Cleaning The Engine and Underhood Area?

[Bigvin]

This is by far one of the best degreasing cleaning products I've ever used for under the hood or any other greasy areas.
On a cold engine, spray it on, use a soft brush to loosen the dirt, hose it off.....yer done. Works on wheels and makes them clean as a whistle too.

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[kentw]

This is by far one of the best degreasing cleaning products I've ever used for under the hood or any other greasy areas.
On a cold engine, spray it on, use a soft brush to loosen the dirt, hose it off.....yer done. Works on wheels and makes them clean as a whistle too.

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Thanks Bigvin, my concern lies mostly in the possibility of water getting into a connection or switch and causing strange intermittent problems. What specific steps did you take to prevent that from happening when you did yours?

[Bigvin]

To be quite honest I didn't take any precautions...lol
I like livin' on the edge.
But seriously, the only things you really have to worry about is not getting water in the intake which you can cover in plastic or use a garbage bag and as far as the electrical connections go you can either wrap them in electrical tape or tightly scrunch aluminum foil around them for a temporary.
Drying is easy if you have a leaf blower.....start her up and blow the water out of all the crevices like the plug holes and you should be good to go.
The stuff works wonders.....and for the record I used a soft bristle small dustpan broom to work in the solvent. Wait till you use this stuff you won't believe the results you'll get. Everybody sells it......pepboys, autozone, target etc.....
Just don't use the purple power on the hood insulation. You'll be hosing it for weeks trying to get all the cleaner out of it.

[Pecos Slick]

I have noticed that only SAP CVPIs have the hood insulation.

[Bigvin]

I have noticed that only SAP CVPIs have the hood insulation.

I'm new to P71's so i didn't know that Pecos.
I'm guessing the SAP's are not run as hard or left idling as much so the insulation is a plus.

[jaschenck]

I start with a warm engine soak it down with simple green or purple power let it sit for 15-20 minutes then hit it with the pressure washer with 25 degree tip keeping the tip 1-2 feet back I have done both while running and not either way I have had no issues. I hate dirty engines so I keep mine clean. I stopped using the local oil change place because they would make a mess each time they changed the oil.
I wash and wax after since I figure the cleaners may strip the wax off the paint, if your beer bottle does not slide off the hood you don't have enough wax on your car

Jim

[adam]

after rebuilding engines etc ... i never and will never wash an engine with a water etc again....TOO MUCH ELECTRICAL.

never seemed worth it.

[Pecos Slick]

I agree. Don't put water on the engine, just use a steam cleaner with harsh chemicals in it. LOL
You are right though. water can get into the electrical connection and corrode the contacts. I do wash mine down about twice a year though.

[MSena]

I don't have too much heartburn with rinsing the engine bay down with water, but I stay away from water under pressure. Too many electrical and vacuum connections to dislodge or damage. I know some who use a low to medium pressure washer clean the engine, but almost all have had to track down a loose hose or connection at one time or another.

[Zombi-ceptor]

You do realize with the right cleaning agent, you dont have to use HIGH pressure to clean right? Let the cleaner do the hard part and just use low pressure to rinse it down. High pressure is when you start ruining injectors and coils and getting water down into spark plug wells.