turboale

Last weekend I had a heck of a time with some... ok, TONS of mud... went out twice a day for 3 days. Anyway, anybody have any suggestions on getting the engine bay back to better shade of grey/black? A friend of mine says he sprays it down wet and sprays the whole thing with simple green, let it sit of a bit then power-washes it off (done on a cold engine of course). Seemed to work for him pretty well, though his wasn't as dirty as mine. Anyone have any other suggestions? What do you guys do?

Dirty Engine!

trd90toyota

Hoo-ray for you!!!!!! You need a couple of more punches on you man card!!! hehe I'd just go to the car wash and use the high pressure wash then ues the degreasser and high pressure wash it again.

rimpainter.com

Be careful when using cold water with a hot engine. You can crack the block.

I will second the pressure wash idea, however, a steam or heated pressure wash is the best idea.

Keep the spray away from vital parts of the engine.

I have always sprayed mine with the engine running, but some people disagree with that. Never a problem for me...and the fan dries it off, of course I have elec fans now

data

I use Castrol Degreaser (the stuff in the purple bottle). I spray it down and let it sit for a couple minutes, then I spray it down with the pressure washer on low\medium. Works pretty darn good!

Cebby

Buddy of mine that detailed cars told me to have it running, too, so I second that. I heard it's better for the electrical parts if it's running...

rimpainter.com

Yeah, I used to detail cars and they told me the same thing. Scientifically, I have no idea why.

Maybe it has to do with cars that have a dist cap...and its been a rumor ever since.

dajabr

I used average orange extract spray crap, an old dish washing brush and the hose on low. Repeated as needed.

Definitely keep it running, if something important does get wet you'll at least know it was the last thing you hosed before wierd engine behavior, instead of checking every single thing. But yes, don't spray pressure directly at your distributor or other vital parts, just the surfaces.

4runner4life

i was told that detailing the engine with the engine running is better cause hot wire will dry faster than cool wires. but i was wondering how careful you have to be with "cold" water cracking the block. i didnt know water coming from your city line could be cold enough to crack your block but of course ive spent most of my time here down in da south. and if ya do a search on cd2, there are alot of guys on here that backs that detailer up.

richeyma

4Runner4life,

I doubt you'd have to worry about too cold of water. In the North (and I'm not that far north), the water in the pipes can actually freeze, so I'd consider that pretty darn cold! As 96 Runner stated, it depends on how hot your engine is when you hose it down--a drastic change in temperature would be the cause of cracking the block.