Well I'm finally doing my plenum this weekend. I think it's a good idea to get all the mud, grease, etc out of my engine bay so it doesn't end up in the engine. Luckily I have some unused engine Brite at the house. In order to successfully use this stuff what should I cover? I've seen online to cover alt, comp, and all electric components but that seems like a bit much to me. Thanks!

 

That's probably about right. I've gotten degreaser, well carb cleaner, in an alternator before, and it squealed like crazy.

You may not have to cover all the electrical stuff just don't go pointing the water hose at em and use a light spray over any you do have to get wet.

Also since your doing the plenum, if you've noticed any oil leaks around the valve cover's this would be a good time to change the gasket and clean/paint them if you want to.

I helped my father in law change out his valve cover gasket's since they were shot, and boy were they shot, crazy thing somebody did it half assed before, driver side had a rubber gasket and the passenger had a cork gasket, like a fel pro.

Talk about SLUDGE!

 

Alright what's the valve cover gasket? And I guess I will cover the alt, thanks a lot!

 

The valve cover's are the black things, only your's aren't that pretty more then likely. They have a gasket underneath and they go bad over time, your's may be perfectly fine.

You'll usually notice oil or wet spots on the valve cover, which indicates oil leaking. FelPro gasket's are pretty cheap and thick.

 

I cleaned my engine thouroughly before I did the plenum to eliminate the possibility of getting crud into engine. Cover any openings, vacuum ports, and bag throttle body tightly. I removed my alternator, but if you leave it on, I would cover it well. The water itself will not harm it (unless you start it while wet) but the cleaner will not help it. I would disconnect battery also. Covering the TB also takes care of TPS and IAC. Should be good.

 

Oh the head gaskets?

 

No the valve covers sit on top of the heads. 2 different things here.... The valve covers are the black covers in that picture that say mopar magnum..

 

Oh Ok, how long does it take after I'm already down there to take them off?

 

Unplug anything attached to them, remove a few bolts and that's it.

 

Alright thanks a lot, I'll use that search thing for specific details lol