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any tips? Ideas? I would really hate to do something stupid! lol

 

Start by removing the intake and throwing it in the garbage. Find your stock airbox and accordian tube and put them back in.

Then...

Start with a bucket full of clean water and a towel. Dampen the towel and get to it, rinsing and wringing it in the bucket every couple minutes. When the water becomes too dank, swap it out with some fresh water.

Once done follow up with a light coat of oil or other "protectant".

 

Most people frown upon it, however this is what i've always done (and NEVER had a problem!):

• Cover things such as the alternator and any other exposed wiring with plastic bags and rubber bands.
  
• Mist with a mild de-greaser such as Simple Green or diluted Purple Power.
  
• Agitate dirty areas with soapy brushes.
  
• Gently rinse with a hose.
  
• If you have a compressor or even a leaf blower, blow dry any excess water then wipe down and plastic surfaces.

Like I said, if done with care, you can have great results.

 

If you go down that ^^^ path please disconnect your battery first and keep your hose away from the ECU and relay boxes.

 

throw that intake away

clean it with little bit of soap and water /w towel

clean it again with water /w towel

 

I'll buy that intake from you ._. ... It'll fund your towels, all purpose cleaner, and water bill.

 

x2 and get the stock battery cover back on

 

i used the pressure washer, i did spray a little simple green on it, but just a little.

i would remove that intake, and put something over the throttle body. i also did it on a warm engine, i want it to dry out. some cars have things like spark plug wells and they don't run when they get wet, like the miata.

i sprayed it with some shiny plastic crap. i should have taken a pic with the engine cover off huh?

and of course the pic was taken right side up, so i uploaded sideways...

 

I bought the car like this so unfortunately I don't have a stock air box and everything right now to remove that intake. I don't know who the original owner was as I bought the car from a dealer. but thanks for the tips! I'm pretty scared to spray water under there so I'll probably go with the water bucket/cloth route. Eventually, once the car is paid off I'll start sinking money into it but I'm gonna wait til I pay it off before I start putting too much into it. If all goes as planned it'll be paid off next year so it's not that far away.

side note, holy crap j9fd that engine bay is beautiful!

 

the Rx8 seems to be better about spraying water than most, but yeah. i started with a warm engine, and then didn't spray the area between the intake and alternator.

and with yours, you should just pull the intake off, wet filter is no good!

 

What kind of soap should I use? Should I go with purple stuff/mean green? or should I just use like dish detergent since it's a de-greaser.

 

on the plastic stuff they both seem to work about the same?

on the interior, i basically pull out all the easy stuff, and clean it with a toothbrush and dish soap in the sink

 

I do engines every week and rickeo is right on the money. I too cover the alternator with plastic and make sure not to spray water in any intake holes. Mist EVERYTHING with your degreaser of choice, diluted 4:1 if your not too dirty. Spend time with brushes loosening up any stubborn grease.

Its worth $10 to find a spray nozzle that has a mist feature, NO HARD JETS of water under the hood! With the dirt and grime loose, a fine mist of water is all you'll need. Follow with a blowing vacuum cleaner or air compressor and remove as much water as you can while wiping with a clean microfiber.

When you spray the engine with your plastic dressing, just make sure it's water based, not silicone.

 

you can also dress it with gasoline and light it with a match. you will never have to clean it again.

just kidding, relax!

 

What product was used to spray the plastics to make it nice and shiny?

 

i actually used mothers VLR. it doesn't leave a big shiny finish on the interior stuff, so you need a lot.

next time i'd get something else i think

 

303 Aerospace, the only thing that ever touches my plastics, inside and out.

 

Cover your intake, and dont get your coils/wires/plugs wet (near impossible) and your good.

 

I wash my engine bay once every couple months and pretty much do the same thing as rickeo, though I don't cover my alternator, guess I should start doing that.

Two things I will add:
I disconnect the battery and give it a few hours before I reconnect. Usually I will wash the engine bay first thing, then go about washing and detailing the rest of the car before reconnecting the battery. By the time I'm done with all that its been plenty of time for the engine bay to dry out.

Also get a good spray nozzle for your hose. I never spray directly at the engine, I kind of arc a fine mist up towards the bottom of the hood and let it shower down. Then wipe everything down with a clean towel. Keep in mind, you don't need to clean EVERY surface. Just clean the surfaces up top that are easily visible to pretty it up.

 

If you're not blasting away with a high pressure hose or pressure washer (even worse), the misting water will not harm any of these, or the battery for that matter.

 

I just go to the car wash, soak everything down with simple green then rinse it off with spot free rinse. Never had a issue.

 

Well the RX8 isnt bad as the plugs are exposed but leaving water on the coils (if it gets underneath the wire) and running the vehicle can cause a misfire from arcing. This is more promement on piston engines with spark plug cavities in the head but still the same principal.

Covering connectors, or disconnecting the battery is not needed. Connectors are weather packed for a reason and the battery is not going to short out with a bit of water on it.

 

I pressure wash all my cars engines and have for years. Cover the distributor (coil packs) spray away with your De-greaser and go for it. The only thing I do different, is I never shut the car off while I am washing it, and once I'm finished I go take it for a healthy drive to give the most of the water an opportunity to evaporate. Never had a problem, including the 8. Unless you just start spraying water into the electrical boxes or something stupid like that you should not have issues. Cars were made to get wet to a certain degree.