...Are you saying that you use water in the sense of a nozzled hose or power washer, or are you saying that you use a hand held spray bottle with water like the Italian guy who cuts my hair?

Jeff

 

cover the alternator with saranwrap and tape, my alt got screwed up by the resins in an engine detailer. they all have something to make it shiny. don't use too much water, use more rags and if you have to use simple green don't overdo it

 

theres a car wash near my house that does engine detailing for $15.95 + a car wash ($7 and up depending on what you have done, interior wheels etc) I'm pretty sure they spray degreaser under there, then wash the car, then take it to the detail area and go over the engine by hand

i think they do a good job

 

Where can I buy one of those sheet metal upper radiator supports?

 

bmr sells them.

 

yeah, well the most i've been able to really clean it is with some steel wool on the brake lines, fuel rails, etc. simple green wasn't really working, i don't know, maybe i'll just have to eventually end up painting the intake and what not.

 

let simple green sit and soak. Ive got way better results when i waited 20min to let it break down the grease, tar, etc. Its a chemical process, takes a little time.

 

i did, but it didn't do any better... it stained my TB plate though..

 

I have two '97 Z28s. Every couple of months I pop the hoods (cold engine) and spray everything down with a cheap store brand of Dow's Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and spray everything again. After 5 more minutes I take a regular garden hose with a spray nozzle to it. Cleans like you wouldn't believe and leaves the plastic parts looking like you put the non shiny Armorall on them. I have used this method on all my cars for about 15 years without a single problem.

 

Thats a really good idea, im going to have to try that cause i don't seem to have much time to clean my engine bay and this sounds easy enough.

 

ya never hose it. just spray bottles and damp rags. and something else to do is cover your alternator and any exposed electrics with saranwrap or something before spraying engine detailer on. there's resins in there that can kill alternators if it gets inside

 

What I usually do put the car up on jack stands, cover the opti with some shopping bags, spray the rear end / torque arm area and engine bay down with some simple green, wait about 10 - 15 mnutes and hose off with a nozzle, I never spray directly at the opti.

Then I wipe down the engine bay, take the bag off the opti start her up and take her off the jack stands.

Works for me. Never had a problem.

I'm gonna have to go out on a limb and say if water killed your opti you used an excessive amount of water on it or it was ready to go and water was the straw that broke its back

 

Sorry, I know this has been a long time but am just seeing this now. I can't remember where exactly I got it, but I know FocuzTech (a sponser on the board) sells them for a great price (better than what I paid for mine).

 

Not to dig up too old a thread, but I've always used Simple Green, now they have Simple Green Max which really cuts through any grease I throw at it, I even use it to clean up spots on my garage floor lol..

Question to CALL911 and ssean92, did you guys get your fuel rails that shiny with just steel wool and some elbow grease, or are those chrome/aftermarket? I mean holy crap batman, those things shine.

Thanks!

 

I just used a rag, and some mag aluminum polish (and a little elbow grease ).