OvalPiston

My '06 CTTS engine bay needs some cleaning up. Anyone have experience with this? I know some cars are pretty particular with spraying a degreaser/cleaner all over the interior of the engine bay then using a power washer to clean it up. Before considering this on my 955, wondering if anyone has done it before and any issues to watch out for and things to cover.

Andy E.

There is absolutely no need for a degreaser followed by a pressure washer. There are way too many sensitive electronics under the hood that can get wet and cause a nuisance trip to the dealer; with a large bill to boot.

I use a spray degreaser that I spray on one or two components at a time and wipe away the grease with clean rags. It's time consuming but the end result looks great. If you do this once a year, the work will be minimal.

Once you're done, you can get a nice gloss shine by spraying a multitude of beauty enhancement products such as Engine Finishing by Gunk or another equivalent. Avoid using tire shine products since this will attract dust and will look soiled after a week of driving.

You will have to remove all the engine covers to do a nice job.

BamaScoot

I sprayed engine gunk de greaser on everything, waited 15 minutes, and using the fan nozzle on my water hose sprayer rinsed it down. I let it dry for several hours before starting. No scrubbing, no issues, looks great.

buffstocover

I've detailed this engine several times, and previous cars (2 different M3's, 335i, Audi A3, etc., etc.) many , many times, generally in the following manner. I've heard of issues, but I have never personally experienced an issue.

with engine cold or just a little warm (not hot) spray everything under the hood, including the underside of the hood, with something like this: https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...ortby=ourPicks. I used Griots, and like all their stuff. The engine wash works great.

Then, wait a couple minutes, then get out all your brushes and gently scrub whatever you can reach. Watch out for delicate wires and stuff.

Then, gently spray with hose. Don't blast with high pressure, just rinse thoroughly.

I always start my car after i put my stuff away or finish washing the rest of the car to heat it up and get the moisture out of the engine compartment. Open hood when you return to let it all air out.

Once cool enough, apply something like this: https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...fType=&from=fn. this stuff is brilliant.

Here's my '06 CTTS after the above routine. I wish i had a before pic, because i'm pretty sure it'd never been washed before. It was terrible before, and this was the result:





Here's my prior ride--same thing...I detailed the engine as described above probably 4-6 times.

Petza914

Man, those look great!

prosled8

I do not think spraying a bunch of water on the engine is a great idea. There is nothing to keep it from pooling under the intake manifold where the starter lives. I thought about spraying mine off last weekend during a wash and decided against it. Maybe it wont hurt anything but...

nodoors

A little won't hurt it, just be sure to do these types of cleanings on a warm day and go for a long drive afterwards where it has plenty of time to evaporate. A pool of water under the hood will disappear surprisingly fast under the hood with all the heat, movement, and wind at highway speeds.

RJD17

I recently cleaned the engine compartment and quickly rinsed with water. It does dry rather quickly on a warm day in the sun.
I have a V6 and would recommend covering the coils. After the engine dried, I drove it and was really rough. Thought maybe I knocked loose a wire or something during cleaning or maybe there's a cracked coil that got wet.
I pulled out first coil and it was wet. They all were wet. The water that sat on top of engine seeped down to the plugs. I then vacuumed, and blew out any water, dried the coils and it ran smooth after that.

nodoors

Moral of the story: Replace cracked coils before spraying engine. :-)

Sid86

I've never had an issue giving a engine a lite hose bath after using Simple
Green or Scrubbing Bubbles. You just have to mindful of where you spraying.

OvalPiston

Gorgeous! Gonna get some and do some cleaning!

mrhebert

i've concoured many 911s through the years. I just cover the alternator and spray away with the car wash wand and the soap setting. Rinse with water, remove the plastic bag from the alternator, go dry the engine. Never ever had any problems.

James1911

cleaned my 2005 CTT today with Gunk Engine cleaner followed by Gunk Engine dressings. Sprayed on, let sit for 15 minutes and washed down with clean towel. Didn't want to risk rinsing with a hose. Turned out great!!!

deilenberger

One trick a pro taught me - WD40. It can be used to clean - and won't damage the electronics - and to shine. Spray, brush, wipe, polish it up. It can bring bad dull looking plastics to like new. And it won't damage anything under the hood.

Chaos

WD40