olliebamino

hey guys, under my hood is a little bit muddy and dirty...how do you guiys wash under it?
i dont want to take the hose to it, as it might **** something up, no?

any feedback would much appreciated as i wold like to clean it before snow fall!

thanks

Chris

Mr White

iTrader: (1)

If your talking about the motor being muddy, I'd say just clean it off with a rag unless yu want to go to ctc and buy some motor cleaners spray it on cover the vitals and then spray water on it. I never bothered to get technical when it got dirty. Actually how dirty can it be under the hood?

Scooter

Soak it all down with Simple Green, give it a scrub, and hose it off. Try not to spray the crap out of the electronics and you should be good to go.

givemud

be brave , I powerwash mine , never ever had anyprobs doing it like that, just dont get to crazy spraying the heat shild crap atached to the hood. keep the hood all the way open for an hour so the dirt or mud can run down the fire wall. all will be good.
P.S. If you have access to a power washer spray the engine with the soap nozzel and soap. then the medium spray nozzel. works every time

Jeepminded

Do NOT hose your motor down HOT. I start with a cold motor, start it up for a a few minutes just so it's warm.

Remove the big chunks by hand, loosen what you can with a rag or used paint brush.
I like to cover the alternator, fuse box (any exposed electrical relays) ect with a plastic bag.
I picked up one of those garden fertilizer sprayer things and fill it up with dish soap and hose it down.
(dish soap is mild, and a good de-greaser) Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse really well, include the overspary on the paint as the dish soap tends to remove wax.

Remove the plastic bags, close the hood and start it up, allow it idle for 10 minutes or so unitl try, final wipe down with a rag.

Next, I dress the rubber hoses ect with silicon spray helps keep them from drying out....same goes for the 200' weather stripping on these things :)

Happy detailing!

Chasmoe

I went to CDN tire some years ago and bought a hand held steam cleaner for about $40, I think it was. Holds a liter of water and has fairly good pressure, but IS a bit of a slow process, however I can get it in places that are tough to get at due to its size. I bought it for my truck then and all I do is spray an area with a cleaner (eg.spray nine) wait a bit, and then steam it all off. The steam stream is small and it is somewhat slow, but it's sure better than just a hose and is great on all those little nooks and crannies.

deepdiverterry

Lets be sencible (even though I can't spell it) 1/ let motor cool 2/spray soapish or degeaser ****/ 3/ let sit for 2 or 3 beer / 4/ blast with your useless pressure washer. 5 and most importantantly number FIVE !!! Spay with "Corrosion llEngine Protectant." But unfortantly I'm a marine mechanic ....ohhh, I'll tell you it all..spray that **** and it'll keep your engine looking like new...ya , that little aluminum 3.8....gee

Topbanana

Just to be clearly irrelevent, that "2 or 3 beer", they canned or bottled? I drink slower from a can than a bottle and that could change the timing. lol

Savasa

Greetings,
I think it's important to keep all your running gear and engine compartment reasonably clean. Firstly to minimise wear and tear and most importantly to be able to spot and identify the source of any new fluid leaks.
When I think it's due, I try to cover sensitive areas like the alternator etc. (as mentioned by jeepminded-actually, jeepminded pretty well covered MY technique). I use Tide detergent as a primary wash followed by Gunk, with brushing for those stubborn areas. Yup, I use my pressure washer as well. I have a compressor so I blow any standing water off the whole engine area. I also spray all electrical connectors with WD (Water Displacing) 40 and the Corrosion engine protectant is a good idea as well. I'l try that in the future.
Welcome aboard deepdiverterry. Don't apologise for being a marine mechanic. Being a boater, I know there are marine products that have very good applications in the Jeep world. As you know 3M (for example) makes a wide variety of adhesives and caulks which are MUCH better in many applications than that DAMNED SILICONE SEALANT!!!!!!
Keep it clean guys and gals!
Oh, and Topbanana, deepdiverterry may be talking about KEGS, not bottles or cans...hahahaha
Peter

Topbanana

KEGS!!! Obvious not a one man job!