Wash Engine Bay

[cangler]

I've never done it to mine and now have 135K miles, so it's quite dirty. My plan was to spray down the entire engine bay with some diluted simple green, give it about 5-10 mins and then power spray it clean (car wash)... may cover mass air flow sensor on the AFE CAI with plastic/foil. Anything else I should note or be aware of... figured some of you guys have done it and could just give some tips, etc.

 

[Inv4drZm]

I do believe that is pretty much the standard routine. Rinse first, simple green spray, let soak, rinse off, repeat as necessary and coat with some sort of plastic trim restorer if you want.

 

[99problems]

No need for the power spray; just the simple green and a brush (I repurposed an old pots and pans scrub brush) should do the trick and get rid of any stuck on grime. The less water you can blast into the engine bay the better imho.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

That sounds about right... you have a hot air intake in your vehicle? Might not hurt to cover that up so it doesn't get soggy.

No need for the power spray; just the simple green and a brush (I repurposed an old pots and pans scrub brush) should do the trick and get rid of any stuck on grime. The less water you can blast into the engine bay the better imho.

Modern engine bays are a bit better about pressure washers. We have one in our detail department and I use it regularly for cleaning out customer's engine bays when I've done larger jobs and/or clean off the battery.

Pre-soaking the tougher spots with degreaser works well also. But a pressure washer isn't really needed, a standard nozzle does the trick for the most part when combined with a decent cleaner.

 

[BOFFROAD]

Yeah you should be fine with that. I never cover anything in my engine bay but I usually just do a light rinse in there during every wash. A light rinse regularly after you do your good cleaning will keep it fairly clean.

 

[Gatafly]

Never tried Simple Green, but Dawn dish soap and water letting soak for 5 minutes then spraying with garden hose does great.

 

[Bossman]

Here are some links with information for you to consider ...

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance-detailing/64262-okay-pressure-wash-hose-off-engine.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance-detailing/1669-engine-cleaning.html

Your Corner Wrench: Why you should keep your engine clean | Driving

Should I clean my car's engine? - The Globe and Mail

 

[wc11]

I do it every year just before the respray of rust proofing. Keeps it clean an in turn yourself clean when working on it.
It also makes it easy to spot leaks of any kind. A little spray with Griots engine dressing afterwards.

 

[TowMeOut]

Clean Engines are nice!!

The engine bay gets a bath every time the outside does (which isn't very often). I do the simple green and a very weak pressure washer on the "fan" setting. Since it gets a regular cleaning the "gunk" doesn't have a change to get bad.

On my most recent t-case debacle I had a mechanic neighbor stop by to give me a hand and he commented how clean the underside was. I think I'm lucky that I don't have any big leaks and I'd just blasted everything to knock off the loose dirt so it didn't end up in my face.

If you've ever watched "Dirt Every Day" that seems to be the first thing they do with about every vehicle "restoration" is to soak the motor in about 5 cans of Gunk degreaser then pressure wash it.

 

[northcoast]

I do believe that is pretty much the standard routine. Rinse first, simple green spray, let soak, rinse off, repeat as necessary and coat with some sort of plastic trim restorer if you want.

I would NOT let Simple Green soak. Spray it and rinse it. It speeds the corrosion process to metals like aluminum.

The Simple Green website itself states that it should not be left to sit-- less than 10 minutes.

 

[cangler]

thanks guys for all the replies, quite helpful. i'll do before/after photo

 

[shahsmerdis]

I'd stay get your frame as well, but you are in TX. You and your rust free state!

 

[cangler]

sorry guys forgot to take before photo, here is complete. used simple green and mean green (no good reason behind that), and sprayed it down really well at the car wash. once it dried, dressed it with stoner trim shine... about as clean as a engine should be id imagine.

 

[smurray711]

Just a heads up.

This could have been a factor of age. This also could have been a factor of degreaser used in the engine bay.

I washed my engine bay out two days ago. Did my normal routine. A routine that has never lead to problems previously...sure enough my idler and tensioner pulleys bearings are shot.

I could have let degreaser sit and soak too long. Idk. Anyways. Cheap fix and about time they got replaced.

Long story short. I will rethink my method.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cangler]

Just a heads up.

This could have been a factor of age. This also could have been a factor of degreaser used in the engine bay.

I washed my engine bay out two days ago. Did my normal routine. A routine that has never lead to problems previously...sure enough my idler and tensioner pulleys bearings are shot.

I could have let degreaser sit and soak too long. Idk. Anyways. Cheap fix and about time they got replaced.

Long story short. I will rethink my method.

I am curious what's your method?

I wasn't that careful, I did try to cover up the mass flow air sensor with plastic bag but seemed like it still got wet. I soaked the engine down with simple green first before driving to the car wash, and even then I washed the body first, so the simple green was probably left on the engine at least 30 mins which is probably not ideal (or on purpose). Once I finished washing the body, sprayed the engine bay again with mean green this time, but didn't really give it much time to set. I took the power washer and sprayed it down like it was a piece of outdoor furniture. LOL, thankfully I didn't seem to have any trouble afterwards (and pray I won't later on). I went home and let the engine bay dry completely, and then sprayed toner trim shine on the hoses and plastic, wiped down the excess with paper towel and called it good. I figured i'll do this engine wash only once a year as im on pavement 99% of the time.

 

[smurray711]

I use a garden hose and use the diffused/high pressure option and soak the bay. I got under neath too. Working to break up caked on mud.

Simple green goes on while there is still plenty of water on the engine. Let it run down and use he mist option and work to dilute it and let it seep. 2-3 minutes of that I try and blast the suds off. When I say blast. Keep in mind I'm only using a garden hose and attachment. I Never really scrub. Too much work considering my road home is 6 miles and usually muddy.

I rarely wash the bay. This time was so that I had a clean block for changing spark plugs. I don't mind it dirty unless I'm working on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[catfishbirddog]

The engine bay gets a bath every time the outside does (which isn't very often). I do the simple green and a very weak pressure washer on the "fan" setting. Since it gets a regular cleaning the "gunk" doesn't have a change to get bad.

On my most recent t-case debacle I had a mechanic neighbor stop by to give me a hand and he commented how clean the underside was. I think I'm lucky that I don't have any big leaks and I'd just blasted everything to knock off the loose dirt so it didn't end up in my face.

If you've ever watched "Dirt Every Day" that seems to be the first thing they do with about every vehicle "restoration" is to soak the motor in about 5 cans of Gunk degreaser then pressure wash it.

I think that guy bathes in degreaser. It's ridiculous. His diesel hot water heater/pressure wash is pretty cool though.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I think that guy bathes in degreaser. It's ridiculous. His diesel hot water heater/pressure wash is pretty cool though.

Man, when doing timing covers or working on nasty cars I wish I could just power wash the crap out of the car instead of having to chisel off chunks of grime. The fumes from all the parts wash alone gets you pretty loopy sometimes.

 

[Alexdmn]

Found this rubber plug after washing engine bay. Anyone can help identify part/where it belongs?

 

[SAC-CA-Runner]

It goes to the bottom of the hood under the grill. There are like 4 of them. It just pops in the hole. Mine come out when I'm wiping stuff off after washing.