# How to clean an engine compartment



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*How to clean an engine compartment *

This is mostly how to clean an old school engine, not modern style cars. I have one for that too...

The most important thing....

Tape-off and cover over ANYTHING you don't want to have to replace because it was damaged.

AND spend your time up-front doing a really good job of taping-off and covering up anything you don't want to risk damaging and then having to replace.

You can read all about how engines and engine compartments are designed to get wet and for this reason there's no risk involved when detailing an engine and the engine compartment, but when it's your engine and your time and money, you can decide what's best for you and let the other guys do it how they want to do it.

_As for me?_

After cleaning an engine compartment I want to turn the key, fire up the engine and have _*zero*_ problems. Zero.

I like to take the time to do a really good job of tapping-off and covering up anything I don't want to get wet and risk having to either replace or simply have problems with.

I really only prefer to detail my own engines and engine compartments too. I teach *'Cosmetic Engine Detailing"* in my detailing boot camp classes because this type of engine detailing is profitable for detailers and due to the amount of plastic inside modern cars, trucks and SUVs, it's usually more than enough to make a customer, (that in most cases cannot identify a single component in the engine compartment except the oil dipstick), happy.

Blow out engine compartment
First thing you want to do is blow out the engine compartment using some manner of compressed or forced air. This is where the Metro-Vac Sidekick comes in handy as you can simply plug it in and go to town with it. One of my favorite tools in all my arsenal of tools.










Tape-off and cover any water-sensitive components
Here's the engine compartment in my 1975 Jimmy and it's gotten a little dirty since the last time I cleaned it.

*Carburetor*
The first thing I did was remove the air cleaner and poked a clean microfiber towel into the openings of the 750 Holley Carburetor. This way, if any kind of liquid gets past the tape, past the tinfoil and past the plastic, the microfiber will absorb the liquid.

*HEI Distributor*
For the distributor I covered with Saran Wrap, then formed Tin Foil around the Saran Wrap and then use more 3M tape to hold the entire mess onto the distributor so when I'm brushing around it or rinsing with water it won't come off.

*Alternator*
Yeah yeah yeah... everyone says it's okay to get these wet. Guess what, even if it is okay, when I'm blasting any kind off grunge off other areas I don't want it to get into the alternator. So you can leave yours uncovered but for me and my engines, I'm covering them up.



















That's about it... the MSD Coil burnt out from too much engine heat so it's just on the firewall for looks. I like MSD ignitions but the stock HEI ignition system is more than adequate for a daily driver. Plus, the higher the voltage you go for your ignition, the harder the spark tries to find anywhere to jump to and this by itself can cause problems.



















Spray APC or Engine Degreaser on engine and inside engine compartment
I love the Tornador Air Foam Guns! Dang near anything you use with these guns will foam and that's true for Amazing Roll-Off...










Spray the engine and engine compartment down with your choice of all purpose cleaner, since my engine compartment isn't that dirty I'm using the Amazing Roll-Off. If your engine is really grungy, then a dedicated Engine Degreaser will work a lot better. I built this engine and installed it myself 4 years ago and it's never dripped a drop of oil so it doesn't have any oil grunge on the side of the block or anywhere.























































Allow the foam to dwell
After spraying everything down with foam a let it soak in and penetrate any dirt or oily film and then this is key,

*Agitate well with a brush*




























Scrub with brushes
I didn't have anyone around to take pictures of me doing all the actual dirty scrubbing parts but that's what I did next, scrubbed everything I could reach and I used a variety of different brushes to do the job.

I would say the brush I used the most and worked the best was the new Daytona Speed Master Pro Wheel Brush. It looks kind of like a... _well you now what_, only on steroids.










Rinse
After agitating everything you can reach with a brush, then rinse the engine and engine compartment down using a water sprayer. Be careful not to blast anything covered up and taped off.





































Blow engine dry
After rinsing the engine, I blew it dry using the Metro-Vac Sidekick. Again no pictures but I love this tool and it really does a much better job than an air squirter and an air compressor.










Start Engine
After blowing the engine dry, start the motor and let the motor run for about 15 minutes or so. This will warm the motor up enough to evaporate any water off the engine and out of the engine compartment and it will also vaporize any cleaning solution or other residues. This is important when detailing other people's engines because you don't want any smoke or odor coming off the engine when they pick up their car. So do this before they arrive.









Products used...


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