cleaning engine

[thabomb180]

I have a 3.4L camaro

What do i have to cover up when i clean my engine??

i see alot of connections for wires and sensors and things like that, do i have to cover these too because it looks like a PITA to do!!!

Is it safe to start my engine right after i clean it or should i let it sit overnight??

[FireFighter]

I worked at a detaling shop and when i did it I kept the motor running and stayed away from the air filter and alt. other than those you should be alright.

[thabomb180]

should i cover up the coil pack though??

i didnt think it was alright to keep the engine running,,,

i thought

cold water + hot engine = not good

[hockeyman]

I make sure the engine is cold. I'll let it sit overnight, then in the morning I'll spray Castrol Superclean degreaser all over everything, including the alternator. Let the degreaser do it's thing for about 5 minutes, then rinse off with hose. After that, I'll take some electrical cleaner in a spray can and spray the alternator, electrical connections, etc.
I let the engine sit for about 5 minutes to drip dry, then start it up with the hood up and let engine heat do the rest.
Been doing this twice a year for the past 6 years, no problems at all.

-Marc

[LD]

wow
u guys are picky
I just take mine up to the powerwash and spray it out with it running lol

[thabomb180]

i thought you cant get the alternator wet???

is it alright to use simple green to clean my engine???

[ March 30, 2003: Message edited by: thabomb180 ]</p>

[Beastly TA]

Simple Green is good but leaves some major streaks.

Gerry

[sac2165]

Everybody will tell you something different, I hose the everything for about 5 minutes so everything is cold, hit the non painted parts with simple green automotive & a toothbrush, and use a sponge with car wash on the painted surfaces. I've never covered anything up, I just try not to completely soak electrical components.

[hockeyman]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by thabomb180:
i thought you cant get the alternator wet???<hr></blockquote>


I believe it's always good to clean the alternator out. Carbon builds up inside and dirt gets in there too from everyday driving, which may cause premature failure. Like I posted before, I claen it when it's cold, use superclean, hose off, then use electrical contact cleaner all through it. My alternator is still the original factory installed with over 120k on it, and no signs of pi**ing me off yet.
Although, I just bought another used one for personal insurance purposes ;)

-Marc

[Ted]

The reason you leave the car running is because you want all the water to burn up, say it gets to your sparkplugs it'll burn it up if it's running, if it's off it'll soak your plugs etc... one of my friends dad left his new f150 off and just wrecked a whole coil pack. We wash tons of car's engines at our shop everyday, we just leave them running and their fine. I'll say this one more time, for all of you people that use simple green i'd seriously stay away from it, i've said many times on this board that it is known to corrode but I continuley see people telling other people it's a good product. It is not. Over time IT WILL CORRODE, beleive me. A better one to recommend is spray nine.

[thabomb180]

ted, is it alright to get the alternator wet??

[Ted]

It's fine no problem at all. Only thing I worry about if the car has a distributor don't spray that down, most coil packs are fine if they get a little wet, if the cars on it'll just burn off anyway. You should be fine just washing down the whole engine as long as it's on.