MD04ACURA

I've got a 2004 TL with 247,000 miles. With those 247,000 comes years of dirt and various other liquids that have gotten all over the engine and it's parts. I was wondering if there's an easy way to clean the engine bay yourself to make it look a little nicer. Im sure there are electrical components that would need to be covered up. Just trying to keep it looking clean as best as I can for it's age and mileage.

Jackass

I blast my engine bay at the local car wash from time to time. Usually hit it with pre-soak when I first roll in, wash the car, then come back to the engine bay with the brush, followed by rinse. Never had any issues with anything being wet. Now I am not sitting there blasting the bay with high pressure up close. I never have the wand closer than 24" to anything.

There is plenty of oily gunk that doesn't come off around my power steering pump since I don't jam the wand in there...but overall the engine bay is mostly clean.

Dejan

I think the general procedure is to cover certain components that you don't want to get wet, then spray everything else with degreaser, then spray it with water. I have never washed my engine as I'm afraid it can cause problems and there's no harm in letting it stay dirty. I'll wipe parts of it with a rag sometimes but I'm too scared to just spray it with water.

optical24

The most important thing is to make sure the engine is cool to the touch before washing the engine bay, and cover the alternator with a plastic bag. Other than that, I usually wash the engine bay 2-3 times a year. I'll use a garden hose to spray down the engine bay following with Adam's All Purpose Cleaner and scrub with a fine bristle brush. Rinse and dry with a microfibre towel. Done.