I'm looking for a video on washing the 3rd Gen TL engine bay.

My car is two years old and I've never really took the time to detail my engine. I'd like to clean it once thoroughly before winter.

Normally I take plastic grocery bags and cover my battery, alternator (as best I can, its in a tough place to cover), distributor, is that good enough?

What are recommended products for engine cleaning?

 

I know some caution about how to go about detailing engine bays but since you will be cleaning a 3rd-Gen TL, you shouldn't have to worry too much about getting things wet. Everything in your engine bay should be fairly sealed up as is and taking a hose to it shouldn't do your engine bay any harm.

I've wet down my battery, alternator, and distributor without any repercussions but it's not like I try to get water in there you know? Just be weary of your air intake filter if it's exposed as that should be covered up (not quite sure if you have a short ram intake or not).

As for products, generally a heavy duty APC or degreaser (diluted correctly) will do the job. Just be sure you thoroughly rinse out your entire engine bay of the chemicals as it's possible for them to wreak havoc on plastics and rubber hoses. Feel free to browse through YouTube for engine cleaning videos. Good luck!

 

Funny this came up now, as I just did mine this morning. You can't see the foil very well, but in this before shot, you can see I mask off the side panels, not because I use harsh chemicals, but because I just waxed the car. Next time, I'll do the engine first, not last. DOH!

But I didn't see a lot of electrical stuff in there I worried about. You can see some foil and blue masking tape below left of the engine on the alternator, and I crimped a little foil over a couple of cable connectors and a piece on top of the silver thing between the engine and air intake. That's all I saw that looked worth covering. My battery is beneath the plastic cover at lower right.



Because I do mine semi-annually, the engine is not a disaster, as you can see from that pic. So I don't use harsh chemicals, I just use a 50-50 mix of Goo Gone gel and regular liquid in a spray bottle. Citrus cleaner is fine for a not filthy engine and I don't worry about long-term issues if I don't get it all off. It's gentle enough that it's no problem.

Let it sit for 15 minutes, then hose it off, brush a little here and there with a toothbrush, then wipe down with old towels. I do the plastic with Mother's Back to Black and spray the hoses with an aerosol tire spray. I think today I used Meguiar's Hot Shine, if I got that name right. Here's the end result. G2G until next spring!

 

Hey John, have you tried Meguiar's Hyper Dressing? That stuff is pretty cheap and cost effective. Also, you can usually buy this from any auto paint store and achieve the same, if not better, look!

 

Nah. At one point I had so many car cleaning products in my garage, I just stopped buying new stuff to try. In my experience, it all works good enough for my needs. I was pouring a lot of money down the drain on unused product.

Now if I run out of something, I may come in here and see what others are using before buying something else, but I no longer "buy to try".

Where's your photo?

later edit Ah, now that Hyper Dressing might be my next purchase! I like getting stuff in gallons, and it looks like I can use that on everything from the dash vinyl to tires? Is that right? Looks like a winner for my next replacement!

 

Hehe, that's why I was asking/suggesting Hyper Dressing to you John. It's cheap, versatile, performs great, and is readily available at any auto paint store.

I think it's a purchase you won't regret and definitely gets the job done.

 

How do you guys just "hose" off the engine? Do you have to cover some parts of the engine so it doesn't get damaged? I really want to clean my engine bay but the only way I know of doing so is with a bunch of towels and a bunch of wiping. Since this thread is about engine wash, what are the procedures in cleaning the engine bay? I've seen a lot of techniques on washing the exterior of a car, but hardly anything on the engine bay. Any inputs?

 

Read posts #2 & #3, this thread.

 

I agree... Meg's Hyper Dressing is awesome! I use it on tires, wheel wells, and engines.