Cleaning engine bay

M

Macdozer

Senior Member
Sense I have the engine out to the car I figured now is a good time to clean everything and maybe paint a few things.

Here is how it looks now

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I am thinking the best way to do it is some degreaser warm water and elbow grease. Maybe a wire brush on a electric drill.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice
What kind of paint should I use on frame and cross members?
 
Degreaser, scraper, wire wheel, safety goggles plus the elbow grease you add.
It's one of those tasks where once you start the more you need to do to make it nice.
It's worth doing in my opinion.
 
Put a plastic bag over the front of the torque tube. You don't need water/degreaser in there. Put the degreaser on and let it sit over night. You might think about using a power washer and set it at the lowest pressure possible.
 
I find that a kerosene-based cleaner (Gunk) is best for the first round; soak, let sit, then scrape with a plastic scraper. Once you get down to thin layers of oily mess, then the Purple Cleaner type stuff with a good hot water rinse finishes it up nicely. The really mild Scotchbrite (usually blue colored) is great stuff, as are a good pair of thick nitrile gloves. It will make a mess for sure!
 
Be careful with the auto-store engine degreasers. I used one once that ate paint. 'Overnite' would be out, for me. Wish I could remember which brand.
 
Thinking of just cleaning it up and maybe using some fluid film on it to help protect it. Has any one used fluid film on your cars before?
 
We use Super Clean as a solvent. It is safe, but use eye and hand protection. It may take several applications, but it will rinse off old dirt and grease with water.
 
I prefer WD-40, it cleans off the dirt & grease with a tooth brush or rag, does not affect the paint, and leaves a temporary rust resistant coating on the area you just cleaned.
 
Diesel fuel and rags works well on the open stretches but some tighter places will require long hours with an old toothbrush and elbow grease.
 
Maybe cover the torque tube and haul your little dumplin to the car wash. That way you can do it fairly quickly and no driveway to clean afterwards. Also note the Super Clean (Purple bottle) is a great cleaner but if left on too long it will eat paint and more!!!
 
I do a dry scraping first with a dull putty knife, screwdrivers, picks, etc.. This removes the large chunks and loose stuff that you can vacuum up with a shop vac instead of creating a wet greasy muddy mess first.

Second stage is a petroleum based degreaser (like kerosene. diesel, WD40, mineral spirits or the like) to act as a solvent to loosen and remove the greasy stuff.

Third stage is a thin non-petroleum solvent (denatured alcohol, detergent/water solutions) to remove the second stage.

If it's still oily then I'll spray and wipe with brake cleaner as a preparation for paint.
 
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