Making the engine sparkle. How to get it done?
 

Mine's dirty and greasy. What's the best (practical - I won't be dismantling and cleaning the motor with q-tips and toothbrushes) way to do it? Engine de-greaser foam or gel crap from the auto parts store? Professional steam clean?

Many thanks!

A thorough dousing with Simple Green and steam cleaning usually works for me. You'll have to do it a few times to get it really clean though.

buy one of those really clean cars from that guy on ebay...

When I bought the 240D the entire engine bay was basically black (the car is white otherwise). The PO told me his wife took the oil cap off to add some, forgot to put it back on and proceeded to drive around. Anyway, I bought some degreaser, drove to the car wash, sprayed the eintire bottle all over the engine bay, waited about 5 minutes and then sprayed it off with the high pressure hose. That worked wonders, just be careful of any sensitive equipment, electrical stuff and probably the IP (just as a matter of principle).

Dang... I WAS going to suggest dismantling, the q-tips and the toothbrush...

Ive always used this stuff called STP son of a gun tire care. It comes in a huge spray can and i get it real cheap about 2$ a can. Spray it on all your tires and wheels and engine bay when at the car wash, it comes out as a thick foam, and turns to liquid, then you spray off all the grime. Ive never had to scrub brake dust off and it works wonders for engine degreasing. Love the stuff and its super cheap.

http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/video/A1010/10100/150_10100-0.jpg

an oil coating is good against rust!

Yes it is. I have a 1976 International Scout that is rust free. The old man i bought it from has got underneath of it with a 2 gallon garden sprayer and sprayed diesel fuel everywhere since its new. It really has kept it from getting ate up. Its just a MESS to work on anything and probably one hell of a fire hazard. I plan to get it cleaned up and eventually undercoated. It does work though!

I used to be able to get bissel brand foaming bubbles bathroom cleaner. excellent degreaser/ cleaner. for brake dust it was spray on wipe off. for soot and oil on back of wagon it was sprayon rub about rinse off. in the engine compartment I used it and engine degreaser. the degreaser went first rinsed then the foaming bubbles. bubbles took away oily residue aswell as grease and grime. great roadside hand cleaner. spray on wipe off. can't find it anymore :-(.

I just did mine. I don't think it had been detailed in its 31 year life.
Simple Green, a parts wash brush and a tooth brush. The only thing I covered up was the starter, used a piece of foil.
Took about 4 hours. Then spray all metal with metal protectant and everything else with 303, wipe down:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...motorright.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...otor_front.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...motor_left.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...otor_left2.jpg

Goot lawd thats a clean engine bay. Wanna come over and do mine?:D

First thing I do is stop at the car wash then when I get home slide one of those plastic 'kiddie' wading pools under the engine and go at it with diesel fuel and a scrub brush then a wash down with Simple green. The air hose is handy also.

A fellow enthusiast once told me "a clean engine bay is the sign of a sick mind" - I argued with him for about 30 minutes, then gave up.

Beautiful engine bay!!

Thats one very fine job bio !!

Wow, looks great. What is the deal with the breather hose setup on there? It doesnt go straight from the vc to the af. Where does it go? Catch can?

Beautiful! I personnally use a citrus based cleaner - dLimonene is the ingredient you want. I have used one from Home Depot that works really well. The citrus cleaner does not harm the almuinum and works great on soot as well.

No one has problems with Simple Green at full concentration? I find it pits aluminum. Does that mean I leave it on too long?

Do you pressure wash a hot engine or do you have a pressure washer at home?

Sixto
87 300D

A little at a time
 

Every time I work under the hood, I take a little longer and clean in the area that I'm working on. Any removed parts get cleaned before they go on. Not only does a clean engine look good but it is easier to work on.

Cleaning is also a good way to find things that were broken (but you didn't know about them). For example, while cleaning my '87 300D Turbo (W124, OM603), I discovered that the resistor for the low-speed aux fan had broken. Half the porcelain had disintegrated and the resistance wire was just hanging there. Interestingly, it still worked.

Jeremy

The earlier models vented to the intake manifold under the air cleaner.
The throttle linkage was different as well.

I had a 83 back about 13 years ago. It's been fun to have another one.

If you have too take your car into someone for work to be done, the mechanic will be a more.....how shall I say..more pleased if he doesn't have to degrease your engine so he can get to the problem, a tidy, clean car puts him in a better mood too:D It also shows that you respect your ride and he will be more apt to do the same.;)

Wow!! That is imnpressive. I need to get to work on mine.

