GPXGRL Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 I was told by a friend of mine that there is something i can use the clean up the engine, etc under the hood.. Zap or osmething? What is it? I'd like it to look nice..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJB Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Just get the parts store brand engine degreaser and use it at a car wash and spray the engine with the hose. It works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay3800 Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Just get the parts store brand engine degreaser and use it at a car wash and spray the engine with the hose. It works fine. Yes, but make sure you cover electrical devices, i.e. alternator. I use Foamy Engine Bright....works great but smells like ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99RegalGS Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Here is somthing from Redfox's webpage. http://redfox340.tripod.com/wbodyperformance/id25.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RareGMFan Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Believe it or not, Slick 50 use to have a kit for detailing the engine. One can was the degreaser, the other was basically Armor All. Worked VERY well. Unfortunately, I haven't used it in a while and now I can't find it anywhere. Must have been discontinued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomFE3 Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 i used simple green and a whole bunch of rags and stuff to clean mine up: right now the surface of the intake plenum has been sanded to look like its almost white if you look at it from the right angle, i took a whole bunch of those red plastic covers off and i have the stock airbox back in there now, but you get the point, i think its pretty clean under there: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPXGRL Posted October 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 that's what i'm looking to do on becky, Phantom.. i want it that clean! Thanks guys I still dunno.. hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Just get the parts store brand engine degreaser and use it at a car wash and spray the engine with the hose. It works fine. do NOT do that!!!! Unless you want your engine to split into halves i would NOT suggest taking your car to the car wash and then spraying it down. You cannot spray water onto a burning hot chunk of metal. what happens when you pour boiling hot water onto cold glass? CRACK. 1)Go to the parts store or whever you can buy any kind of engine degreaser/cleaner 2)go home, place the can down and walk away from it. 3)go through your day as normal and when its over go to sleep 4)wake up and THEN do it when the engine is COLD and has not been running. -Cover all electrical shit. alternator, coils (if exposed), ecm (if exposed), cone filter (if so equipped), and i even cover the + and - of my starter solenoid connections. water is a conductor. should a huge gush of water touch both at the same time, you will have an undesirable shortage. you can clean your engine but you have to be CAREFUL about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 also i forgot to add that when your done you can either let it sit or immediatleyrun the engine. i choose to let it sit to let most of the moisture evaporate. i prefer not to be driving around a steam mobile for 5-10 minutes other may say letting it sit can cause the water to seap into seals. i dont worry about that though....if gasoline, oil, coolant etc can all remain/travel in their proper place under pressure, then water should sure as hell be able to stay out under no pressure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RareGMFan Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Heh...yeah, I made the mistake of driving the TSTE right after I had washed the engine. You'd think an atomic bomb went off under the hood. Wouldn't stop smoking for like 20 minutes. The people next to me at the red lights must have been paranoid thinking my car was on fire. I just smiled and politely waved at them....what else was I going to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPXGRL Posted October 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 hmm.. yeah.. glad you mentioned that.. i woulda pulled a stupid move and driven it.. but not attempted to clean a hot engine.. der. lol Soooo... just regular ole degreaser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 yep...anything on the can that sez its for your engine. will either say degrease or cleaner. if u end up getting it from advance they have this foamy stuff. it works good but its a pain in the ass to get it to go where u want it to go. try to get the liquid stuff but either will work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofthunder Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 it is recommended that you let the car run for a few minutes right before starting though. ONly for like 2-4. Dont use a pressure washer unless your familiar with it. ACtually...dont use a hose at all. Its beter, and more detailed, to use like a bucket of water, or something you can drip over the area. To make it look really nice....the whole idea is to work in small areas. But, if you have to use a hose (its much easier actually), then just barley press the trigger...and let it dribble over. Also, stay away from the belt side. Also, some people dress everything when done. Many people here use Armor All. I hate it cause it dries stuff out over time, and is too stickey. Meguairs makes a chem called "Engine Kote", but usu only available at detail retailers...and its in a big bucket. So, ill just give you a quick rundown... 1) Run engine for a few minutes after stitting for a long time cold 2) cover up battery, alt, coil packs, and spark plugs with plastic bags. 3) spray down in select areas with Simple Green 4) Let it sit for a few 5) Do another resspray 6) hose off with light water. 7) repeat to get all engine clean 8) Let it airdry, if possible. If you need to run out...just dont dog it. And yes, you will see tons of steam Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4spdz34 Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 why cover starter terminals or take so many precautions? u guys are crazy, i spray the degreaser on the hot engine and then use the powerwasher at work, its also a steam cleaner so its hot water. its alot easier. personally i don't cover anything, unless there something that water can get internally into the engine. water is one of the worst conductors, its resistance is so high, and distilled water is accutally a insulator. the only thing i don't do is spray it on the cam cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPaPooh Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 why cover starter terminals or take so many precautions? u guys are crazy, i spray the degreaser on the hot engine and then use the powerwasher at work, its also a steam cleaner so its hot water. its alot easier. personally i don't cover anything, unless there something that water can get internally into the engine. water is one of the worst conductors, its resistance is so high, and distilled water is accutally a insulator. the only thing i don't do is spray it on the cam cover exactly the minerals and iron in the water is what makes it a conductor it is not enough to even spark on the battery unless you have really hard water like if you use well water and you let it sit in a bucket for a few hours and it turns a rust color there might be enough to cause a spark from the battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 i take these precautions because i want my car to run longer than 10 days. and unless that water is damn near boiling i would still not be spraying that on an engine whatever. basiaclly everyone has said something different, which is not much help to gpxgrl. i guess just do whatever works for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofthunder Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 i agrree with ismellrealbad. That...and not covering stuff up is just crazy to me. To risky. As far as power washers, stay away from any gaskets...i dont even trust a normal hose spraying it arroulnd like crazy in there. the power can tear gaskets...and to many wires and everyting arround. The warming the engine up before hand helps remove some of the grese..but not nesc. This is just how i was tought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPXGRL Posted October 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 The friend that told me this (Diane.. drives a NICE lil Miata..) said to just use straight degreaser (like ZAP) and no water at all.. what is the purpose in the water guys? Wouldn't degreaser and a shit load of rags work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RareGMFan Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Well, I once sprayed degreaser on an engine (when I was a newbie to cars) and realized I didn't have enough quarters after the engine was soaked in it :oops: :oops: :oops: I had to call a friend to stop by and give me some singles before I could rinse it off. By the time he got there and I finally washed the engine, the stuff had become hard to remove. It left this filmy kind of residue that could be scratched away, but there is a lot of area to cover under the hood, so it is a serious pain. Rags won't get everywhere. You're going to miss a LOT of spots. It's best you rinse it off. If you want to get more detailed afterwards with rags, that parts up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.