i have never cleaned an engine before but would love to clean my engine(maybe next weekend).but first, i have used the search and it showed different threads but i live in a condo and have no hose, pressure washer, etc.
how can i clean my engine in a simple way just to degrease it and make it shine. i have not cleaned the engine since i got it last year july.
i am really scared of getting water in my engine though so i really would be happy if there was a process not involving water or machines. i don't mind spending a few bucks and dedicated hours on the engine.
please advice.

 

Trust me on this one. DO NOT WASH THE ENGINE.... You will get water in the spark plug and it will turn into a all day event where you will have to remove the throttle body and take out each spark plug and dry it out. My best advice would be just to wipe everything down

 

you could look around your town and see if there isn't an auto shop that offers steam cleaning. I know a few people around here that have had it done and said it was great. Not to mention, if you have a shop do it....they should pay for repairs if they screw anything up, however they usually go through the correct steps and such to prevent it.....they may even offer underbody steam cleaning....pretty cool I think

 

Jmai is right about the plugs, you will definitely regret washing it with a hose!!

Get a degreaser of some sort and a rag and wash it that way. Make sure your engine parts are nice and warm. (I'm applying this method to my deli cleaning degreasers)
Save you some money....otherwise a steam clean would sound liek a good idea!

Let us know what worked for you and what didnt

 

i am going to take your advice guys.
i do not want any trouhle with water getting to the spark plugs.
i am going to give it a nice wipe-down and detail the interior.
waiting for the nice blissful spring weather.

 

i dunno about you guys having problems but I pressure wash my engine every 2-3 months for like 2+ years now without any problems. You just need to rinse it off not drench it. I spray it down with concentrated simple green... let that sit... then pressure wash it clean. I'm guessing in your case just a degresser and wipe down should do it more or less.

 

if you search on this you'll see how many times people have tried this with really bad results.