Engine cleaning without water/pressure washer.

[94 NDTA]

I am looking for ideas to clean an engine bay that you cannot use a pressure wash or water under the hood. My car has the dreaded opti, which if it gets wet, will ruin it. It's a pain to replace, and it's expensive, so I am looking for other alternative methods. Thanks!

 

[4u2nvinmtl]

Well until I built up the nerve to wash my engine bay with water, I was using a quick detailer (sprayed on a microfiber towel) to wipe everything down, and the duragloss dressing for all the plastics. I've also tried wiping it down with APC (Meg's D101) and that worked well also, but the quick detailer is obviously gentler.

 

[tom p.]

94, how dirty is the engine bay? Light dust or a heavy greasy mess?

 

[ZimRandy]

I think I am the only person in the world who has ever pressure washed an LT1 and not had an issue. My Impala SS has 199,8XX miles on it (drove it to work today :drive: woohoo! ) and still has the original Optispark......knock on wood.

If you use a spray bottle and mist the area or even a hose, it should be okay as long as you avoid the front of the block. Just use caution and common sense when working in that general vicinity and it should be fine.

Good luck,
Randy

 

[Accumulator]

Without using the pressure washer, I've cleaned up plenty of engine compartments that were so awful they looked like they'd been spray-painted black. Just takes (lots of) time and diligence. Some of those were 9C1 Caprices with the Opti, never a big deal to keep that dry and clean it up with a solvent (instead of something that requires rinsing).

The solvent-based approach is great for times when you don't want to get things too wet. I'm a big fan of ValuGard's New Car Prep, which is effective and about as safe as such stuff gets (I hear it's not even toxic, not that I'd drink it). Just use lots of rags/swabs and brushes.

Any *specific* areas of concern?

 

[MiVor]

I just use a diluted APC, carefully spray and wipe with a towel. I clean things up real well, then top with Stoner's Trim Shine....looks almost like a new engine (This was done a month ago....but still good enough to turn a grease monkey's head- lol) :

 

[ZimRandy]

Here is my old LT1 Roadmaster wagon that I used for a winter beater a few years ago. It has 203k miles on it when I bought it.


The day I brought it home. :vomit:

After a little pressure washer action, some APC, brushes, crappy towels, and elbow grease. Dressed with whatever cheap stuff I had at the time. :lol:

Not perfect, but it was just my beater and I wanted it to look "better" and couldn't stand the filth.

Randy

 

[4u2nvinmtl]

I finally built up the nerve to spray mine with water. Washed with APC/EZ detail brush and rinsed off with the hose.

I detailed the rest before trying to start it (started with no problems).

 

[tom p.]

Yeah, I only clean with a pressure washer held at a distance. There's no way to get it cleaner. FWIW, the pressure washer uses a tiny fraction of the water kicked out by a garden hose.

I've never had a problem afterwards. I may used compressed air + towels to blow dry and mop up. Sometimes I'll just use towels.

If the engine bay is fairly clean, you can use a light APC and just wipe up with your utility MF towels. I like HD Total under the hood. Leaves a pleasant patina behind. Sucha simple solution

 

[Mastercraft241]

I am looking for ideas to clean an engine bay that you cannot use a pressure wash or water under the hood. My car has the dreaded opti, which if it gets wet, will ruin it. It's a pain to replace, and it's expensive, so I am looking for other alternative methods. Thanks!

Polish Angel Engine, its amazing!

 

[Audios S6]

I'm not familiar with the actual limitation of optispark, but you may consider a wet application that is more precise than a pressure washer.

Garden sprayer
Steam cleaner
Tornador
Apply apc directly to towel or brush

 

[Lonnie]

I'm not familiar with the actual limitation of optispark, but you may consider a wet application that is more precise than a pressure washer.

Garden sprayer
Steam cleaner
Tornador
Apply apc directly to towel or brush

I agree with the "inexpensive" garden or bug sprayer available at most hardware or garden/landscape stores, or the ever-present Wal-Mart nearest you. A small 1-1/2 to 2 gallon size is sufficient for spraying the APC solution and then using distilled water for the rinse water. You can control the pressure and location of the smaller sprayer nozzle easier than a engine-driven pressure washer. Also, as a common sense suggestion, keep the sprayer for car-cleaning use only. Do not use it to apply lawn-care herbicides, insecticides, or fertilizers as well or those chemicals' residue can reek havoc on automotive paints and plastics, even if well rinsed after using the sprayer. You should duct-tape the metal wand-and-nozzle (but not the orifice opening!) end if you want to avoid possibly scratching the engine compartment paint or bare metal casting and sheet metal or plastic shrouds.
Another suggestion is to use a shop vacuum's air discharge/exhaust end as a "poor man's" air compressor to blow off debris from the engine before washing or as dryer/water remover after washing. Most have an outlet duct fitting that allows the same hose used for vacuuming to be used for blowing the exhaust air. The only caveat is that the hose should be clean before attempting to blow debris from your engine. If you've used the vacuum to clean up after sawing sheetrock, that fine abrasive dust may still be in the hose; not a good thing to blow on an engine or vehicle. You may want to wash/rinse the hose first and blow some air from the vacuum through it for a while to dry it. I also have a reducer hose adapter on my 2-1/2" hose to use smaller 1-1/4" fittings/attachments. I've even duct-taped rubber heater hose to the reducer to allow me to get into tight areas around the engine compartment without fear of scratching and the flexibility of the hose reaches into those inaccessible area easily. You blow out a lot of leave-and-bug or unknown/unseen rodent nest debris from these areas. Yes, it looks like "red-neck engineering", but it is effective and inexpensive (AKA, cheap). Just do not run the vacuum for any extended length of time as the restricted air flow puts a lot of strain on the vacuum motor and can cause it to overheat and burn/short out.