Safe engine cleaning?

[Blizzard96]

Hello everyone. I have a white car, so the engine bay is white too...well, it SHOULD be white. Its more of a grayish white right now.

What are some good/safe ways to clean the engine? I'm not comfortable opening it up and just hosing it down...should I just grab a bunch of rags and take a weekend afternoon to just scrub the heck out of them? Thanks guys...since I'm putting in a CAI this weekend, I figure I might as well clean in there too.

[Domestic Violence]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Blizzard96:
I'm not comfortable opening it up and just hosing it down.<hr></blockquote>

zen you mus haf a dirty engine bay young grasshoppa.

get some engine degreaser.
spray it all over the inside of the engine compartment.
after 10 mins or so, hose it all off.
turn the water on very gently, not full blast.
stay away from most of the upper portion where all the wires are.
it won't destroy anything if it get a little moist.(they're made to drive in the rain.)
get some tire wet, or tire shine and spray down everything.
let that sit for 10-15 mins.
gently hose it off.
get a towel and wipe down the excess tire wet and water.

from here on out you should just be able to use armor all on the plastic/rubber parts and use a towel to wipe off excess water and dirt. you can also buy a small brush to brush dirt out of the cracks and crevices.

don't sweat the engine getting wet. i've done this with all my cars and have never had a problem. the problem comes when you blast the water in and it forces itself in places it shouldn't be. and try to spray from as high as possible. don't spray from the side or from underneath. use the tire wet once to get everything looking nice and shiny and you shouldn't need it again unless you let it get really dirty again.