Engine bay cleaning every 2 months will keep your engine looking at least, decent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnother important thing to keep in mind is you must never spray a hot engine with cold water. If your engine was at operating temperature just before you’re getting ready to wash it, let it sit for a while with the hood open to let it cool down. A warm engine is OK, grease and dirt actually loosen up with a little heat. But NEVER SPRAY IT WHEN FULLY HOT. You can break it. And… Don’t use pressure while rinsing, just a mild spray. Pressure can get water into places it shouldn’t be going in.<\/p>\n
I often do engine bay detailing in 2 steps. I’ll spray with water and then engine degreaser, let it sit for 5 minutes and rinse. I’ll repeat the process all over again to make sure I got everything. I’ll use actual car shampoo to clean the top of the engine with a sponge and a rag dedicated to engine washing only. I’ll also clean the rest of the engine bay using regular car body shampoo. I’ll use a rag or a sponge for that too.<\/p>\n
For drying, I usually just let it air dry while I work on other parts of the car. You can use an air dryer, but be sure not to use too much pressure. You don’t want to force water into deeper crevices by using air pressure. The idea is to get the water out.<\/p>\n
After the engine is relatively dry (as in, not soaking wet) and I have removed the plastic bags I used to cover the alternator and intake, I’ll usually turn the engine on. It should start as usual. I let it run for a bit to get it up close to operating temps. The heat helps dry the engine right up. If you can get the radiator fans going, even better.<\/p>\n
It’s important you let the engine dry enough before putting the car away. If you have a garage, let the car sit overnight with the hood open. Most of today’s car engine blocks are made of aluminum. They develop a nasty coat of white corrosion over them if left wet with the hood down.<\/p>\n
There you go. It’s as simple as that. If you do this often enough, the water that comes out of the engine compartment as you rinse won’t be much more dirty than washing the outside of the car. Of course, if you have an oil leak, you must get it fixed and then wash the engine only at a location that allows engine bay cleaning. These places usually collect the dirty water for filtering to remove contaminants before it’s sent off. Washing an engine that is heavily dirty with oil and letting the dirty water flow around into the ground or down the gutter is not only illegal but extremely irresponsible. So don’t do it.<\/p>\n
As far as whether or not you should use a degreaser branded as a dedicated engine degreaser is up to you. I find that the good dedicated engine degreasers are good because they are somehow strong, but safe for sensitive plastic, rubber and metal parts in your engine compartment. However, since I wash my car’s engine often, I don’t really need a very strong chemical. That’s why I go for simple diluted degreasers instead.<\/p>\n
What to buy<\/h3>\n
For simplicity’s sake, you can use the super popular Purple Power degreaser which is what I personally use. It’s cheap to buy and if you dilute it like I do, it will last even longer. Here’s a link you can use to buy it:<\/p>\n