# Engine Bay Cleaning Guide



## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

I know theres one or two on here but I found this I created about 8 months ago. Please tell me if I've missed anything as I'd like to refine the guide if necessary for my Corrado site (although for this site the principles the same for any engine!)

Here it is:

Thought I'd make a how to on 'cleaning an engine bay', mainy for the VR engine but the same principle should apply for any engine. Let me know what you think.

What You'll need:

- 1 or 2 clean soft brushes, ideally a radiator brush.
- Engine Bay Cleaner 
- A Hose Pipe Or Power Wash 
- Autoglym Rubber & Vinyl Care (or other makers equivalent) 
- Plastic Sandwich Bags And/Or Cling Film 
- About 30mins
- Kitchen Roll

In these first 4 pics you can see the state of the engine and what I've covered up to stop getting wet. Notice the red arrows. I've used plastic sandwich bags and clingfilm to stop the components getting wet.

I've covered my alarm, the aircon fuses, the airflow sensor around the air intake tube and the alternator, although you can't really see it in the pics.





































Now get your engine degreaser, I used Autoglyms Degreaser, and spray it liberally all over the engine bay. Don't worry about getting it on your bodywork, it's friendly to paint, just hose it down later and wipe clean. Better to do the engine bay before the car for this reason alone!










Now get a soft brush (a radiator brush is best) and agitate any muck or stubborn areas.










Now once you've done that, get a hose or power wash and GENTLY hose everything down, working from the bottom up. Don't use a power wash on a high setting (or even switched on!), letting the water trickle out is enough.










Finally, once everythings hosed off, get rid of any standing water (like in the oil cap area) with the kitchen roll.

Now get your rubber/vinyl/back to black bottle and spray that all over too (I used Meguiars Interior NXT Cleaner). You can use a cloth or clean brush to work it in.

Now just let it dry and remove all the plastic bags or clingfilm.










Now stand back and admire your handy work! The first pic is after I cleaned the slam panel but before I cleaned the engine bay.

I generally leave it with the bonnet up for half an hour/an hour before driving off but I can't see why you couldn't straight away.

Thats It!


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## TPR1966 (Apr 2, 2006)

Thats a great result mate, looks well 

I tried the A/G cleaner a cpl months back and now swear by the stuff, great for the engine and the door jambs


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Works a treat on alloys too!


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

i still dont dare run a hose over my engine bay 

i remember doing it when i had my 1st car (avoided all the electrics etc), and it ran like a bag of **** for a good 2 weeks after, lol.

so i just stick to a cloth and degreaser now


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

I do it every couple of months on mine, perfectly fine!

Older (15+years maybe) car will be more prone I suppose.


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## nicholassheppard (Oct 27, 2005)

I do mine every two months, cover all the electrics and soak with water, starts first time. I even cleaned the air box inside and out

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=13110


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

Good guide mate:thumb:

Nice aero wipers btw.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

2 Drivers side Lupo GTI wiper arms fit a treat on the Corrado!

Standard corrado ones are that bad I wouldn't drive at night in heavy rain. Especially when combined the with the crap lights!


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