Do you clean your engine???

[ygohome]

cool. Havn't seen this thread in awhile

I think care should be taken not to let any water leak under the spark plug covers and drip down to the plugs. That could be bad. But the covers have a seal around them so I think we are okay there..

just my two cents. :beer:

 

[predator]

i barely have 700 mi on my ride....as of this afternoon. It sees no rain, no snow, no nuthin but bright sunshine. I have washed it three times and each time have wiped down under the hood to clean everything up. Fortunately for me I didn't have the problem some of you had with your cars on delivery. Everything was clean enough to eat off of. I imagine that a time will come when I need to do the green thing or something else.

 

[SVTHorsnake]

When your engine looks as good as a Cobras, you clean it ALOT and it's not a bad thing. Keep cleaning engines!

 

[LIKE IT]

Engine Bay!.

I dry clean my engine, and I have an air compressor in my garage which I use to blow out the dust from the engine area. I don`t drive my car that much, so the engine area isen`t that dirty. But I will get around washing it. I did that on my other cars.

 

[CuLaTeR]

Every time I wash my car, I completely detail it which is 2 times a week. My car has never been in the rain either and I am anal about my car. What sucks here where I live is there are sprinkler systems that go on late and night or after sunset. Gets alot the roads wet pretty much. Can't avoid them. Plus seems to always be very dusty around here.

Yesterday I completely detailed the car, engine compartment and everything else. This morning I am heading down to the beach and there was a freeking flooded road I had to drive through. I had no choice. Ruined that 4 hour detail job from the previous day. Here it is after 11 pm and I just got in from completely detailing the car again. My neighbors give me funny looks.. Oh well I love my car!

 

[03blacksnake]

Wow this tread must have been buried, never seen this one...

I look for any reason to pop that hood and admire the source of all that power we have in these things. ;-) I don't go overboard, but I have found that if I wipe the engine down with a damp rag every time I wash the car it is very easy to keep clean and looking good. Also, some of those Armor All wipes work good for keeping all the plastic and hoses looking nice. :thumbsup:

 

[28]

Nothing special to look at,but dang it,it's clean:thumbsup: ;-)

 

[Snake Eyes]

Here is what I do. Most of you wont have this opportunity but if you do it works great. HOTSY! If you don't know what a Hotsy is, it is a pump/sprayer like at the coin operated places but the bonus is this thing has a burner to heat the water if you want (see pic below). So about once a month I will spray the engine compartment (everything even the hood blanket) with the heated water and car wash soap and this thing gets it steaming hot. Let is sit for a few minutes then spray it all off with straight hot water. The water is so hot it totally evaporates in 2 or 3 minutes. No harsh chemicals, no real work and no risk of damaging anything, and man does my engine look good.

Kyle

 

[davidmax]

Simple green is a Cuastic cleaner with free floating alkalinity.It is mildly corrosive and will take its toll.I would suggest a synthetic detergent or Dawn diluted 3-4:1,Dave S.

 

[Mongoose 03]

My secret is not driving in the rain. Therefore it just needs an ocassional dusting with a cotton terrycloth.

 

[351MachOne]

Have to, Pollen was a bitch this year.

 

[94SVT Coupe]

Damp towels do fine for me. Over 1200 miles now and it looks like it did at 12 miles. I do try to avoid driving it in the rain. It's not my daily driver. No fun anyways on wet streets.

 

[finally]

It's all part of cleaning a really nice car to me. If you keep up the cleaning, you only need to touch up the engine bay anyway.

 

[bosscobra]

Originally posted by SoCalBlk03
Here's something to think about. A few years ago we were forbidden to use Simple Green to clean military aircraft anymore. The reason... it would eat the seals on just about everything. A lot of crew chiefs used to clean their aircraft rims with it and they sure would look pretty. The next morning though you would run the risk of having flat tires. You have any idea how hard it is to change a flat tire on a 20T + aircraft?? Now not that this would happen to our cars but the stuff we used was off the shelf ie. what you would get from your local autoparts store. The point is though be very careful what you spray on your engine and tires.

I hear ya:beer: Nothing as easy as spray and wipe is any good in the long run:cryying:

 

[Annihil8or]

Originally posted by VintagePorscheG
this is what I use... its safe... I think you simply have another case of Military Intelligence at work here.

Just because they told you that you were forbidden from using that on your planes doesn't mean that they told you the real reason why... In my experience most of these things have to do with money, and knowing that, of course they don't want to give that as a reason why...



http://www.simplegreen.com/products/consumer/automotive1info.html

I agree with your conclusion, (However, I do respect our military and its intelligence but I suspect that the earlier post about the "dangers of Simple Green" has little to do with either) I have used the Simple Green Degreaser for the last year and a half on my engine compartments since I discovered that nothing I have ever used previously worked better and that it does not harm painted or chromed finishes. Like many other cleaners and degreasers, Simple Green can corrode aluminum if allowed to remain in contact with this soft metal, BUT SO CAN WATER!

That bit about the overnight flat tires is the biggest crock of sh*t I've seen yet. Just to test out this ludicrous proposition, I am soaking various rubber components in Simple Green. Also, I am spraying various other rubber products with Simple Green and allowing it to air dry without rinsing. I will post the results in 24-48 hours but I am confident that there won't be anything to report.

Can you imagine what Simple Green would do to paint and other easily marred finishes if it had the power to erode a tire off of a "20 ton aircraft" overnight? And just think what a great weapon Simple Green would make if this BULLSH*T were true. :lol:

Simple Green, simply put is the safest, least harmful, most biodegradable, highly effective cleaning agent I have seen to clean an engine compartment bar none. I have yet to have any rubber, neoprene or latex dissolve or deteriorate with or without Simple Green.

 

[Annihil8or]

Originally posted by GIDIEUP
Yikes,

Looks like I will not be using simple green. I was very impressed with the way it cleans greesy parts, but didn't know about problems with rubber.

I've got some land in Florida that would make a great tourist resort and you can buy all 150 acres for only $9,999.00. Interested?

Stick with Simple Green and don't believe all of the Horsesh*t that gets posted. I would love to find something as effective and yet harmless as Simple Green.

Apply a little logic and reason, do some testing yourself and don't believe everything you read. What a crock of sh*t, 20 ton aircraft tires overnight?!?!?!?

 

[harry gilbert]

Just a follow-up to the Simple Green controversy. I have been using it on my Toro lawn mower for as long as I can remember (the mower is at least 25 years old) and it has not one bit of corrosion or even dulling the shine on the paint. The rubber tires are still in great shape. I prewet the mower top and bottom, spray on the Simple Green full strength, wait 1 minute, and hose it off. Dry with an air compressor. Don't even have problems with the control cables or linkages.

So I have no fear using on my autos. Warning: like Dawn, it WILL remove your wax, so if it splashes on the fenders, rinse and rewax.

 

[KOTH]

I just wipe the surfaces down with Griots disposable wipe down cloths. Does a great job and saves my towels.

 

[NastyWS6]

About every two months I will clean under the hood of my car, it never stays clean so I won't put much time into it.

 

[NeedaCobra]

I don't have an '03 (yet?), but I clean my engine bay, trunk area, inside the door hinges, etc. when I wash my car. I clean the wheels and tires, wipe of the dash, vacuum, etc. Sometimes time does not permit me to do all of this, but I that is my normal routine. One thing that worked good for me before was using PBautospray (Just keep it away from the altenator and belts, etc). My engine bay usually looks very clean unless I'm busy w/ school and work.