its never been dirty enough to hose it down..

I had to replace a throttle body after "rinsing" my engine with water. I took apart the TB and discovered that there was no rubber seal in between the electronics plate and the metal.

Installed used TB(thanks mazmart!) and car ran good as new again.

Go ahead and spray water in your engine bay. I got away with it twice. Third time was the charm.

ouch... that sucks. always gotta watch out for that number 3 lol...

Wipe what you can by hand, then use the cleaners where you can't manually clean. I actually use a bottle and cup for rinsing. It provides more control and minimizes splashing.

Engine bays are design to resist water splash from wheels and run down from the edges of the hood. But keep in mind that this splashing is nothing like the water out of a garden hose or sprayer.

The main idea is only use what you need. If the garden hose is overkill, then its exactly that, overkill and doesnt need to be used. If you are that specific about cleaning the engine bay, then I'm sure you won't mind the extra time doing it right.

As for doing it while the engine is cold, its much more important for a rotary than a reciprocating engine. For one aluminum reacts faster and more severly to quick temperature changes so dumping a cup of water on a hot aluminum block is much more dangerous than onto a cast iron block. Rotary engines produce much more heat than a reciprocating engine so dumping water on it will cause that one portion of the engine to cool and shrink faster than the other parts stressing and possibly twisting it.

I think after working in the car grooming i think the best way and the safe way is

1 keep your engine running to be safe
2 spray degreaser
3 spray with water blaster
4 get a rag wipe it
5 spay with vinyl shine
6 you will have spakling engine bay

shinka213 i use to be same wasn't sure about water blasting in the engine bay but after doing like 5000+ cars and none of them stuffed up so i say it pretty safe to use water blaster but i never spayed it on battery but the rx8 comes with cover so there is no worry

keep your engine running to be safe

Definitions of oxymoron on the Web:

Two concepts {usually two words} that do not go together, but are used together

Don't sweat the fan(s) or belt(s) at all. They won't hurt, honest.

Get a bottle of Castrol SuperClean and spary that sucker down. Wait 2-3 minutes max and hose off with cool water from a hose. should do everything you need.

At my dealer we use a can of Steamclean and rinse off, it's just a little stronger then a spray nozzle that's like a shower head setting and never had a customer complain with problems....then again I work on Toyota's. I haven't had any problems with water, after all that's how we check coils and wires for ignition depending the the symptom.

Here's the link to what we use and depending on how dirty it is you could use the whole can or roughly half.

http://www.midwayautosupply.com/pc-10393-152-gumout-steam-premium-xtra-duty-engine-cleanerdegreaser-20-oz-aerosol-7566.aspx

i am not comfortable spraying my engine bay...
i use meguiars detailer...
spray and wipe

it looks beautiful....:)
its never been dirty enough to hose it down..

ditto!

As for doing it while the engine is cold, its much more important for a rotary than a reciprocating engine. For one aluminum reacts faster and more severly to quick temperature changes so dumping a cup of water on a hot aluminum block is much more dangerous than onto a cast iron block. Rotary engines produce much more heat than a reciprocating engine so dumping water on it will cause that one portion of the engine to cool and shrink faster than the other parts stressing and possibly twisting it.

By this logic, one should never drive through a puddle with a hot engine. I think you're being overly cautious. Five minutes of cool-down time is probably sufficient to prevent any damage from differential cooling.

Many points of view on the subject matter, all of which should be taken into account. It really boils down to 2 things. How dirty it is and how clean you want it to be. Then it's all a matter of upkeep. My car is a 2004 and looks almost brand new.

http://www.altspace.com/rx8/vrcaps1.jpg

^ Nice clean motor.....

My nozzle on my hose is broken right now (stuck) so if I try to clean the motor it will drop a steady flood...:icon_no2: :icon_no2:

I have noo clue how to get the damn thing off:banghead: Maybe I'll "borrow" a neighbors...

My car is a 2004 and looks almost brand new.


That's because you replaced everything with an aftermarket part once it got dirty! :)




Back in the '70's, when big V-8's got greasy dirty, my dad would warm up the engine, then spray it down with oven cleaner. 20 minutes later, he'd hose it off. Clean again, and lemony fresh! lol

Of course, I'd never use anything like that on my 8. Mine's an '07, 7,600 miles, and I've only had to clean the engine bay once so-far. Garaging it in winter helps keep it clean in the first place.

i am not comfortable spraying my engine bay...
i use meguiars detailer...
spray and wipe

it looks beautiful....:)
its never been dirty enough to hose it down..

