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Easiest way to clean engine?

N

NCjeepgirl83

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Charlotte, NC/Birmingham, England
Well I need to clean the mud off my engine and I am hoping to not remove anything to do it as I'm not that knowledgable about engines and I don't want to take something off only to not be able to get it back on, or some such issue. So what's the best way to go about cleaning the mud off the engine without damaging anything electrical?
 
simple green is good too. there was a post about it somewheres a while back with pics. Keep it runnign while you are washing it, and be careful around things with wires coming out of them!
 
KarlVP said:
Castrol Super clean is the shit.

Spray on and then pressure wash off. Stay away from the distributor and you will be fine.
Click to expand...
...stay away from the intake manifold (specially the Throttle Position Sensor) and you'll be in better shape. Get that thing wet, and it's toast.

Cold water on hot exhaust manifold = crack, and cold water on a hot block isn't a great idea either.

Jim www.yuccaman.com
 
Yucca-Man said:
...stay away from the intake manifold (specially the Throttle Position Sensor) and you'll be in better shape. Get that thing wet, and it's toast.

Cold water on hot exhaust manifold = crack, and cold water on a hot block isn't a great idea either.

Jim www.yuccaman.com
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've always washed mine first thing in the morning, after it's sat all night and I haven't driven it anywhere. Spray it down with Simple Green or what ever degreaser I have handy on the shelf, give it a couple of minutes to soak in, then hose it off with a moderate stream. As mentioned, be careful of the distributor and the TPS (or any of the sensors around the throttle body really).....and also remember you're not putting out a fire either (atleast I hope not :D ).....so no need to go too crazy with the force of the water.
 
X3 on being careful. I remember a thread on a different forum of a guy who cleaned his engine at a carwash and ended up spending the next couple of weeks trying to troubleshoot his no-start, only to end up taking it in for a sensor replacement; can't remember which one. I'd thoroughly cover up anything electrical before doing this if it were mine.......
 
Some walmart stores sell some cleaner called Power Wash. It's sold in spray bottles and by the gallon.. I use this stuff it works great..

Like already mentioned stay away from the sensors with the pressure wash nozzle.

Nick
 
Black Magic engine clean and shine. It is the only stuff that company sells that is worth anything. I use it on the entire engine compartment, to include all the plastics aluminum, and the sheetmetal. You spray it on and let it sit for about 20 min, then hose it off with light pressure.

It is amazing, you do not have to pressure wash it off it works just as well with light hose pressure. It should be used on a warm engine, and it is sensor safe. I was amazed at what it did for the LS1 in my camaro. The machined faces of the aluminum heads and block were left gleaming, all the plastics were a rich dark black, and I have never had any problems on 4 different cars over the last 5 years. It will clean everything, but it leaves aluminum and black plastic looking extra good.
 
If it's just mud and dirt you're trying the remove, I'd say hose it down to soften the dirt and let it sit for a few minutes. Come back and hose it again in ten minutes and most will wash right off.

If you're trying to get oil and grease off as well, Dollar Store oven cleaner on the hard to reach spots will do wonders. I'd avoid any painted surfaces (duh) on the outside of the engine bay, but for the most part, if you don't let it sit for more than a couple minutes, you shouldn't have any problems with overspray-- just hose it off when you're done.
 
Can you really spray water on the valve cover? I want to clean my engine, especially on the valve cover where years of oil seepage has occured, but if it's a question of dirty engine and working xj, versus clean engine and non-working xj, I'll choose the former.

I know to stay away from the distributor, the intake, and the TPS, but can you really dump water on everything else, alternator, compressor, intake manifold, headers, etc?
 
Yeah, between the engine shaking, forward momentum, fans, heat, etc., the water will evaporate off pretty quick. If your gaskets are intact (well enough to keep oil in) then there's not much risk of getting water in the engine.
 
The question of "can you" is gonna be yes. I have taken everything I've owned to the car wash and pressure washed them without failures. Common sense is required when you get close to electrical parts (anything with wires going to it) and open pathways to the oil (dipstick tube, CCV grommets, breather elements, etc), but if you avoid violent force on these items, you shouldn't have any problems. What I have always done (and I don't advocate it unless you're familiar with anything you may spray) is to hit everything safe with oven cleaner and then drive to the car wash. Leave the vehicle running and carefully wash clean everything you can get without lingering in any one spot too long. The heat from driving there will help dry things fairly quickly and will also help the oven cleaner work it's magic.
 
Shorty said:
The question of "can you" is gonna be yes. I have taken everything I've owned to the car wash and pressure washed them without failures. Common sense is required when you get close to electrical parts (anything with wires going to it) and open pathways to the oil (dipstick tube, CCV grommets, breather elements, etc), but if you avoid violent force on these items, you shouldn't have any problems. What I have always done (and I don't advocate it unless you're familiar with anything you may spray) is to hit everything safe with oven cleaner and then drive to the car wash. Leave the vehicle running and carefully wash clean everything you can get without lingering in any one spot too long. The heat from driving there will help dry things fairly quickly and will also help the oven cleaner work it's magic.
Click to expand...

Cool CCV was another area of concern for me.

I've got one of those multi spray hose nozzle, I think I'll go with the "mist" option and work from there. Thanks!
 
tugalo said:
Did you get your power steering straightened out? Usually it is just the pump that is leaking.....
Click to expand...

Yes I did. I got a new pump and reservoir and it runs like new now. It kinda squeals at cold starts, however, as I noticed this morning, but it could have been b/c it was 33F and my brakes are squeaking a little for some reason, even tho the front ones were replaced 2 months ago.

The bearings were shot in my p/s apparently, but it seems to be fine now with the new one in.

And to clarify, I just want to wash off some mud that lightly coated the top of the engine, mainly the front half. It's also on the underside of the engine lid.
 
If you are just removing some mud, and aren't looking to degrease, I'd probably use the "I'd say hose it down to soften the dirt and let it sit for a few minutes. Come back and hose it again in ten minutes and most will wash right off." method.

About the squealing; you need to tighten that belt down A LOT. More than you'd think you'd need to. Solved my squealing!
 
So should I hose it down while the engine's running or turn it off? And should I put it on 'Jet' on the hose nozzle, like I normally do when I wash the car, or should I put it on a diff setting? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't wanna ruin my engine!
 
I wouldn't use jet, because you don't want to force any mud/dirt particles in any connections. I might even take the nozzle off and just soak all the dirt until it looks like mud again and starts to run off the engine.

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and go over the mud again, but use a stronger stream of water. I'd probably still not use the 'jet'. I'd just stick my finger over the end of the hose.

As mentioned, stay away from electricals, TPS, Alternator, etc

edit: I'd hose it all down and get it clean like you want it, then start and run the engine. This will help evaporate any remaining water off of your engine and reduce the possibility of problems. I wouldn't hose my engine down if I had just gotten done driving it around; I'd wait for it to cool down a lot.
 
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