cleaning an engine?

[toby2449]

ah well a bank holiday weekend is upon us here in Ireland, so i'm gonna go and continue my work on the ol' 164. I really wanna tackle the engine, get her nice & clean, but i don't know what to use, as in cleaning agents or if i should power wash it, & if so is there anything i should be careful to cover up first??

so what is it you guys use, cause after seeing some of the pics on here alot of you seem to clean your engines (or you never actually drive your cars )

cheers!

[Fluffyduff]

The engine in my old car used to have a habit of covering itself in oil. there weren't many electrics to worry about on that so i just used to cover it in that fairy power spray stuff and give a blast with the power washer. Worked really well.

Suppose if your in doubt you could always just do it the hard way and use plenty of elbow grease!

Nice looking car you have there

[toby2449]

Originally Posted by Fluffyduff

The engine in my old car used to have a habit of covering itself in oil. there weren't many electrics to worry about on that so i just used to cover it in that fairy power spray stuff and give a blast with the power washer. Worked really well.

Suppose if your in doubt you could always just do it the hard way and use plenty of elbow grease!

Nice looking car you have there

hey thanks for that, & thanks for the comment about the 164, that pic was taken a couple of years ago, & i'm trying to get her back in tip top condition!

[Junior]

Originally Posted by toby2449

hey thanks for that, & thanks for the comment about the 164, that pic was taken a couple of years ago, & i'm trying to get her back in tip top condition!

Agreed - that is a tasty looking 164 you have.

I never found cleaning an engine with products and cold water or even warmer water made much of a difference. If you want to see an instant result ( and far less hassle ) find somewhere that does steam cleaning. The difference is remarkable! And it doesn't seem to harm any of the electrics ( well, he says that, but last Saturday I had the GTV steam cleaned and though it looks the business now, the bonnet open sensor is playing the fool and telling the alarm that is is open the whole time. Hoping that the hot weather this past week has dried the microswitch out. ) Once clean, spray liberally with WD40 for some protection and to make it look nice an shiny. Much easier to spot leaks when it is all clean.

[horseman]

Have been advised to try GUNK from halfrauds but never tried it myself, have been toying with the idea for a while now...

i heard steam cleaning is risky, i would love to have clean engine but i'd be gutted if it ruined something.

[73GTVJim]

I've always done it the hard way for fear of damage. But if you do steam clean it - be mindful that a jetwash is not the same thing. Obvious I know, but some people just dowse the engine bay.

I'd disconnect the battery and I'd securely wrap the main black boxes first.

[jug]

never use water or steam, it can (and usually does) cause all sorts of electrical problems. trying to find and fix rusty connectors and dead sensors is not a fun thing to do with your weekends.

i use gunk, any similar degreaser will do.

[toby2449]

thanks guys, before i posted the question here i googled "cleaning engines" & everyone seemed to have different ideas, some say power sray, jet wash, by hand. So i thought, hey i'll ask the experts! After all people on this forum definitely know Alfas' best. Cheers again, and hey if the job turns out good enough i might even post pics!!

[lowejackson]

This might be helpful http://autopia.org/forum/guide-detai...detailing.html

[Lotgrace Tradin]

Am I alone in thinking that the guy in the link hasn't got a girlfriend?

[MarkgQ4]

o yes he has a wife in fact ...


but she has really let herself go recently, smokes too much, doesnt wash regularly,
shame really she used to be quite a looker

o yes, sorry, Gunk is very good,
but definately dont overdo the water when cleaning it off

[PaulR]

NOT RECOMMENDED - but I've used this "method" on 2 X TS engines with no ill effects.

Fairy liquid- squirt on. Watering can to dilute it. Soft brush to clean. Jet wash to rinse off.

As I say not to be recommended (I did spray electrical connections with WD40 first and kept direct FL and jet water away from them).

Bloody clean afterwards though. It was also quick.

Paul.

[155_Manson]

I just used a wire brush fixing on a chordless drill. Didnt go mad just nice and slow. Here is the link to the topic at the time.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/just-...6-finally.html

[Lotgrace Tradin]

Being sensible now I use traffic film remover diluted, in one of those pump up garden sprayers with a nozzle, working it into the grime with an old paintbrush. Rinse of with a watering can avoiding the electrics as much as possible, then use a shampoo with a wax in it to get the shine back ( traffic film remover can leave the paint looking quite flat) and again rinse of with a watering can

[Ben_NZ]

On a warm/hot engine, I use cheap degreaser then a water blaster, then leave the car sitting for most of the water to evaporate.
But generally I'm just getting the motor acceptably clean for the purposes of locating leaks.

[toby2449]

Have started cleaning the engine, put an entire can of engine cleaner onto it & let it settle for a while, then attacked it with wire wool, a dremmel (carefully tho!), and an old toothbrush & its starting (only starting mind) to look better, holy heck though the engine is full of crap, so whilst the alloy head is starting to look quite good, the rest of the engine is filthy, so off down to my local motor store to by more engine cleaner & back in the garage maybe tonight to continue. This i have to admit folks is a job i mis-judged entirely, its not at all straightforward & will take longer than i thought, but i bet she looks great after it (well i hope so!) The when all the cleaning is eventually done, i wanna paint the "Alfa Romeo" script on the engine red, and maybe the bars (but not sure about those yet!) I have pics taken along the way, & will post them all when my wee project is complete!