I need to clean up under the hood. And wanted to know what most of you use?
that accordion pipe is a pita to clean with the wd40

 

Just make sure that you don't let water get down in your spark plug galley!

 

yea that's what am afraid of happening, because I read multiple threads people washed their engine down then it wouldn't start.

 

I've seen a few places that will steam clean your engine bay. It's probably the best thing you can do to make it look good.

 

Use WD40 on a rag and a lot of elbow grease ;rust penetrator displaces water and will leave the engine bay with a nice sheen. DO NOT wash the engine , Lexus engines are very finicky.

 

yep

 

^thats a crock. i've "washed" my engine plenty of times.

let the engine run for a little while enough to warm up the block and head. then turn it off. make sure you cover your alternator and air intake cone filter(if u have one) with a plastic bag and make sure your sparkplug cover is screwed down/intact (i place a bag over that anyway, to avoid possible hydro lock.

Now, spray Foam degreaser on the block, axles, etc, and let that sit for 10-15 minutes while it pulls grime off. Now if your is engine is real grimey...get under there with a scrub brush and help that foam remove the stubborn stuff.

next break out the water hose with a strong jetstream nozzle and point it at the block and firewall trying to stay away from the electrical components as much as possible. don't get carried away and start blasting the battery terminals/wiring/fuse box, etc.

After your're done hosing down the engine bay, the engine should still be warm so it will speed up the drying process. Once the block dries up, inspect it and make sure there's no grease residue left where the block and head meet, make sure it's spic and span.

Now take the car out for a spin. Once youre done driving around, pop the hood and this is an ideal time to inspect your block for any oil leaks. this is an easy way to diagnose where any oil leaks may be coming from, ie: metal head gasket, valve cover gasket, distributor o-ring.

I do this every 6 months or so. but you dont have to...

 

I washed my Chrysler 300's engine with a hose once and it was fine. Afterwards, I heard all sorts of horror stories of people doing it and messing up their spark plugs. I wouldn't recommend pouring water on it, unless everything is covered up. Some really strong degreaser will help if you can't get a good deal on a steam cleaning job.

I still recommend going with the steam cleaning. I saw a friend's SC that had this done and the engine looked even better than mine, and I keep mine pretty clean with degreaser. It was like a brand new car.

 

So you are saying it's a crock that people have had trouble washing their engines before? . . . because they definitely have, regardless of whether you have had success or not.

If you'll notice, I never said it can't be done successfully if you know how to, I merely agreed that lots of people do run into trouble doing this. Not everyone who reads through these threads has the basic knowledge to avoid problems that others can innately avoid. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but I'd be real careful before suggesting it's A-OK to take a hose to an engine because it's just the kind of thing that can cause a naive person to run into some expensive trouble.

$.02

 

thats right, you never said it can't be done successfully. instead, you gave the whole concept a thumbs down basically implying that it cannot, which is the same thing. so...

And thats Why i posted the little how-to, which actually helps people.
and that was my $.02, which was a lot more helpful then your $.02

 

+1

 

Ugh, I remember the first time I tried to clean my bay and that's exactly what happened. It was a fun night

 

Your subjective opinion (but understandably incorrect)



Again, your subjective opinion.

First off, like I said, I would rather be overly cautious here. Next, I can assure you, I'm not looking for a hassle with you here, so I guess we'll disagree on this, but IMHO your instructions of:
"break out the water hose with a strong jetstream nozzle and point it at the block and firewall trying to stay away from the electrical components as much as possible.
leave far too much leeway for the amateur to run into trouble.

Basically, as I see it (and no offense to the OP here), if you are uncertain enough to have to ask how to wash your engine, then maybe it's not the best thing for you to be doing in the first place. I have absolutely nothing to prove here, I'd just much rather see some poor kid with a dirty engine than a kid with phantom electrical problems up the wahzoo, but like I said, I am just overly cautious that way.

Merry Christmas

 

i took some pics of my engine bay today there in the first post

 

LOL ^^ I have to say that engine bay actually looks pretty clean