I really want to detail my engine, and I was wondering which was the best and easiest way to go about this. Should I use steam cleaning or chemicals? Thanks, Max.

Super clean and a long narrow car was brush is what I use on the engine itself. Then I just go over the rest with a soapy shop rag. It takes time, but thats the best way.

NEVER use a pressure washer. EVER. You can damage underhood liner and you'll blow off and/or damage insulation around the manifold and the inner fender flaps.

I would have to put WD40 on the wires to keep them from shorting out or such, right?

I have never done it. No problems...
I'm not sure exactly what the relative conductivity, resistance, and capacitance of water is, but I don't think it can handle current well enough to provide a high amperage short.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't worry about.

And WD40 isn't the greatest of insulators....

wd40. know where they got the name for that? the company was trying to come up with a product for water displacement, and this was their 40th attempt. i know that has nothing to do with this, but it's just a small thing that one of my professors told the class recently. thought i'd share.

Some say WD40 is called WD40 because it has a water displacement value of 40.
But yes, it is the 40th formula.

I would have to put WD40 on the wires to keep them from shorting out or such, right?

No, no, no (wd-40... what?)... You can gently spray the engine bay area. You should not be spraying it in hard or drenching everything. All the connectors have seals/grommets in them. But still you don't want to spray it in there at full blast.

When I used to detail back in the day I would apply a little bit of tire shine on a rag and whipe down any black plastic pieces. It makes it look 100 times cleaner. Like I said, just apply it to a rag and give everything a shine. You can so the same with any black kick panels or door trims on trucks or cars. The only disadvantage to that is; the coating must be lighter and once it gets wet you will see water streaks down it (unless it's washed completely off). So if you do use it on the outside you will need to apply it every once in a while. It makes the car look a ton better and eliminates any fading... but it does require some up keep.

I detailed my engine. Looks great.

Pics?

Yea, pics would be cool! I always use a bottle of that good engine degreaser, let it sit for 15 min then lightly use a hot water pressure sprayer to clean it off. I am just very careful around anything water can get into. I do this about every 3 months along with the air filter cleaning. I remove it and bag off the maf & intake area with a rubber band so the water wont get in there. I check the electrical connections about once a year and clean & add anti corrosion gel as needed.

I'll have pics soon. These last few weeks have been hell. Finals, CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam), CSTs...oh god. And fixing grades.

Have a huge assignment due tomorrow...oral presentation sore throat...

On a more positive note I scored 408 on my CAHSEE which I believe is Advanced.

360 - passing
380 - proficient
400 - advanced

I'm pretty sure.

I will have pics tomorrow or so.

Congrats on your Exam!

Great. Post pics when you get a chance. no rush!

Thanks.

Well here is a picture of my recent engine detail, as per request.

Enjoy.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p94/maximan1/PICT0001.jpg

And my new steering wheel cover which I bought from Autozone on sale.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p94/maximan1/PICT0004.jpg

Oh crap...I can see a few spots I missed lol

Looks good, most engines out there are just caked in black.

For a second there I thought that was a logo printed on the wheel, nice cover, looks slick!

Yeah I know what you mean. You should see my dad's engine...just a grease cake with a screwdriver here and there...lol, silly mechanic.

Yes it looks great and also is nice and fat...gives a great and comfortable grip.

I've scheduled my drivers test for May 26 at 9:30 A.M.

Do you have a link for these kind of stuffs? I like to have some new DYI techniques while it's still summer.

Its not hard to understand.
Spray any plastic parts with tire shine.

I didnt take before pictures but here is what I did and the after pictures.

-lightly spray engine compartment with a hose.
-spray on some fantastic scrub with a brush on the heavy deposits and a rag for the rest.
-gently spray off with a hose.
-this is where you need to be careful as you do not want to get water inside anything you dont want it to. I gently blow with 40lbs of hp air any of the water then wipe with a rag.
-last but not least I sprey on armor all and wipe with a clean rag.

Here are pics of both the Astro and Suburban finished product. Oh and each took less than 30 mins to do.
Burban has 115000 km on it when I cleaned it the first time.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii315/Thumper_ehhhhh/Picture049.jpg

Astro has 206000 km when I cleaned it the first time.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii315/Thumper_ehhhhh/Picture004-1.jpg

Very nice! looks well taken care of:cool:

Remarkably free of rust to be from Canada. It looks great.

I have now been inspired to clean my engine. I'll post a before pic tomorrow. Don't hate, it's gonna be bad, been mudding a few times in it.

Sweet. Might want to post it in the Show Off ;)

I know this is an old thread but I just detailed my engine yesterday so I thought I would show it off...
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/3997/cleanengine.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.com/)
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6163/cleanengine4.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.com/)
Its my 1999 Jimmy. I recently put back the factory air induction system (i'm playin around with diffrent things for gas mileage) but I couldn't resist color matching it to the rest of the car first.

Old thread or not. You did a great job. Keep posting them everyone.

Thanks man