Washing the engine bay

[GMTruckGuy74]

I am planning to spend a couple of days soon to clean/detail/wax both the Envoy and G6. One area I want to focus on is the engine bay, as when I went to replace the air filter in the G6 Wednesday I noticed how horrible it looked under the hood. I used to wash the engine bay of my '92 Cavalier Z24 every spring, but when I had a '95 Trans Am in spring of '98 and washed it it wouldn't restart for 3 hours. Since then I've neglected the engine bay for fear of damaging something electrical.

Of course now I realize I just need to be careful when cleaning the engine areas. I don't intend to remove the plastic cover on top of the engine (unless it's needed), and plan to use Simple Green, a small brush, and my garden hose to give it a quick bath to freshen up the look under the hood. Should I be using something other than Simple Green? Should the engine be running or off? Since the air filters are contained in black boxes, do I need to cover them up any further with a plastic bag? Any area(s) of the engine bay that I should definitely stay away from?

Thanks in advance for your input, advice & suggestions!!

[Cory Wolfe]

I usually just wipe down all the plastic parts with an interior spray. I generally don't touch the engine itself, though, I would think hosing down the engine bay with running water would be a bad idea.

[Northstar]

At the car dealership I used to detail cars at, we would just wash the engine bay like any other part of the exterior. We would power wash it and then take a wash mitt (probably good to dedicate one to the engine bay so that you don't get all that dirt and grime scratching up your paint) with car wash mix and wipe it all down, then power wash it off.

[Drew Dowdell]

Gunk

[Delta Force79]

I've always taken some plastic grocery bags and covered things like the alternator and distributor etc, then a engine degreaser and usually spray an entire can or more over everything. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and then powerwash everything. Sometimes a second spray of degreaser is needed after the initial rinse, once the engine is nice and clean, I blow dry it with the air dryer at this self service car wash I use.

The results speak for themselves:

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Edited June 3, 2011 by Delta Force79

[regfootball]

i actually have had this question myself recently.

i noticed it was getting grubby under the hood of my t-rex and thought i should hose the engine, because even cleaning all the gook off it would help it stay cooler.

i should ask the detail guy where i work. he does an amazing job getting stuff to look good.

[daves87rs]

There is a simple green you can buy at home depot that is safe for the engine (won't eat at it). Can't remember the name though.

Like Delta said, cover a few things up, and go to town....

[Nick]

As long as you take care around electrical then you should be safe. Typically everything is well protected and can handle a little water here and there, but it is always good to play it safe if you have some plastic bags lying around.

[SAmadei]

Wrapping up the electrical bits is mostly to avoid shooting any high pressure fluids that might squeeze past the seals... getting that stuff wet it not a problem, but you don't want to soak it.

Use Gunk on the really dirty stuff... especially stuff you need to scrub... and Simple Green on the rest. I like using something that has pressurized, heated water... not just warm water from a hose... since I don't have a good pressure washer, I guess thats why I don't clean too much. LOL.

[PurdueGuy]

Everything electronic is pretty much weatherproofed in the engine compartment anyway. Throw a plastic bag over anything major, and go at it with a pressure washer if you want. A little effort not to directly spray electrical stuff isn't bad, but it's generally not likely to cause problems. Easier to reach surfaces - it's amazing what a wet rag and maybe a little soap will do.