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I use purple cleaner as a degreaser. For what it costs, it’s the most effective product i have come across. Just ask for it at any auto parts store if you are not familiar with it. About $23 for a gallon jug. Also works great for cleaning around the shop or garage. http://www.clean-rite.com/purplepower_industrial_strength_cleaner_degreaser.html
I use a pressure washer to remove the bulk of the crud and then i apply the purple cleaner with a spray bottle. Let it work for a couple minutes and rinse it off.
Obviously don’t spray stuff that should not be sprayed. Blah blah blah. Damage to person and property. Fiery death. All that good stuff.
In my experience, the least effective products are the aerosol engine degreasers like the Gunk brand stuff. These are petroleum based and you are supposed to apply them to a warm engine. It leaves an oily slick everywhere without removing much grime and stinks for days as you can never rinse off all of it. It just adds to the mess and it’s awful for the environment.
For an extra step, i use Auto Magic 713 after the engine has been degreased with purple cleaner. It seems to have an additional effect of really thoroughly cleaning unpainted metal surfaces. I was out of purple cleaner and i used this stuff by itself today on a car with a nasty valve cover leak. The engine compartment looks new. http://www.automagicestore.com/713-special-cleaner.html
^ This!
If you do do it, PLEASE remove your battery and DON’T plug it in until your 100% sure the engine bay has dried! There is allot of electronics in there these days that no-one ever seems to think about about it until they hear a knocking or the engine is magically overheating ! These aren’t the days of carburetors were you could put a bag over the carb and spray the engine willy nilly… It’s not really worth it unless you have a show car…
STAY DIRTY! banana:
I do not think that it is horrible to degrease an engine. Engines get wet all the time. car wash, driving in the rain, etc, etc. I detailed cars for a few years with my Dad, and all that you have to do is get a good degreaser, some trash bags, and a garden hose. DO NOT USE A PRESSURE WASHER! Use common sense, I always put 2 bags over the serpentine belt, I don’t worry about the battery, but you could cover that as well. and lightly spray the top of the engine. Don’t spray so much water on it that the coils/spark plugs are submerged in water. The best thing to do is to keep it clean, don’t let it get too dirty, so you aren’t being as aggressive with the water, and degreaser. Just cover the belt, lightly spray everything with a garden hose, apply your degreaser, let it sit 5 minutes at the most! then lightly rinse everything off. if you have to use a scotch bright to clean plastic bottles, etc. If it is really dirty, clean it this weekend, then do it again next weekend. I do like working on a clean engine, but just use common sense, 99% of the stuff under the hood is able to get wet, but not submerged, or blasted with a fire hose. and make sure you let the car run for a little bit afterwards because it will dry itself off.
Your engine is exposed to water all the time. Every time you drive in the rain, the spray coming through the front end of your car will soak the engine. Your engine was designed with water exposure in mind.
There are some things that i avoid getting water on like ignition coils, vents and vent holes, distributors, and plug wire boots. Sometimes plug wires and coils don’t seal properly and you can end up filling a spark plug well with water, so i pull plug wires or coils and make sure water didn’t get in. Compressed air takes care of that issue.
Also, what’s wrong with using a pressure washer? It’s the perfect tool for this job. You can spray from a distance when you need a weak mist, and you can get into tight places when you need to clean out large grime deposits in engine and transmission webbing. You don’t have to apply a direct jet to everything.
I clean engines several times a week. I have not damaged a single thing in 12 years. Customers pay me to repair a leak and they also expect me to clean up the aftermath. Some cars are bad enough that i have to clean them before starting work just so i can see what i’m working on. I’m not going to waste time, money and health cleaning everything with brake cleaner for a mediocre result. Use some common sense and you will have nothing to worry about.
You can try and check this link. I hope it helps.
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