Maleficio

I hate working on a dirty engine.

SeanR

Do not use simple green, it will eat the finish off the bits on our cars. Not good stuff.

ALKada

OK Sean, I'll leave the Simple Green to the driveway and my dog. Per your suggestion, I'm switching over to brake cleaner post haste.

SeanR

For general degreasing, you don't have to go with Brake clean. I use Formula 88 degreaser on a lot of stuff, it requires a bit of scrubbing, depending on what you are doing. Makes a great hand cleaner also. I've got a few gallons of Simple Green I used to use the parts washer, and after I saw what it did to the bolts/bits/stuff, I have not used it in a few years. For general cleaning I use the 88 stuff. Brake clean is great for spraying off stuff you can't get in a washer, or hard to reach places. Besides, I like the way it smells. Might explain a few things.

Marine Blue

Citrus based degreasers such as P21S Total Auto Wash is what I use. It won't harm paint, rubber or plastic and cuts grease fairly well. If you have the engine apart like the air compressor break cleaner works beautifully to get the bulk of the oil/grease/cosmoline off and then follow up with citrus degreaser to remove the rest.

polecat702

Thanks for all the great suggestions. We used simple green on the tugs in the engine room, waste of time. Had just as good results with water from a hose and nozzel. I'm only going to wash the lower part of the engine. I got a lot of road grime, and dirt, mixed with oil and sand. The upper part is fairly clean.

blown 87

You guys use what you want, but I am not going to use anything that has moisture in it (most brake cleaners have water in them) or anything that leaves any kind of residue.

these motors are not 67 SBC that had nothing electrical on them, you get some corrosion going on up under a intake on the various electrical connections there, and it will drive you nuts trying to figure it out.

Good for folks like me that charge by the hour, not so much for the guy trying to correct a problem in his home garage.

Maleficio

Good point, Blown87.

Marine Blue

Definitely a good point. Keep moisture of any kind away from 20 - 30 year old electricals unless you like gremlins!

Don Carter

I've recently started cleaning the grime from the underside of my engine now that I have a lift and my cam seals, which had been leaking for decade or so are now fixed. A rag soaked in Diesel actually works pretty well and is a lot safer than gas. It stinks up the garage, but cuts through the grim really fast.

Jim M.

As I said originally, I was cleaning in preperation of motor mount changes so all my power washing was on the underside of the chassis. I agree do not power wash inside the engine compartment (and I didn't).

linderpat

Contrary to what others have said, I have had very good luck with the regular simple green. I only use it on the underside, or places like the wheel wells, etc. It does a good job imho, but rinse thoroughly and frequently when using. It will corrode copper, so be careful. I had to pull off and clean the big ground wire under the engine once after using the simple green and not rinsing enough (car would not start - this turned out to be the problem).

Speedtoys

DO use this simple green, however.


http://www.skygeek.com/13405.html


Fabulous stuff...the consumer stuff, is junk.

z driver 88t

I've been really happy and impressed with Autoglym Engine Cleaner and Sonus Trim & Motor Kote. As typical I cover the distributor and posive battery termal junction with plastic bags. Spray down the engine with Autoglym. Its citrus based and has no petroleum based solvents. Let it sit for about 5 minutes then hose off with medium pressure garden hose in all the nooks and crannys.

The Sonus Motor Kote is really cool. Unlike armor all type dressing products that leave an oily film, the Sonus Motor Kote is a heat resistant engine wax. Just spray on a light coat and let it dry. Spray everything in the engine bay, hoses, cables, etc. When it dries it looks clean and shiny like Armor All but no greasy feeling and keeps all the surfaces nicely protected.

I know I sound like a salesman. But I was skeptical and did some Google seaching one afternoon on detailing forums and found it. Very cool stuff.

Ed Scherer

I've had good luck with Eimann Fabrik Engine Degreaser. I only use it in small quantities on small areas at a time. In the areas I was recently working on (e.g., very small areas adjacent to stuff like intake ports) where I didn't want to get anything where it didn't belong, I'd brush it on very carefully with a small toothbrush dipped into a cup of this product, brush the area, and then clean it off with a very small damp paper towl wad. Then go over it again with another damp paper towl to rinse off any residue.