With my dad's permission, we took his 2002 Tahoe off roading back in december! It was great, alot of loose mud and DEEP puddles!

After we were done I drove it to a U wash and Power washed down EVERTHING and later power washed down the engine while it was running at home taking care not to blast spark plugs, alternator, and other electrical things.

It's still dirty as hell under there! any tricks, tips tools, or cleaners to clean it up good? I sprayed Simple Green on it, waited a few minutes and then power washed it off but it didnt do much.

~Chris

 

Go at it with a toothbrush, a smaller towel you plan on throwing away and some regular car wash. Set aside a day to do it, and if your trying to DETAIL it, use some tire shine on the plastic.

 

Thanks, you proved my worst fears. It's not going to be an easy cleanup!

It's going to be a wile but I'll get to it.

~Chris

 

Might I suggest doing it every once and a while.. break it up.

Put on an ipod, have a drink with you. Work on one side.. take a break. Do another side, take a break..

Makes the job go by much smoother if its not an entire day of scrubbing an engine. I feel your pain, as I'm undergoing that same endevor on my '99 this week.

 

Having the engine warm is a good start...Simple green sprayed HEAVILY and let sit for 5-10 minutes is also a good technique. Don't be chinsy...I usually blow a bottle and a half of simple green doing an engine bay, door jambs, and wheel wells. Spray everywhere except on the electrical as you described.

I also use an old wash mitt and a bucket of soapy water to do the underside of the hood, inner fender or aprons, tie bar, all bottles (coolant, washer fluid, brake boost), and all the air intake/plastic fairing. Basically anything I can get my hands on. When you're done you'll have a very good smelling, soapy/bubbly mess which needs to be blasted away with a pressure washer. Usually takes me about 20 minutes to do the whole thing.

Simple green is the safe/ecological way to do it...When crap just doesn't come off though (detailed a 1992 Ford F150 w/ 240k on it once), I used a whole can of "Gunk." It's toxic, smells bad, and really isn't safe to handle, but will really clean! Pull out the big rubber gloves, apron and goggles if you intend on using it...

On older/heavily used cars, I would spray a light dressing on the entire engine bay (avoid the usual suspects) and blow into the nooks/crannies with an air hose.