Cleaning the engine bay?

[ColoradoDriver]

I have never cleaned my engine bay and it is extremely dusty and dirty.

What is the recommended way to clean it? Considering wires and other parts, it seemed like a bad idea to me to use the pressure washer, but wasn't sure.

Thanks all.

 

[wlong01]

The dust and dirt are not going to hurt anything. Leave it alone.
If it really bothers you take a damp rag and wipe any dirt and/or grease away.

 

[BOOSTR]

Pressure washing won't hurt a thing. Use a 200 mph leaf blower to dry it afterwards. I usually just spray the cool engine down with a water/dish soap mix and then scrub some areas with a wheel cleaning brush or other type brush and rinse it off then dry. I've also used a can a scrubbing bubbles a few times as well, which I read about on a BMW website. My pressure washer is 1700 psi. If you use a much stronger one just go with the white tip nozzle that is for cleaning screens. Your only trying to clean & rinse versus degrease a gross engine block and bay.

I'm sure you'll get what I call nervous ninny's telling you not to use a pressure washer but I've never had a problem cleaning engines this way and neither have a lot of others with clean engine bays. In the old days on vehicles with distributor caps with bad or no seal, water could get in and cause a no start until you removed it and dried it out.

And sure you could use a damp rag and wipe away but that is nowhere near as effective. Choice is yours.

 

[SBMongoos]

I have never cleaned my engine bay and it is extremely dusty and dirty.

What is the recommended way to clean it? Considering wires and other parts, it seemed like a bad idea to me to use the pressure washer, but wasn't sure.

Thanks all.

Local car wash. I've done it a couple times on my CX-5. Take it out for a little drive after to be sure the water is dried up/gone. I did so on a car I had for yeaaaaars and the engine looked great!

 

[Felt_Rider]

I detail the engine bay a couple times a year. I start with Gunk Engine Degreaser (the foaming kind). It is cheap and can be bought at most big box department and auto stores.
It can take nearly the whole can by the time I spray all the lower and under the hood. There is nothing in the CX-5 that I avoid spraying this and water topically and it rinses off very easily taking with it almost all the grime. This step is optional, but I spray the foam again and use a boars hair brush to go around the body seams and crevices and rinse again. I use a leaf blower to knock off a lot of the water and let it dry. Once dry I use 303 on the hoses and plastic covers. Total time about 10 minutes effort on the engine bay out of the 15 hours I spent detailing the CX-5 back in the spring. It remains clean looking until the next detail.

I agree with others that for daily functioning it doesn't impact performance, but for me I just like keeping my car looking as new as possible. It feels good to lift the hood and it looks brand new and I have had mechanics give a, "Wow! We rarely see older cars look this clean" type of comment (with past vehicles). Not that any mechanic has had to look at this CX-5.

 

[sm1ke]

I detail the engine bay a couple times a year. I start with Gunk Engine Degreaser (the foaming kind). It is cheap and can be bought at most big box department and auto stores.
It can take nearly the whole can by the time I spray all the lower and under the hood. There is nothing in the CX-5 that I avoid spraying this and water topically and it rinses off very easily taking with it almost all the grime. This step is optional, but I spray the foam again and use a boars hair brush to go around the body seams and crevices and rinse again. I use a leaf blower to knock off a lot of the water and let it dry. Once dry I use 303 on the hoses and plastic covers. Total time about 10 minutes effort on the engine bay out of the 15 hours I spent detailing the CX-5 back in the spring. It remains clean looking until the next detail.

I haven't cleaned my engine bay yet, but when I do, I plan to do exactly this. And using a pressure washer is fine as long as you aren't inches away. Like BOOSTR said, you're just rinsing the bay out to get rid of the cleaning agent. Garden hose would be fine for this purpose as well.

 

[shadonoz]

And if you do decide to pressure wash, don't forget eye protection for those unexpected ricochets. You won't hurt your engine, but you could hurt yourself.

 

[rsvinylgraphics]

Here is a short article about cleaning engine bays that might help

http://www.motorweek.org/features/goss_garage/engine_cleaning

 

[CX-5um]

Clean mine every 6 - 8 months. Some tips and tools:

-Do not get the battery top plate bracket wet....it will rust Fortunately everything else doesn't
-Remove and hand clean engine cover separately.
-Leaf blow out any loose dirt/debris with extra attention to top of engine and any crevices. You should be left with caked on dirt/grease.
-Cover battery, alternator, top of engine covered with trash bag.
-Light/medium rinse with hose avoiding battery, ignition coils, alternator.
-Avoiding alternator, battery, engine top...spray down engine bay with Optimum no rinse and wax (any version). OR degreaser if extra dirty
-using a tire brush with about 3 inch bristles, agitate dirt from surfaces.
-rinse
-leaf bower to remove water from crevices
-hand clean top of engine using damp MF towel
-hand clean battery with MF towel (using gloves and common sense) and/or disconnect.
-hand dry everything else with damp microfiber towel

-The Optimum no rinse no wax helps to keep dirt from sticking. Easier subsequent cleanings and no smell. I never had to use strong odor degreasers. Safe on paint of course.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Great, thanks all.