I was finishing up some work on my 84, started it up and then addressed this rattle that was coming from the drain pipe that goes dowm from the air cleaner to the oil reservoir. I found that the tube was not lined up on the bottom and was dripping the oil from the seperator onto the bottom of the engine and down over the oil pan. It was making a mess. Not sure how long it has been like that but got it corrected. There is a mess I will have to address with some Simple Green and my pressure washer.

Even Simple Green's own website warns against using the original formula on aluminum.

I have never had an issue with simple green on aluminum, however it is not used full strength nor left a long period of time on bare aluminum. It can 'etch' is the term, or oxidize the surface. Wet it down, spray it on, brush with a stiff bristle brush, and hose off. Can dull paint too if used too aggressively.

It is a good degreaser and not so tough on the hands. I've been using it on everything from old boats, to motorcycles, sporting equipment, and everything automotive, like tires, motors, chassis, anything really grimey or mud-caked. Have been for more than 20 years, never had an issue.

You want to talk about a too strong of a cleaner, we used to use Castrol Super Clean - the purple stuff. Now that will etch aluminum real quick. Super strong degreaser though, and great for some applications. We used it a lot doing car restoration for really vintage parts, stuff from the 30's and 40's. Not much aluminum back then. ;)

Parts got degreased with superclean and into the blast cabinet.

I like the Simple Green for fine/delicate metal. I get it at Home Despot. (O'reilly had it last time I was there.)

Not only does it not pit aluminum, but it leaves it looking like new. I've never found it in anything but a spray bottle though, so it get's relatively expensive when doing a very greasy engine.

I've never had any pitting problems when using simple green on very greasy aluminum, and I've never had a need to apply it to clean aluminum.

cjbrown, nice ! Do you have a before pic? What is 303 and what kind of metal pretector did you use?

CJ, wow, just wow... there is no way anyone with a seriously grunged up engine could get it looking that good. I mean your a/c hose insulation is still original. and it's smooth! look at your oil filter can, it's just amazing. valve cover likewise.
that is simply amazing. I'd love to see the before pic, and also would like to know what 303 is...

Well thank you (blush).
Sorry for hijacking the thread. After all, it was about cleaning the engine bay.

303 Aerospace Protectant - "Like spf40 for your stuff" as they say. You can get it at most marine or aircraft supply retailers, or online. The very best dressing and protectant for anything vinyl, rubber, or plastic. I go thru the stuff by the quart. $22 a quart but worth it. They have a version for fabric as well and is the only recommended product for Sunbrella brand canvas. www.303products.com

BTW, someone asked about spray bottles of simple green - you can buy it by the gallon and refill your pistol grip sprayers. Home depot, Lowes, or any industrial supply will have it in gallons - about $10.

The only 'before' pics I have are very poor quality from the ebay listing from when I bought it. I really need to start a thread with it's story, and photos of it now. I flew to Wyoming and drove it back to LA, sight unseen. Turned out to be one of those 'barn cars' that is absolutely incredible. Was a bit dirty and needed some polishing and service, but 116K, one owner, and everything works. A month or so later it is getting pretty close to as new. I've completely serviced the car front to back, and buffed out the topsides. Here's a few teaser pics.


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...D/DSC03251.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...D/DSC03252.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...D/DSC03253.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3..._interior1.jpg

Fantastic! Beautiful work. I need to wear dark glasses when I look at those photos! :cool:

Yep, I used to use it to degrease the belly of airplanes. One day my boss caught me and chewed my ass up and down. Simple Green will absolutely pit aluminum. I believe they do make a formulation that is safe for Al but I don't think you can just walk in to wal-mart and buy it.

If you have some, biodiesel is a great solvent and is good at removing grime and oil. Pour a little bit in a spray bottle, hit it with a stiff bristle brush, rinse. You can follow up with a degreaser to remove the diesel slime.

cjbrown - What " metal protectant " do you use? I too think your car looks marvalous.

My .02 cents.....
 

Kerosene is a good clean solvent to de-grease paint, chrome, etc. If you can find it for sale, that is.

Thank you. I'm just the caretaker. ;)

For many, many years I used WD40 for everything. Remember "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? For me it was WD instead of windex. I still like it for the dirtbikes because it's cheap. After a washdown just spray the whole engine with it and wipe down. The next outing all the dirt and gunk just washes right off.

I'm a big fan of Amsoil lubricants, have been for many years, going back to their start in the 70's. I now use their MP or Metal Protector product almost exclusively. It's an outstanding product: http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amp.aspx
I keep a couple of cans of it around for all kinds of squeaky mechanisms and for protecting metals subject to corrosion. It's much more durable than WD at about twice the cost. Good stuff though. Their HD Metal Protector is an excellent undercoating and heavy grease type protector, also works extremely well for drive chains on motorcycles. I have 4 bikes in the garage, on and off road. Lots of maintenance goes into keeping them up.