Same, used some Q-tips for the tight quarters and a detailing brush that you can buy at autozone. Now I have a spotless and pretty engine bay. Good luck and whatever route you use, just keep it low pressure.

By this logic, one should never drive through a puddle with a hot engine. I think you're being overly cautious. Five minutes of cool-down time is probably sufficient to prevent any damage from differential cooling.

If you notice the entire portion under and around the engine is covered. The 8's have a huge plastic shield that bolts up under the front end covering it from the front bumper to well past the back of the front wheels. This is done to minimize as much water splash from entering the engine bay. So yes its important to be cautious about spraying cold water on hot engines. Yes I will agree giving the engine some time to cool down is the best way to do it.

Washed mine yesterday, simple green and a light spray from a garden hose.

She runs perfectly :)

//EDIT
The previous owner of the car didn't every even look at the engine bay, so it was filthy..

I have found that the best way to clean you engine bay is to keep it clean. every time I wash my car I wipe down the engine bay with a damp rag. If you keep it clean it will stay clean.

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/grx8scott/2955522_9_full-1.jpg

The problem I run into most times. My American hands don't fit into the Japanese spaces. I have relatively large hands and this makes it difficult to clean the smaller and tighter spaces. And most of the time its dust that doesn't wash off without rubbing. Alas, the joys of being slightly OCD.

i use a degreaser called purple power and then a water pressure hose....that works great

Simple Green works really well. It's mild but has a pretty effective dirt and grime cutting ability. Smells good too. I've always used a garden sprayer to rinse the engine bay area. Easy to control, low pressure and you can used hot water to help cut the grime and grease. You can do it when the engine is mildly warm (NOT HOT!) to help evaporate the water faster. When you're done, go ahead and get the engine warmed up to full operating temp then maybe a drive around the block. By the time you come back, it's 90% dry or better. That'll keep the water from getting time to seep into placed it shouldn't be.

1. Degreaser /simple green
2. Low pressure water rinse
3. Hit it with compressed air
4. wipe down anything else

then finish off the plastic stuff with Mothers back to black

The problem is that when you spray water all over everything, then run your engine later, it boils and makes steam. The steam fills up your engine bay (since there aren't vents, and even if there were, it would still fill it up pretty bad) Then, the steam penetrates the stuff that's "Waterproof" but not "steam-proof". Rust, corrosion, etc etc...

failure


Agreed... I went through some puddles and i have to replace my ignition wires i believe because their rusted... and i didnt spray my engine with Water... so just wipe it down with a cloth and keep it clean... whats the old quote again??? "Rather safe than sorry" but then again its your money...

APC 5:1 dilute
Paint safe brush
Soft wheel brush for plastics
Hose
Dry with MF towel
Dress with Meg's Hyper Dressing 4:1 dilute

No joke but I found leather cleaner makes the plastic parts shine really well and stay shiny.

i clean my engine with PURPLE POWER
and my plastics with PLEDGE
they both are great

Two methods:

1. hand clean with a rag and some less aggressive solvent like Simple Green (preventive maintenance)
2. Steam clean (if not well maintained)

I know the bay is open (bottom) to the elements, but I don't like running a hose on it.

Of course on vehicles I didn't care as much about I've used engine degreaser and a hose. ;)

Check out what I did to a recently detailed TSX. Scroll down a few pics

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=78334&view=findpost&p=899014

What I did:
1. Make sure engine is cold
2. Cover alternator and any inlets that can go into the intake box
3. Lightly spray with cold water
4. P21s TAW, let dwell for about 5-10 mins.
5. Rinse again lightly
6. Blow dry the engine
7. CG Fade2Black
8. Let engine run for 10 mins or so

Hmmmm.....im gonna have to try this

here is what I did

Went to Big Lots....5 bucks i got a huge container of simple green makes like 15 gallons or something and comes with wipes as well bonus!

went to the dollar store and bought 2 empty spray bottles and labeled them

filled on with simple green, and one with water, This allowed me to directly get areas and not having to pray that i didnt get any electrical stuff wet.

spray with simple green, wipe, and if needed spray with water to rinse...

works like a charm