what's the best way to clean the engine bay...??

[DanGillan]

my valve cover and intake manifold are covered in cosmoline, and I cant stand it anymore. What's the best way to clean that off, as well as all the other grime all over the place? I've heard the purple bottle of some castrol cleaning shit works well, what's the best way to use that stuff? Im sure this topic has been talked about, but i didnt come up with much in the search. Thanks in advance,

[OOMPH!]

Go to Pepboys or Autozone and buy a couple cans of degreaser and spray your engine bay down. Cover the fuse box, air intake, etc.

[bimmerphile]

As George said, cover off the stuff you don't want to get messed up, then use this method.

http://www.apexcone.com/JimPowellHomepage/TechProcedures/EngineBayCleaning/ArmorAll.html

It's all I have ever used, and on EVERY car I've done it to (from my old E30 325 to a 2000 540i) it looks cherry.

[DanGillan]

cover with what? what part of the intake? the hose? what else should I cover? do i just apply and rinse? or scrub? or what else? thanks

edit: what kind of armor all? is it specified for the enigne? or... whats it called? thanks

[OOMPH!]

cover with what? what part of the intake? the hose? what else should I cover? do i just apply and rinse? or scrub? or what else? thanks

edit: what kind of armor all? is it specified for the enigne? or... whats it called? thanks

Use plastic bags to cover things. Cover the whole air intake if you want, definitely the AFM. I forgot the name of the stuff, but it only costs 99cents each. Spray it on then lightly rinse it off. Make sure you have everything you want covered with the plastic bags.

[Jordan]

dont worry about the fuse box, the cover is plenty water resistant, just dont directly hose it.

just remove the intake box and afm

dont directly hose the coil or dist cap either.

[DanGillan]

stupid question.... how do you remove the airbox? and afm? is it in the bently? can i just cover it? i've never done it yet.

[rayz]

you might want to cover your alternator as well. purple stuff works well too for removing grease. you could even use No Touch for shining up the black stuff in the engine bay.

[natorious]

i have all the stuff to do mine but no place to do it.. kinda sucks not having a hose to use..

[KenC]

stupid question.... how do you remove the airbox? and afm? is it in the bently? can i just cover it? i've never done it yet.

You just unbolt it. Pop your hood and go check it out; that's what I did.

[christophbmw]

after you cover every thing dont forget...your car is not a submarine, so keep that in mind when you are spraying the degreeser off. you dont want to completely dunk your engine with water. just my two cents

[KenC]

I've heard Gunk is the best degreaser/engine cleaner. Anybody have any experience with it? I bought two cans at Napa because it was onsale for $1.50 per can. I sprayed a bit on the valve cover just to see how well it would work and the stuff stinks like hell. I plan on cleaning the entire engine bay and my wheels with it this weekend.

[DrMcDave]

the gunk stuff works extremely well. I scrubbed some hard to reach places but it got most everything off, but didn't do so hot with cosmoline.

[Jand3rson]

Castrol Super-Clean ownz all. Just make sure you dilute it enough. That shit in pure concentrated form wil unclog drains.

[clavinZERO]

for the cosmoline... a wire brush and carb cleaner works well (intake manifold, valve cover, etc).

for the engine degreasing, Big Orange (aerosol orange deagreasing goodness) works very well and smeels kinda nice. i have also used FULL STRENGTH or even slightly diluted Simple Green. a soft paint brush (cheapy brush) with duct tape around the metal brissel clamp is nice for some help. remember bubbles and more bubbles are your friend... so agitate that soap like hell. A tooth brush, not the one from your bathroom, might be of some use under the hood

now I just gotta figure out why I still smell that orange shit or the simple green for HOURS after I am away from the car, hehe.