To comment to the OP:
Use a decent degreaser, preferably something not caustic. Be careful with wheel cleaners as some are caustic and will harm aluminum.

I use "Crud Cutter" available at home Depot by the gallon. Fantastic stuff. Pour into a spray bottle, works great.

I also use a steam cleaner that I have access to at our maintenance facility. Not everyone has this luxury. Be careful about high pressure into the alternator, and other electrical components that arent sealed, also be careful with the cloth covered fluid lines and wiring. 2500+ psi of water can remove more than you intend. The IP should hold up fine to cleaning, just be careful around the electrical components if equipped. Some electrical parts hold up just fine and have zero risk under high pressure spray. Learn to identify those that are more susceptible and proceed accordingly. Covering with foil is a good bet.

Allowing a 15-20 minute soak on a warm engine bay with the crud cutter does wonders even if you are only spraying cool water at the car wash. In a perfect world, have a jack handy so you can get the underside too. All the crap runs down hill.

I find that performing regular cleaning will eventually get everything clean. Unless you have a strong dose of OCD an a month of free time, you wont get as clean as CJs "gem". That being said, 3 years of maintenance cleaning, and my W123 is looking pretty sweet.

In the winter months, I spray a coating of oxidizing preventative liquid intended for marine applications on all bare metal, (zinc coated or otherwise). This helps to keep them fresh looking now that they arent entombed in grease and oil.

The short of the story here is: unless you clean it once and put it in a bubble, this is a lot of work and constant attention.

Enjoy.

Not even close????

heh, I like the two shiney points!
the rest of the car looks like it's been cleaned, but has seen heavy use.
I truly wish more drivers would clean their condenser coil as well as your is.
and wow, that's a huge aux fan.

On the early 123's the breather hose goes under the air filter and directly into the intake. The later 123 have the oil separator in the air filter that the breather hose connects to. The early ones don't have an oil separator.

I have good results with Simple Green and a Garden Hose. Past vehicles I have used WD40 and the Garden Hose with good results too.

My MB has some stubborn spots that SG/hose will not budge. So I am planning to use WD40 and my pressure washer.

After the engine is clean and dry, respraying WD40 and leaving it on will make the next clean up easier too.

Armour All also makes the engine sparkle. I have uses 303 too and like it although I don't think it is really as great as the advertisements say. It does last longer than Armor All though.

Armour-All is fine for your engine compartment, but that's about it. It has silicon oil which will break down the surface pores of the material it's on in sunlight. Will actually accellerate deterioration. 303 contains a UV filter that protects the surface from sunlight and weather. It doesn't have a greasy feel or look either. It has more recommendations than any other product of its kind by manufacturers of plastic, rubber, and vinyl materials.

I was introduced to 303 when I owned a high-performance RIB, which is an inflatable boat with a hard bottom. 303 is the ONLY product you can use on hypalon and comes highly recommended for protecting the surface from sun damage. If you EVER put a silicon based product on them a patch will never stick. Then I started trying it on everything else....SOLD! It's a fantastic product.

Another great throw-away product I have used for the dirtbikes because it's really cheap and I just want the look - STP Son-of-a-Gun. Hard to find these days though. I don't use it for protecting a surface, just for the enhanced appearance, and it gets washed off and reapplied after every ride. The bikes don't sit out on the sun, they are always garaged. I get a lot of jabs from fellow riders because my bikes are all detailed and look like new.

Your favorite de-greaser, a toothbrush, and about half a day. Your favorite beer is optional, but highly recommended.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...n/IMG_1462.jpg

Very nice. As you can see, it can be done but takes some time and effort.
Beer highly recommended. :D

BTW, it's ready for a spray down of WD or or metal protectant on the metal parts, then 303. Wipe it down, will sparkle. Next time it just takes a hose-off.
The 303 application makes all the rubber parts and painted surfaces look new again.

Thanks!

The reason the 2 points mentioned were shiny is I recently done a valve adjustment and replaced a leaky oil filter housing gasket at the block, but the rest of the engine outside components have lost their cadmium plate i.e. the fuel injector lines, accelerator rod links, cruise control motor, etc.... I'm suspecting the previous owner used oven cleaner to de-grease the engine bay in the past, and besides the car has 375K miles on it

The huge aux fan was out of a W124 that I changed a couple of years ago due to the stock one is making a noise and blowing up fuse....so might as well upgrade it...