SHOULD I DEGREASE, if so with what?

long story short, bought an XJ w/ 235k miles. looks like the valve cover has been leaking for most of those miles so there is an insane layer of grease on the block.

I know I am going to be working on this thing and I can just imagine what my arms & hands are going to look like. should I take the time to clean some of the crud off? or am I just opening a can of worms, between cleaning crud off that might be "sealing" leak, and forcing water, crud, and cleaning chemicals where they probably shouldnt go?


so I ask thee: WWD? clean it up? or leave well enough alone?

Clean it and fix the leaks of course...

I suggest Simple Green or B52. I prefer B52.

Oil Eater from Costco.

Don't get the TPS wet.

Leave it oil coatings prevent rust he he

I always use Simple Green and tap water, 50/50, and a cheap hand-pump garden sprayer.

Spray the areas you want to clean--PLEASE AVOID THE TPS--let sit 15 minutes, then carefully hose it off--AVOIDING THE TPS AND KEEP FROM DROWNING SENSORS/PDC/CONNECTORS.

Repeat if necessary.

Being it to the car wash. Before you wash the outside spray the degreaser on the engine and all around under there. Wash outside or wait a bit for degreaser to work then use the car washes engine degreaser mode that uses hot water. Just like mentioned earlier, avoid directly flooding out the sensors with a crap ton of water. That's how I've done mine. Never had an issue.

If you have an air compressor: Harbor Freight makes a little wand with a plastic hose. I mix up 50-50 simple green and hot water, drop the hose in the buck of water and press the button on the wand. It is easy to direct the spray where you want it.

You might want to try the car wash technique if you have years of crud on there. Yep,
avoid the TPS!

I've degreased more than a few cherokees after previous owners ignored fixing things like oil leaks. Frankly, I usually look for this when buying a cherokee, I would rather have one coated in oil than rotted out. I'm actually in the middle of working on one right now that has a leaky OFA.

The stuff I use/recommend is the walmart "degreasing foam" I take the car out, get it good and hot, and with the engine running, start spraying areas covered in grease, usually the worst areas are the passenger side (near OFA) bottom of engine near the dreaded RMS, and if possible behind the engine. This stuff is practically useless on a cold vehicle, but works really well on hot ones. Then I either use my pressure washer full of either simple green or purple power, and then rinse with water afterwards.

Personally, I do this whole process with the engine running, that way if something gets wet I have a good idea where I broke it, also keeps the whole thing hot so cleaning is easier. As stated, avoid the TPS, however I avoid spraying the throttle body and prefer to execute a hand cleaning on this instead of using the power sprayer.

Best of luck

thanks everyone. looks like degreasing it is. the jeep isnt on the road yet so it will have to be done at home for now. I dont have a pressure washer, but I do have a hose bib with hot water. I think I will try to do it with the hot water and a hose first. if that doesnt work out then I will probably see if I can find a pressure washer I can borrow or just wait until I get her on the road.

this thing is covered in crud, but is surprisingly rust free. the lack of rust was the main selling point.

thanks again.