Cleaning the Engine Bay

[Chaoslost]

As I'm working on getting my (new to me) 93 2.3L 5-speed back up to running condition, I'm finding myself disgusted by the state of the engine bay. I want to clean (possibly deep clean) it, but I'm not sure the best and most efficient way of going about it.

I've done some looking around and I'm getting mixed information on whether or not using a pressure washer (on soft, not on blast) or a hose would be okay. If so, what components would I need to ensure are covered?

 

[DILLARD000]

Keep my engines clean by once or twice a year:
~ running it until thoroughly warmed up,
~ lightly spinkling dirtier spots with Windex, let that soak for 10~15min while idling,
~ then rinse off with a gentle light spray from a garden hose nozzle.
~ use reasonable judgement & not directly spray cleaner\water on sensitive\electrical components or the air intake.
~ use a small soft brass or old tooth brush on heavier grease\sludge.

 

[rumblecloud]

Yep. Good info. I've often wondered how to go about this -- as well as when to stop. You have a tendency to get carried away.

 

[Chaoslost]

Keep my engines clean by once or twice a year:
~ running it until thoroughly warmed up,
~ lightly spinkling dirtier spots with Windex, let that soak for 10~15min while idling,
~ then rinse off with a gentle light spray from a garden hose nozzle.
~ use reasonable judgement & not directly spray cleaner\water on sensitive\electrical components or the air intake.
~ use a small soft brass or old tooth brush on heavier grease\sludge.

Thanks, hun. I guess I'll have to wait a bit. She currently isn't running but I'm in the process of finding out why and getting her going again.
Is the reason for warming it up so that the heat helps break up sludge and the like?

 

[19Walt93]

My stuff is carbureted so I remove the air cleaner first and slide about a 3 inch section of cut off windshield washer fluid jug with a 1/4" hole drilled in the center down on the air cleaner stud to keep water out. I use a cleaner called Pink Stuff/ Awesome Pink/ or Incredible Pink, depending where I buy it. I put it in a spray bottle and squirt it around the engine compartment and underside of the hood. After it sits a few minutes I blast it with my garden hose at full volume, blow the bulk of the water off with compressed air, start it up and run it till warm. I also wash the rest of the vehicle because the pink cleaner will strip all the wax off and to remove and debris that ended up on the paint.

 

[ElectraRider]

You can call me crazy if you want but I have always washed my engine bays at the car wash. I also hate working on dirty engines plus its easier to tell when you have leak issues with a clean engine. We also wash all the work trucks the same way never had any issues running or electrical.

 

[DILLARD000]

...Is the reason for warming it up so that the heat helps break up sludge and the like?

That may help, but the primary reason for first warming up the engine
is if any cleaner\water does get into ignition of other sensitive components & kills the engine,
the heat will help to dry those out & hopefully after a bit the engine will restart.
Used to be more of an issue with mechanical distributors than with today's solid state ignition systems.

 

[superj]

i use deep purple or super clean. spray areas down and let sit a bit, then get a soft bristle brush and scrub areas that need it. rinse it all off

 

[55trucker]

I've never suffered any issues at all when using the local manual car wash, the engine is already hot so the sprayed on water will evaporate quickly, all of the harness connections are weatherpack, been doing this now for more than 45 years. Only one engine in one of my cars that has a hemi engine needs to have the plug boots sealed from water where they go down into the cam carrier.

 

[Ranger850]

 

[19Walt93]

That may help, but the primary reason for first warming up the engine
is if any cleaner\water does get into ignition of other sensitive components & kills the engine,
the heat will help to dry those out & hopefully after a bit the engine will restart.
Used to be more of an issue with mechanical distributors than with today's solid state ignition systems.

If getting wet bothers your ignition there's a problem that needs to be fixed.

 

[Shran]

I have washed the engine bay at the car wash with no problems for many years...I do try not to spray directly into the fuse box. I also try to avoid spraying cold water onto hot exhaust manifolds, probably unlikely but there is a chance the cold shock could crack them.

The hot soapy water at the car wash works pretty good. Engine degreaser aerosol spray does too. If it's really bad, I would suggest buying a pump weed sprayer and a gallon of degreaser liquid, like the citrus based stuff or Simple Green, and hose the whole engine bay down with that and let it sit for a bit.