What is the best way to clean the engine bay from oil and oxidation...

[evalex]

Have any of you ever tried WD-40? I did it on one of my cars back in the day and it turned out amazing! You'd never believe you can clean that much with just a can of WD-40 and a toothbrush

[jxiong12]

how is yours turning out, famous? i've yet to try it but need to soon

[kid]

Just remember to always cover up the Distribuitor, alternator, fuse box and don't get water inside the spark plugs.

[evalex]

Just remember to always cover up the Distribuitor, alternator, fuse box and don't get water inside the spark plugs.

Amen. The only thing i'd have to add is remove the battery and leave the car to dry in the sun for about an hour or two before starting it

[FAMOUS_GODSON]

Thank you guys for the great recommendations. I'm definitely going cover Belts, Altern, spark plugs most likely it will be cleaned this Sunday on my day off. I sure will post pictures of the before and after.

[802cb7]

I just did mine las week after this long hard winter in Vermont. I used walmart brand foaming engine degreaser, and some purple power. Let it sit for about 5-7 minutes and used a high pressure wand to rinse it off. I always do this when engine is cold or been sitting for an hour or two. I also after its clean and dry , cover it in a non petroleum based foaming tire shine. Shut the hood and drive, the heat will disperse the product for an even look. The more you clean the engine bay, the better it gets.

[evalex]

Did you try this then FAMOUS_GODSON? I'm still waiting for before/after pics

[tougeteg]

Try the product orange crush through technicians choice. its a degreaser and engine bay cleaner used in detail shops. I used it like crazy when I detailed for a Toyota dealership. stuff works amazing. even better if you 50/50 mix it with purple power and let it sit for a few minutes. a couple "overlapping cleans" and scrubbing in any heavy debris areas will make it shine. and like 802cb7 stated using a non petroleum dressing after really will make the engine bay pop. blue sapphire is also a product through technicians choice that is a wonderful non petroleum dressing in my opinion. best of luck in the cleaning.

[GhostAccord]

My personal opinion is to stay away from anything silicon or petroleum based. These are the cleaners that people use to make stuff shine without doing any work. It maintains that wet appearance...... that's because it is wet. It does not evaporate and collects every particle of dust that flows into your engine bay.

Any silicon or petroleum based dressing will end up being your worst nightmare if you want things to stay clean. Now, if you like the no work wet look and having to wash your car every weekend.... go for it!

[FAMOUS_GODSON]

Did you try this then FAMOUS_GODSON? I'm still waiting for before/after pics

Hey whats up guys, sorry it took me a long time to post them pics. Been working too much but I finally cleaned my engine bay. I did as you guys recommended. Went and bought Purple power and Simple green. As you can see its a big difference.

BEFORE


BEFORE


AFTER


I only covered alternator and belts. Sprayed purple power all over, then scrub with a cleaning brush and water. Then I repeated the same step with the simple green.

[I think purple power is a little bit stronger than simple green try not to get near when you're spraying, I almost choked twice feels likes pepper spray]

After all that I just used a regular water hose to water the engine bay.Then i used a leaf blower to dry. Once dry, I sprayed it with armor all tire shine or something like that. Then I let it sit for 12 hours to be sure it was completely dry.

My next step is to use a wire brush on the metal then paint everything that stays rusted or oxidized, but it does look way better than before...

[Fleetw00d]

One of the easiest things to do to improve the look is to remove the exhaust heat shield, wire brush it, then use VHT (1200-2000 deg F) primer and paint in your choice of color. Cure is according to the instructions.

[evalex]

Looks so much better, good job

[Moze]

Nice job, still I find this funny that you've covered timing belt, but not your distributor
Anyway nice result, how long did it take to clean it?