I bought my Crossfire back in Oct 2018 cheap the engine compartment is very dirty and unloved I heard never to power wash a Crossfires engine compartment it has bees nests and grease oil build up etc. This car was unloved. I bought engine degreaser which I wanted to do in the spring, does anyone have and suggestions. this car has its issues with the cooling fan and A/C doesn't work and the tps and light sensors and radiator light dash light are on. I watched on youtube Like Chrisfix power washed his engine in his Mustang My engine is really dirty. have not done anything yet just want suggestions thanks

 

Just make sure you cover the intake tube if you have removed the engine cover, otherwise there should be no problem.

 

 

Try not to soak the electrical connections. Focus on the block and wheel wells.

 

And if oil is leaking from the valve/breather covers, fix that first.

 

I second the recommendations to protect the alternator & avoid a hot engine. I typically use a plastic bag (Walmart, Target, any food store, etc.) to cover the alternator. Once you split the bag a little, you can place around the alternator to protect it from the deluge you'll get from a power washer.

I would also suggest you consider using a good engine degreaser and after letting it soak for about 10 minutes, just spray it off using your garden hose. If the engine is really dirty, you may have to repeat this a few times to get the engine totally clean. This method avoids the high delivery pressure from a power washer.

 

Yup this is on my "to-do" list very soon. My car too was unloved and the engine compartment is very dirty. I just completed re-sealing the breather vent covers as PIZZYGUY suggested. I took a rag to the heaviest places I could reach by hand and I have bought a can of spray cleaner I plan to spray all over the motor then hose it down. I plan to cover the opening for the air intake, alternater, battery. I want to do it at home with my own pressure washer as it has less pressure than a commercial car wash sprayer. Then again, maybe just a good garden hose sprayer like suggested my do the trick. Look up some videos on YouTube for power washing car motors. It can be done safely.

 

Use a good degreaser and avoid high water pressure
With a pre spray of a good engine cleaner/degreaser the water flow from a home garden hose is sufficient
Apply degreaser to a very slightly warm engine and after cleaning and rinsing simply start the engine and go for a drive and the engine heat will naturally dry itself
Then once dry use an engine detailer spray
Mine recent Coupe now sold was this clean using this method

 

 

Valk - That looks very nice. I too, would like to know which engine degreaser do you use? I live in a condo so I have to be careful of depositing a lot of dirt on the pavement. I guess if the product desolves the dirt it won't hurt the pavement. I do not have a lot of grease or oil, in fact none, but the engine compartment is just dirty with dust and road spray from driving. I'm not using a power washer either, just a garden hose. Let us know some of the better cleaner's to use.

Jim

 

It's called "Rydall MP" but it isnt available in stores....it was a product manufactured at a company I once worked for
It was basically a more concentrated product similar to "Simple Green" sold in stores and it will provide the same results.
Simply lightly spray it on a slightly warm engine and allow it to penetrate the grease and dirt for about 10 minutes
Then rinse with a household garden hose with only the pressure that it provides from the house

 

Thanks so much for info

 

Im new to this engine so I wish someone would show how to do this on a Crossfire thanks for advice my cars engine is very oily and the engine compartment is very dirty. so may have to do this several times. but since the car is old the wire harness could have cracks and that scares me . I did fix the cooling fan issue I had posted it was due to a cut wire to the cooling fan module. Now I gotta figure out why the AC pump doesn't work and I cannot recharge the system. I gotta check the forum for this issue if there is any

 

OMG Vaulk your car looks better than new . Beautiful !!

 

That other pic in this thread was my Coupe I had for 11 years and sold 1 year ago.
This is my 2005 6 Speed Roadster currently under the hood.
I have added the same mods to my Roadster:
Needswings Single Cold Air Intake (CAI)
Needswings Oil Catch Can
Mercedes Engine Cover

 

I would spray any electrical connections with a dielectric lubricant first.

 

Gary:

Are you recommending the Simple Green Automotive product or the Concentrate?

 

I've gone through and detailed my latest Crossfire purchase. For the engine bay I used the Chemical Guys Degreaser diluted (10 % cleaner, 90% water).


I did one area at a time spraying on the cleaner and using a couple of these brushes to loosen dirt and grime.


I used a regular garden hose with an easy spray to rinse the area cleaned.

Here is a picture after it was cleaned. I did not apply any engine bay dressing (shiny stuff) yet. I was very pleased with the results.

 

the one thing i do is, immediately after washing any car engine, start it up ,,run a fast idle like 1500 to 2000 for 5 to 10 minutes , so that every thing that needs to dry out will dry.

note wash your engine,let it soak 10 min., then pressure wash it then let it sit for awhile,,, guess what NO START

 

That's a very good point. I didn't mention I used a leaf blower to get the excess water out. I then ran the engine to get it hot, and left the hood open for over an hour to help it dry out. I had also removed the shield under the engine before I started cleaning.