96C4S

Guys any tips on cleaning the engine, Such as what to cover or be careful with during the cleaning process. Thanks in advance

chris walrod

I typically clean areas such as the engine compartment by hand. Citrus based degreaser and lots of paper towels..

Baggerdude

Shawn...

I'd like to know as well. Think there was a thread a couple months ago that touched on the 'motor cleaning' deal.

With my other cars/trucks/yada yada..... I usually wait until they are pretty cool. Then wet the area.... spray on some Simple Green cut with 50% water.... wait about a minute or so... then spray it off. Takes off most of the heavy stuff and the motor area looks pretty good. Not concours, but OK by me.

The 993 has several "holes" for the air and such.... I usually cover these with Ziploc bags and rubber bands.... tape. I try to avoid having a stream of water going into the intake.

Altho.... when it rains, where does the rain go? Hmmmm..... perhaps it's deflected or some such.

I also use a pressure washer on my motorcycles... and cars, but avoid certain areas. Again.... SG...cool motor.... wait a minute or so... then spray off. And, I don't spend much time with the washer in areas that I think will be a problem. I use a less than SUPER strong nozzle on the power washer. I don't know if folks think this is OK with the 993 or not.... I have not done so with the C4S's motor, but am considering it.

I guess some folks steam clean the lump as well.

What're the tho'ts regarding pressure washers? I'm sure folks won't care for their use.... let's see, eh. But, I'm a bit on the lazy side o'town, eh.

BAGGER

the_buch

I wonder if cleaning the engine washes off any protectant ... it is noteable that the manual suggests being careful with this (sort of along the lines of occassionally putting some vaseline on the wheels to limit oxidation of the aluminum to the surface) ... I look forward to hearing what othere have found works?

BobbyT

I've washed the engines on all of my cars, including Porsches, for many years. Currently I use Simple Green full strength. I start with a warm engine, not too hot to hold my hand on, plug the air intake, give the whole thing a good spritz with SG, hose it off with a gentle stream of water (avoiding too much water on the distributor and coils, although they are quite well sealed), and then start the engine to aid in drying everything. SG is pretty strong, so I don't let it sit on the engine or over-clean decals and stickers. If there are heavy areas of grime, it helps to agitate them with a brush before hosing off the SG. SG leaves a pleasant smell, compared to Gunk, which is really too strong, and not evironmentally friendly

In doing this drill many times, the only problem I've had is the "check engine" light came on once on my Acura Legend, due to moisture in the O2 sensors. After they dried out, I reset the ECM computer, and all was well.

JasonAndreas

I don't know if this helps anyone figure out what we can or can't use but the engine case is made of Silumin.

kkim

I clean mine with Simple Green full strength, too. Have had no problems in the many different type of cars I've done. I do it on cool engines, though, as I had a bad experience with a warm engine once.

Cool engine, cover distributor and any intake holes... I like to use tin foil as you can mold it into place. Spray down engine with cool water from a garden sprayer with a fan type pattern. Spray SG full strength over entire engine and let sit for a few minutes. Clean using a house painting brush to get into all the cracks and crevices. When done/satisfied, rinse well with cool water.

Remove tin foil and start car. Let run for a few minutes to dry things out. Next day, after it's been run and has cooled down, I spray a protectant over the entire engine and let sit for at least 24hrs. If the spray you're using has too much gloss to it, wipe it down with a clean cloth to kill some of the shine.

Works for me.

the_buch

Excellent help .... Kelly, what protectant are you using??

Thanks,

96C4S

Ya kelly intrested in knowing the type of protectant, is it something that will come off the next cleaning because some i have seen leave a crusty yellowish film over time. Thanks in advance

kkim

To be honest, I use the cheapest thing I have, which is Armorall original. You can use whatever you think is best, but to me, it's only the engine and it will get dirty again, eventually. I've not seen any type of crusty film using it.

Try to avoid spraying whatever protectant you use on any of the belts... everything else is fair game, though.

Baggerdude

I would only wipe down the plastic/rubber parts with an Armorall like product. The engine bay is a pretty dusty place.... spraying the protectant on all the areas may attract some dust/dirt.

I just take the same rag I use on the wheels and rub the plastic/rubber parts with that. Pretty shiny. I'd avoid spraying the metal parts, tho. JMO.

Blaine S

My engine bay was filthy when I got my car so I resorted to using Gunk and a pressure washer. Now that I think about it, the Gunk couldn't be good for the environment, it is some stinky organic cleaner. It is going to be a one-time deal for me. From now on I'll only use Simple Green and just keep it clean.

Stay away from the distributors and plug wires with the pressure washer, and use common sense everywhere else.

I also used the Griot's engine gloss when I was done which I half-way regret. It is a type of engine varnish that dries hard and clear. Since I want to be able to drive my car in the winter with the possibility of salted roads, I thought it better to have the layer of varnish between the salt spray and the engine.

The problem is that it starts to crack on the flexible rubber hoses and I am now brushing some of it off in places.

Pete Lech

I bag the snorkel, then spray a warm engine with a 50% solution of Simple Green, avoiding spraying into the fan, as I am sure the cleaner & moisture cannot be good for the alternator. To power rinse, I use an old Jet-X that has a long wand to get all around and under. Ditto for the wheel wells and under the car. I have been doing this for years and have never had a problem. Porsche engines are designed run after getting wet from rain and snow.

dcdude

I've always had good luck with Gunk and warm engine, even on my air-cooled VWs. The Orange foam has a slightly less bad after-smell, but yeah, it lingers for days. I, too have wrestled with the enviromental impact of such vile stuff, especially since my storm drains are 4 miles from the Pacific. But it's my understanding that many of the coin-op car washes recycle their grey water. Good news for me and Al Gore, prolly not so good for the next guy washing his Accord! So that may be a solution.

That said, I may switch over to Simple Green since many of you guys have had such good luck with it. I also like the idea of working it in with a small paint brush, which has to save time vs. a tooth brush. For finishing, I've had good luck with Silicone Spray, which some mfrs. recommend for door seals and other rubber. Can't speak to hadening and yellowing, but it doesn't seem heavy enough to build up...

geolab

I pressure did mine once, but covered all the stickers, and held the jet a good 25" far.
strangely it stayed clean since.
As for the fan, nothing did it. So I tried alu wheel cleaner spray (acid-free)
and it did wonders.
I took a running water hose, I set the wheel cleaner on mist, and sprayed on the fan.
Kept the product for 3(three) seconds, and water hosed abundently the fan.
It came out as brand new.