I want to clean my engine, like the intake manifold and other stuff. And also how do I clean the whole engine compartment.

Thanks

 

simple green works well as an engine degreaser, other than that, try to use some armorall on the black plastic parts and on any metal, use aluminum polish. Thats the inexpensive way to make it look pretty good. There are other ways that require more time and $$.


Hope this helps a little bit.

 

I've read posts here where people say it's perfectly fine to spray with some simple green and hose off - I believe that Brent even does it.......

I've always been scared of getting water in my opti..........

 

Alright cool , Thanks alot for the replys Ill have to take a run over to Pep boys tomorrow

 

would spraying down my engine with somewhat cold water crack my engine block. My dad said that like 2 years ago. Do you u think it could happen?

 

Not a chance.

Water is not cold enough to crack a block.

Some people say do this while the vehicle is running - which I'm sure isn't a problem.
Some say you can do it while it's not..........

 

My grandfather used to have my dad rev the motor on his porsche 914 while he sprayyed it with a hose... Don't know how safe that would be for our cars.

 

What is like somthing i should not spray directly at? Like the opti?

 

I just cleaned my engine bay yesterday with a damp towel. Got all the dirt out and it was safe.

 

I work at a GM dealership and we use GM engine degreaser and it works phenominal. I spray it on (Not getting it on the body panels), let it set for a min or two, depending on grime. Pressure wash it off of every spot (careful around plugs and distrib. & alt.) and afterwards, let drip dry and start engine for a few mins to get water and moisture out of all electrical areas.
After dry, any chrome I clean with glass cleaner and all black hoses and trim stuff is usually a nice clean dry on its own. If its gotta be shiny and show nice, I usually after I spray the motor off and its still wet, spray on some silicone based tire dressing. Apply liberally and let it air dry for a few hours and then start motor when dry. The water will let the dressing flow and apply in uniform since it sits up top of the water.
After its all dry (DO NOT TOUCH) it'll put finger prints and disturb the cleanliness. Do the chrome after that (Usually not needed) and then close hood and wash entire car to get overspray from dressing off windshield and exterior panels.
Applying dressing though will attract dirt more often and will be a greasy time working under hood, so I say only do for shows and stuff of a detailed nature, but after its dusty, just pressure wash off the dust/dirst and let aitr dry and windex chrome again after dry and your good to go again.

 

I just use Castrol Super Clean or Spray 9 or whatevers around to clean it. then I use tire gloss on the plastic/rubber (dont get it anywhere you dont want it, especially on your the cars body...it soaks into the metal and its hard to repaint it after.) and I polish the aluminum by hand.

My brother fried an opti in his vette....from spraying water on it. He also fried a computer with tire gloss.....so just be careful

 

Simple Green and water.

 

I use Greased Lightining, diluted a little bit with car wash soap. I wet everything with the hose, then spray it down with the Greased Lighting, then take my small sponge and various brushes that have been soaking in the bucket of car washing soap and go over everything in the engine. Then I spray it off and get out the leaf blower and blow the water off so it will dry faster. Now I'm done. When I worked at a detail shop, we did the same thing and sprayed it down with tire shine. I think it looks kinda cheesy with all that tire shine, and it attracts dirt. Also, I wouldn't want to work on my car with that nasty tire shine all over everything.