Hello everyone. So the other day I realized the motor mounts on my wife's 05 Acura Tl needed replacing so I dove right in switched them out among other things like plugs, trans axle fluid change, brake and power steering flush's, just a general tuneup and such. It got me thinking of cleaning the entire engine and underneath but I'm really concerned about all of the electrical connections. I've never actually cleaned an engine bay since I owned a '78 CJ5 with only a battery connection and a distributor cap that I had to cover. I was hoping you guys can share how you would go about it. I'll do it to my 15 F-150 after I practice on hers. Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

If you can stand his yankee accent, this guy's got it figured out:

 

I spray everything with simple green then hose it off. Works good and have been doing that for 20 years on every vehicle I've owned.

 

On a late model car in good condition there is hardly any prep necessary, just avoid direct high pressure spray on the alternator and fuse box. I'd also avoid spraying any degreaser in the alternator. Otherwise, on a cold or mostly cold engine, spray everything down with your favorite degreaser, agitate the really dirty areas with some sort of brush (toilet brushes work wonders if you don't have any detail brushes), then spray off with water. For this method on a newer car, a pressure washer isn't necessary; though if I'm lazy I'll skip brushing and just use a pressure washer.
When you've rinsed everything down, towel dry the flat spots on the top of the engine bay and any area where water spots would be visible. Then just start the engine and let it idle to temperature to dry off.

I've cleaned every car I've ever owned this way, some old and some new, and have never had an issue.

 

you don’t cover any electrical stuff or anything?

 

No need to with the weather seal connectors used. But don't recommend using a high pressure pressure washer though just as a precaution. Been using Simple Green and a garden hose since the 1980's to clean the engine bay.

 

No, I just don't go crazy with the hose around that stuff.

 

Beats hearing ye'aawwwlll at the beginning and end of every sentence. What really kicks me is when you feel the need to type it out.

 

Simplegreen is probably not the best choice for aluminum. Most have moved way form it in aluminum planes because of corrosion. I would think other engine parts
and many other parts might be exposed.

 

Orange Citrus cleaner works great on grease you can buy a gallon size jug at Lowes (Zeps brand) for a few bucks. I mix it 25% cleaner to 75% water for normal stuff for stubborn stuff it is 50/50. Spray it on let it sit scrub if needed then rinse off. Environmentally friendly can be used around pets and kids smells better then Simple Green and is safe on plastics and aluminum. I have used pressure washers to a simple hose to clean all my cars and trucks with no ill effects. Just be cautious of the areas stated above.