What is the best engine cleaner? Do you guys rinse the engine every time you wash the car? Love my Crossfire.

 

Wd 40.....

 

I power wash my engine at the self wash once per month. Some use a garden hose with a 50/50 mix of water and Simple Green.

 

Whatever you use do not do it when its hot. Exhaust manifolds do not like that. Lot's of steam and cracks.

 

I have used the simple green method and recently bought Mequirer's degreaser concentrate. Looks like it did a good job and will not impact hoses and the metals.


I then spayed some PS2 dressing on the rubber. You can also use Armoral it works okay.

Jake

 

This has been the best for me as well. I also use a power washer and towel dry the every inch I can get to. If you have a really disgusting engine that has been leaking oil you may have to use a couple cans of Gum Out engine degreaser but this stuff really stinks up the car.

 

im not sure pressure washing would be a good idea. lots of electronics under the hood. electrics and water dont mix! try p21s and a towel

 

Not a problem in these cars. Presure washing doesn't really use very much water and this isn't the old days of having to cover up the distibuter and trying to keep the points dry. All the electronics are very well insulated, sealed and protected. BTW, I am not using a gas powered washer that can strip paint. I am using an electric one I bought at Lowes which has less pressure and won't hurt a thing. I also wash the whole car with it.

 

you need to look at mbworld and benzworld under the slk and c32 forums. many horror stories of water causing electrical damage due to high pressure forced in to the computer area.
no distributor like the old days. now its ecu's fuse panels and more electrics than your house!
everyone has their own way to due things but this is easily avoided by some careful cleaning around the engine compartment.
just 1 such issue. he still hasnt been able to fix his car
http://www.mbworld.org/forums/c32-am...-problems.html

heres an interesting thread http://www.benzworld.org/forums/deta...gine-wash.html

 

I read a post that mentioned using CD2 to remove oxidization from manifold, etc. Got some today and was surprised that it "says" it will clean everything under the hood. Just seems a little out there for me that something that will remove oxidization from metal will cooperate with plastic and rubber. Im going to be careful with this stuff. Any inputs or comments?

 

Well you are right and I have to admit I do know where my ECU box is and have never really hit that area with the washer. I keep the engine compartment very clean so it never takes more than a few seconds to rinse it.

 

Nitrile golves, a clean rag, a can of Sprayway and 30 minutes of love....and every six months or so a go-at-it with a power ball and some Meguiar's Mag & Aluminum Polish. **BLING**

 

Many of the wires are covered with that corrugated plastic cover, blasting water through the slit that runs down the length of this cover is not a good idea as the water will just sit there. Also water into the connectors is bad, some of these cleaners are quite corrosive and will do damage over time to metal connectors and the plastic insulation on wires $$$$$$$.

I have the time so when ever it has got wet under the hood I dry it off. Even after a severe rain it is surprising how little water is under there. There are places that dust and gravel sit and I sweep it out with a 1" paint brush. Then I go over it all with a detail spray and polish it up a little.

I only wash my car on the outside two maybe three times a year but under the hood it is spotless basically.
Thats not too hard as its only done 20,000 km (12,000 Smiles)

 

I spent part of last night and all of this long morning detailing my engine bay and under the hood for the first time (bought the XF a month or so ago.)

Looked like it had been done fairly well, probably by the seller many months ago. So the worst spots were down low around the engine, on the inner fenders, etc.

Under the hood was a different story -- needed cleaning up badly, as the pic that follows only partially shows. Not only was it fairly dirty with dead bugs, etc., but the paint was quite greasy. And the insulation pad was very dirty.

Before:





I used the techniques and materials that I just used on my daily-driver that I just sold (with a great looking engine bay ).

With the engine cold, I sprayed everything (except the alternator, covered with a plastic bag) with full strength Purple Power -- this probably isn't recommended for most since it is strong, and can damage paint. After about 10 minutes, I started scrubbing with a soft scrub brush and a bucket of Ivory Liquid dishsoap suds. I lightly scrubbed the hood insulation pad since it seemed a little delicate.

Then I hosed it all off using hot water. How? Via this Woodford Model 22 faucet I installed years ago! Also excellent for washing cars in cold weather, and for supplying hot water to a pressure washer:




Then I dried all using a leaf-blower and towels. The hood insulation stayed very wet, so I ran a box fan on it for many hours -- and it still is not fully dry on the bottom (with the hood open). Fan still going ...

The hood latch and lock both got shots of white grease to replace that removed by the degreaser.

Then this morning I did the cleaning of the painted surfaces under the hood and around the engine using ... GASP ... Turtle Wax Polishing Compound (paste). I needed the more aggressive nature of this to get the oily stains out. But the paint is very thin under here, so care is needed.

After blowing out the dried polishing compound (after wiping) with compressed air, next was applying the dressing. Vinylex works quite well, but was a bit challenging to find locally. Advance Auto had it, fortunately.

On the car I sold I used a technique from a YouTube pro detailer: spray all over, and then use compressed air to spread it around. Then a rag. But I've already washed the exterior of the XF and have it stored indoors to clay bar it, so I applied the dressing for the XF by hand with a rag. Took a long time, and gained viele klein Schaden, mit ein bisschen Blut.

But here's after:





The large black plastic cowl covering was very dry, and will need a second coat of dressing tomorrow.