Engine bay cleaning

[Joelb]

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to clean a very oily, greasy, dirty etc. engine bay? I would like to do a little painting in there while I have the engine out.

 

[roger_abbott]

As far as I know, there is no easy way. A lot of hand work is involved.

I have used brake cleaner to soften up oil and grease deposits, followed by engine cleaner, both out of aerosol cans. It seems the brake cleaner helps the engine cleaner soak in better. Last year I finally acquired a steam cleaner, which is basically a pressure washer that runs through a boiler. Water comes out at 200 degrees, but even with all that, some deposits will not come off and have to be removed by scraping. Simple Green seems to work well with the steam cleaner, but it helps to pretreat the with brake and engine cleaner.

Even after cleaning as described, the surface is not clean enough for paint. It is still necessary use wax and grease remover in liberal quantities and wipe clean.

 

[Steve_S]

Don't get brake cleaner on anything you don't want to repaint. Even a little bit will destroy paint in no time. I use it to strip paint off parts sometimes.

I use Simple Green and a variety of kitchen scrub brushes. Warm up the engine before you start and the grease will come off easier. Just be careful about getting water or degreaser into the distributor. If it seeps in there, you will need to remove the distributor and clean it out. Try duck tape around the base of the distributor and a rag tied around that.

 

[AweMan]

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to clean a very oily, greasy, dirty etc. engine bay? I would like to do a little painting in there while I have the engine out.

Spray the whole engine bay with de greaser, let it sit for a while then take a pressure washer to it. You may have to make several attempts to get everything spotless.
Some elbow grease and brushes might also be aplicable.

 

[Steve_S]

Ok, then warm it up by setting it in the sun for an hour. Same thing.

 

[Joelb]

I've been prepping it with simple green. I'm gonna trailer it to a local car wash tomorrow.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Hey, Joel -

Careful where you take it. I got sent home by one of the local car wash owners for trying to wash down a transmission a while back. They frown on that here in Clarksville!

Mickey

 

[shorn]

I went through a gallon or more of simply green, used the power washer, and several brushes including a few tooth brushes for the tight corners. Lots of hours and I had my engine out as well, but now is the time to do it.

 

[roger_abbott]

Steve, I was surprised by your experience with brake cleaner. Carburetor cleaner is a great paint stripper but the generic brake cleaner I use does not attack paint. The idea is to soften up caked on grease and dirt so the Simple Green or other detergent will emulsify it more quickly.

The product that works best is "elbow grease". Cheers.

 

[Steve_S]

I use Brake Kleen brand. It eats up paint aggressively.

 

[tony barnhill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I got sent home by one of the local car wash owners for trying to wash down a transmission a while back. They frown on that here in Clarksville!
[/QUOTE]

Mickey, that guy must also own a car wash here in Gurley!!

 

[Dave Russell]

There are two general types of brake cleaners. The "chlorinated" types have relatively little effect on paint, & evaporate slowly.

The "non-chlorinated" types will remove paint & nearly everything else. They evaporate quite rapidly.
D

 

[70herald]

I removed the very thick layer of "British rustproofing" under the front end of my car with allot of oven cleaner. After I scraped of the really thick stuff, I just sprayed on the oven cleaner, let it sit and power washed it off. Some areas needed a few rounds of this. The paint was not damaged.

 

[jlaird]

Oven cleaner also takes off anodizing but does not seem to hurt rubber, glass, paint.

 

[roger_abbott]

The last few days, I have been cleaning up the mess left behind by an engine fire in an XJS Jaguar - usual thing, fuel hoses got old, ruptured and instant kitty barbeque. I bought the car after the fire and I am now in the process of restoring/fixing everything.

The underside of the hood and portions of the engine bay were covered with black stuff that had burned off the fiberglass hood blanket, plastic from the ignition wire boots and plastic from the engine bay wiring. Steam cleaner and various soaps wouldn't touch it.

I was refinishing the woodwork in the car, which involved stripping and cleaning it with denatured alcohol. So, figuring I had nothing to lose, I tried 00 steel wool and alcohol. Worked great! I'm not sure what was deposited in the engine bay by the fire but the alcohol dissolved it. It also did a good job of dissolving the scummy coating that accumulates in the engine bay over time but doesn't respond very well to soaps.

Be sure to wear rubber gloves. The alcohol does a job on your skin.

 

[Exotexs]

Steam pressure will clean it nicely, same way they clean Big Rigs and Train Engines. I suppose you can rent a Low to Medium Pressure Steam Machine, obviously you don't want to strip the paint off, just the grease.

I have also seen Steam pressure mixed with Kerosene (smells awful) but as a grease and grime cleaner it is used even today in garages, to clean cars' underside, engine blocks,
etc.

 

[roger_abbott]

To my dismay, I found that over enthusiastic use of the steam cleaner will remove paint, along with dirt and grease.

I am not sure I would throw kersene into the pressurized mix - I can visualize the headlines: "Old Car Owner Vaporized in Giant Fireball". However, kerosene probably would work great as a pre-cleaner and maybe safer than brake cleaner.

I learn a lot from this Forum. Dave Russell's advice that there are two types of brake cleaner tells me I have been really lucky in choosing the non-chlorinated one every time. I never knew there was a difference.

 

[Exotexs]

maybe it wasn't the Steam, but the high pressure that took the paint with it. Ditto with kerosene, to avoid a giant fireball, only a little is used, maybe applied with a brush.

Another "cleaner" I discovered by accident: Prestone antifreeze! It does a good job of dissolving grime, leaving a clean surface, doesn't damage the paint, or hoses, or plastic.

 

[Joelb]

Mickey,

I had thought about that, and ultimatley, mostly due to laziness I just did it in my driveway. Simple green, engine degreaser and a pressure washer. It's not spotless, but you can actually see the frame now!

Thanks for all the input

I seem to be a little low on elbow grease, if anyone has any I can borrow...

 

[Joelb]

Mickey,

All is done here, I'm just waiting on a timing chain to show up. When I get the engine back in I'll give you a call and we can meet up.

Joel