So this summer ill be doing the plenum repair and i thought since im gona have the engine apart i should take my time to clean everything out. What parts are a good idea to clean at this point. I must admit Silver_dodge made me jealous with his engine so i have some ceatch up. Plus i believe a clean engine is a happy one. So if you have any tips on getting my engine as clean as it can be thad be awesome. Thanks in advance.

 

Wire wheel for the plenum
HD engine degreaser and a brush (I like Purple Power)
You can use tire wet on the hoses to shine them up.
Mother's Back to Black on PDC cover and other plastic parts.
Rubber Gloves
Baggies and rubberbands or zipties to cover things that shouldn't get water in them like tranny and oil dipstick.
Oh yeah, disconnect the neg terminal from the battery if you're going to be spraying out the engine bay and reaching around for any length of time.

 

Gunk and urithane cleaner work well. And the finest steel wool you can get your hands on. Make sure you wax everything that's painted afterwards.

 

I clean my engines regularly. Can't wait for the temp hit 50 so I can do a solid clean & start changing all the fluids on my 99 4x4.

I use Engine Gunk, a couple different size brushes, and a pile of rags. Cover your electronics with plastic (Fuse box, Distributor, etc.)so they don't get wet. Go after the spots with heavy oil, dirt first. Then use a can or two of Gunk.Carefull of the paint on wheel wells & firewall. you can use a LIGHT spray from your garden hose to rinse. Tire cleaner works for the hoses, and armour all for the plastic.

Of course while you are there get under the hood & fender wells. Once you got it cleanit is easy to keep clean. Just a can of Gunk, a hose, and spray for the hoses & plastic. 10 mins & your done. Of course if you ever need to work on your engine it is so much nicer when it is clean.

One more thing. Pick a color of 500 degree paint. Some of the parts going in my rides get a paint job before installation.

Pic of Hyundai engine.125000 miles My other ride

Jeff

 

So only a light wash down with a garden hose. Ive heard of people taking pressure washers to thier engines but i dont think that could be to healthy. Thanks for the advice.

 

Simple Green does a pretty good job Ive found.

Be carefull using GUNK, I got carried away with it a 3yrs ago (prior to s/c install) and got some on the passenger side frame rail.(noticeable spot)Removed all the coating in the one spot n started to surface rust immediately. Ended up stripping the frame down and painting it because of that.

If a part comes off n isnt replaced with something new/better I give them a coat of paint or powder coat them before reinstalling. Only have a couple more pieces under the hood left to do now. (alt/pwr steering) Instead of hi heat paint, Ive been using Duplicolor brake caliper ceramic enamel. Takes a beating and has a couple colors available. On my M1, alt/ac braket, water pump, pwr steering bracket, calipers, spindles and one or two other places.

 

I use Simple Green on my engine. It's completely non-toxic and good for the environment. Just spray it on undiluted and then scrub vigorously. Rinse off with garden hose.

Afterwards, apply Armor All to your hoses.

Here's the engine on my Duster:

 

I use simple green and elbow grease. I also like the non-flammable engine degreaser called Greased Lightning. I also use tire foam to make everything look shiny, but I don't do that very often.

 

Quick q while on the topic what is our intake manifolds made of? Can they machine wash them if so how?

 

+3 on simple green and elbo grease. Take your time and it will look good. Too many people spray their engines down with hoses and wind up buyin new cars.