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RacingCivicSi02
02-22-2003, 05:54 PM
is it ok to steam clean our engine bay??

asolo
02-27-2003, 03:45 PM
To my knowledge, that's how people usually clean engine bays either when the dealer preps your car for you when you buy it or at a detailing service. I would actually like to know a definite answer to this as well........so guys, how about it?! :confused:

RacingCivicSi02
02-27-2003, 05:02 PM
come on people help us out.

BlackSi2002
02-27-2003, 09:39 PM
yes it is ok, i had my engine bay steam cleaned about 2 months ago, it looked great, every tiny peice of dirt was gone.

RacingCivicSi02
02-27-2003, 10:24 PM
do we need to cover anything,

AkronSi
02-28-2003, 06:51 AM
It sounds like your going to do this yourself. I would just be a little careful around the electrical connections. You probably don't need to cover anything.

Toy2Si
03-04-2003, 01:14 PM
when i clean the engine bay on my other car before i covered the battery, alternator, spark plug wires, and distributor....

wtfOO
03-07-2003, 01:59 AM
someone ban the cfcl guy, this is startin to get crazy.

BlackNRedSi
03-11-2003, 01:28 PM
hey,

my friend steam cleans engines, i will ask him the RIGHT way of doing it....i know there are parts of your engine that MUST be covered, dont do it unless these parts are covered!!!!!!!

i will let you guys know tomorrow what parts to cover!

eric

EATMYDUST
03-11-2003, 03:50 PM
GO TO A LOCAL SELF SERVE CAR WASH. LEAVE YOUR CAR RUNNING OPEN YOUR HOOD, SPRAY THE WHOLE ENGINE CAPARTMENT WITH DEGREASER THEN RINSE IT ALL OFF. YOU CAN SPRAY EVERYTHING BUT TRY NOT TO SPRAY THE INTAKE FILTER IF YOU HAVE ONE. CLOSE THE HOOD AND YOUR DONE. YOU CAN USE ARMOR ALL IF YOU WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK REAL PRETTY BUT I DONT LIKE TOO CAUSE IT GET ALL GREASY.

RacingCivicSi02
03-11-2003, 10:06 PM
what if u have a CAI. how do u cover that??

BlackNRedSi
03-12-2003, 08:52 AM
ahhh, i dont know about all that...let me check for you before you go bringing your car to a local car wash and doing that....i am sure he is right, but lets play it on the safe side, especially if you got stuff that needs to be covered....


ill PM you tonight with the result!

eric

EATMYDUST
03-14-2003, 04:26 PM
i detailed cars for 3 years and still do on the side once in a while, and thats how we cleaned the engine. old and new cars. aske any detail shop in your area i bet you 80 % of they do it that way. its fast and easy and comes out looking brand new everytime no matter how dirty it is. about having a cai that filter is almost all the time under the car right? now if you have a short ram the you just gotta cover it with a bag or something, or just dont spray near it.

RacingCivicSi02
03-14-2003, 04:34 PM
kool. thanks man

cease
03-30-2003, 07:05 PM
i clean my engine bay once a month. all i do is open my hood and spray water, i dont cover anything, (my engine is cold). if youre washing an engine with a distrubutor COVER IT with a plastic bag. remember our ep's have electric ignition system . i havent had any problems

oogy-boogy
03-30-2003, 07:57 PM
I've actually been doing this with every car I've owned.

1 - If at all possible, do this when the motor is cool.
2 - Cover any short ram intakes with a plastic bag. Be sure that the engine is off!
3 - Hose down engine compartment. Try to stay away from the battery (and plug wires if applicable).
4 - Saturate the compartment thoroughly with Simple Green. Also, spray the underside of your hood as it gets nasty at times (I live in New England). Try not to use any of those harsh degreasers as they can stain painted and bare surfaces.
5 - I have a soft bristled car wash brush that I scrub the bay with (~$5 @ Walmart). Also, be sure to gently scrub the underside of the hood. .
6 - Spray away with the high pressure hose and repeat if necessary. Leave it open and let it air dry. Sometimes you'll get water stains if you drive it dry.
7 - Be sure to remove all bags and/or covers you may have used on any parts. This is especially important if you covered your SRI.

Good luck!

napapacoda
04-09-2003, 11:05 PM
I'd be way to afraid of totally messing up my engine just to clean it. I'd rather have a dirty engine or if it was really dirty and was trying to sell it just pay someone who knows what they are doing, is it really worth the risk of doing it yourself?

oogy-boogy
04-10-2003, 05:28 PM
There's really no risk if you do it yourself. Just be smart. You obviously don't want to take a hose and directly spray it up your intake. I have a friend that works at the dealership detailing cars. He said that my process is actually better than what they do.

SiR_d1
04-14-2003, 05:14 PM
when you guys say cleaning the engine bay do u mean cleaning underneath the engine covers or everything above it??

stupid question i know

RacingCivicSi02
04-14-2003, 09:09 PM
anything inside the engine bay. mostly on top though

Loudpedal
04-22-2003, 08:06 PM
I can second EATMYDUST's method. When I used to work at a car dealer that's exactly how we cleaned engines. Sometimes we'd use compressed air to dry around wiring harnesses, but other than that nada. Also, we never had a prob. that I'm aware of with a cust. having a prob. w/ their car due to this.

limp_noodle
04-26-2003, 07:51 AM
Originally posted by oogy-boogy
I've actually been doing this with every car I've owned.

1 - If at all possible, do this when the motor is cool.
2 - Cover any short ram intakes with a plastic bag. Be sure that the engine is off!
3 - Hose down engine compartment. Try to stay away from the battery (and plug wires if applicable).
4 - Saturate the compartment thoroughly with Simple Green. Also, spray the underside of your hood as it gets nasty at times (I live in New England). Try not to use any of those harsh degreasers as they can stain painted and bare surfaces.
5 - I have a soft bristled car wash brush that I scrub the bay with (~$5 @ Walmart). Also, be sure to gently scrub the underside of the hood. .
6 - Spray away with the high pressure hose and repeat if necessary. Leave it open and let it air dry. Sometimes you'll get water stains if you drive it dry.
7 - Be sure to remove all bags and/or covers you may have used on any parts. This is especially important if you covered your SRI.

Good luck!

I agree with you. But in the end I'd just use low pressure to rinse off the engine bay. But I'm gonna do what you said and see how my engine turns out!

oogy-boogy
04-26-2003, 12:19 PM
Originally posted by limp_noodle


I agree with you. But in the end I'd just use low pressure to rinse off the engine bay. But I'm gonna do what you said and see how my engine turns out!

Good luck!