what to avoid when cleaning engine bay

[Firenza]

My engines filthy, so I want to clean it, but I've never done it before and I'm worried about frying the many electrical componants sat in the bay.

What needs covering, and what plan of attack should I take?

[petrolheadjman]

get it steam cleaned, will not affect anything

[Guest keltik]

Have engine running, if it starts sputtering at any point - stop squirting water wherever you were just squirting it.

Has worked great for me. No real need to cover anything, just avoid directly hitting the big square loom plugs by the battery.

[Guest boostcut]

dont steam clean it.. it will damage electrical connections, and theyre a pain in the ass to find. use some simple green and a wash brush. then hose it off. simple..........green

[turborunner]

i covered my alternator when i did mine and never direct sprayed on electrical connectors. i sprayed water first then sprayed degreaser and used i brush where i could get the brush then rinsed off came out great. car still runs fine.

[wrx_lou]

I will vouch for simple green. Its fucking brilliant. Works great on mags too.

Having the engine running a pretty good idea but I usualy just warm it up, stick a bag over the airfilter and just avoid spraying too much around anything electrical. They are pretty easy to wash with the heads on the side as you dont have to worry too much about water entering the galley's.

[Firenza]

what about the coils? should i cover them?

What I was thinking of doing was covering the altenator, coils and battery. Then with the engine on, spray with cleaner/degreaser and then pressure wash off.

Sound alright? Can you get the simple green stuff at repco/supercheap, as ill go get it tomorrow if its not too expensive.

[wrx_lou]

Supercheap. about $20 from memory. Its not cheap, but its good stuff.

[Guest boostcut]

repco has simple green, about 15 bucks for 1L. i wouldnt bother covering battery, the water will wash any acid off of it.

[madmike]

 keltik said:

Have engine running, if it starts sputtering at any point - stop squirting water wherever you were just squirting it.

Has worked great for me. No real need to cover anything, just avoid directly hitting the big square loom plugs by the battery.

And watch out spraying water around the coil a Keltik!!!!

[Guest keltik]

Haha yes, if your ignition leads are 6 years old and nakkered and you spray water near the coil then nudge all of the leads with your cleaning brush....its possible your 30 year old badly tuned motor wont start

[madmike]

 keltik said:

Haha yes, if your ignition leads are 6 years old and nakkered and you spray water near the coil then nudge all of the leads with your cleaning brush....its possible your 30 year old badly tuned motor wont start

A A!!! You saying i gave your car a bad tune??

[kamineko]

i would suggest not using high pressure water on your topmount intercooler. (if you have one) it will bend the fins flat and it takes a LOT of effort to pull them straight again

[Guest keltik]

 madmike']

[quote name='keltik said:

Haha yes, if your ignition leads are 6 years old and nakkered and you spray water near the coil then nudge all of the leads with your cleaning brush....its possible your 30 year old badly tuned motor wont start

/quote]

A A!!! You saying i gave your car a bad tune??

Oh thats right - you tuned it before the wash. Oops.

[Old Skool Subbie]

Does that simple green have to be washed off? Im looking at cleanning/degressing my Fuji Rabbit motor scooter. I dont want to blast it with water since its old and is a 2stroke. It may not start again :

I need to find a fuel/oil leak but can not find it. The motor is all oiled up.

So what should I do?

[zarnah]

you should be ok with a two stroke, just cover the airfilter and go for it, I have always used degreaser then waterblasted the crap outa my motocross bikes after every ride and never had trouble starting one, even fully drowned my old 07 rm250 (it was right under water) did a wheely against a tree so front wheel was up in the air, pulled the carby off, and took expansion chamber off (held on by 2 springs) drained float bowl, kicked it over heaps slowly to make the water run back out the intake, drained and flushed gearbox and replaced gearbox oil, half hour later it was going again, didnt even have to ruin my day and take it home! 2 strokes are awesomely simple.

[legacy666]

avoid degreaser near your alternator. If you get any on the bearings it'll root them pretty quick.