Engine Cleaning

[amphi]

I did not open the hood to my brand new Camaro until after about 800 miles. I just have had bad experience. Whenever I had to open the hood to my old car, the V6 Firebird, it was always because I had to troubleshoot.
So, I opened the hood to my beautiful 2SS and saw a clean crisp looking engine. Won't be for long, sad, but true.

So, everyone, can we start a thread on the best method to keep the engine clean? i.e. Should you steam spray the engine? SHould you wait until the engine is cool and use your garden hose? What degreasing products should be used? Which parts of the engine should/must be covered? How should you cover these parts?
How far would you go in taking the engine apart to detail it? Any advice or opinions are greatly appreciatied. Thanks.

[DangerZL1]

On the rare occasions I clean my engine, I just open my hood and spray it down with Simple Green or a citrus-based cleaner, let it sit for a while, and hose it off before I wash the car at home. I only do this on a cold engine and don't mask off anything under the hood. I've never had any problems, except on cars with distributor ignitions, which need to be covered up.

[OUR72GTO]

GM Engine Shampoo..........off the shelf for 4 bucks and will not harm paint. Leaves that new car smell under the hood.

[Moose]

I've never resorted to "steam cleaning", using a garden hose, etc., on my SS.

Good ole elbow grease, rags, and cleaners, as well as some detailing tools, and it looks pretty darn good.

[rmpackers]

I didn't know there was such a thing as engine cleaner! But that sounds great. I wipe mine off every time I wash the car otherwise it will get out of hand. And as a sometimes car show judge, it can mean the differance between winning and losing real fast. Thanks!

[skuttduck]

I cleaned my 9 year old Toyota Camry engine bay for the first time this year. Took me a few washes to get it all off, but I noticed that the tire cleaner/engine degreaser at my car wash worked great on the engine. Basically I just get the degreaser in there, close the hood, wash the rest of the car, then when I am done with the rest of the car, I never use full pressure to rinse the engine.

It's been great, and worked on 9 years of grime.

Since I got the camaro I just give the engine a good rinse if I wash the car.

Also don't forget to clean the underside of the hood as well.

Only thing I would be concerned with and would cover is any aftermarket air intake.

[Buffnshine]

Steam cleaning an engine compartment is not recomended with todays cars. Too many computers and electrical connections that you dont want any moisture getting into and the steam makes its way through these connections. You may not notice a problem at first but could in the near future. Simply rinse your motor down with a light pressure of water (if very dirty use a degreaser first) then get a leaf blower of an air line and blow the enginne dry. Meguiars makes a very nice "Hyper dressing" that you can spray the engine compartment down afterwords with and it will give it a nice satin glean.

[glambert1]

just use a dry rag or a rag with some windex and do it regularly and it will stay spotless in there

[HDDAN]

Go to a motorcycle shop and buy an S100 Total Cycle Clean kit for $13.00. It is a spray on product that comes with a sponge. Spray it onto a COLD engine, let it sit for a couple of minutes and hose it off. this stuff also works real good on the polished wheels too. I have been using it for years on my motorcycles.

[CamaroIBM]

Can you really spray the engine bay with a garden hose and some GM shampoo? I really don't know too much about cars but it would be helpful in cleaning that area quickly.

[glambert1]

cmon dude a rag and some simple cleaner it will take about ten minutes

[Rtoups]

I just get a rag and an APC and clean it up. If you do it regularly, like everytime you wash the car, dirt and grime won't build up and there's no need for any special engine cleaners.

[chevyss]

I'd never use S100. It takes anything plastic and turns it a gray color. Simple green is the best. It's green, leaves a nice fresh look. It won't hurt paint either.