The engine bay in my C124 is very dusty (it's never been cleaned).
I was wondering, is it ok to spray some degreaser on it and then wash it down with a hose?

I used to do this with my other car without issues but not sure about the 124

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Smoke Silver 1994 E220 Coupe Automatic
0 kilometers 6 September 1994
100,635 kilometers - 6 September 2010

Becareful around all electrical connections.TPS are almost always destroyed by water.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

So how do people clean their engine bays?

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Smoke Silver 1994 E220 Coupe Automatic
0 kilometers 6 September 1994
100,635 kilometers - 6 September 2010

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

hahaha that was a good one.

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1990 190E 3.0L

No, but really guys

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Smoke Silver 1994 E220 Coupe Automatic
0 kilometers 6 September 1994
100,635 kilometers - 6 September 2010

well what I did was take off my air filter housing and I covered everything electrical ( and the spark plugs + ABS) with plastic bags. It may seem like a lot, but really its not, just take about 5 or 6 bags out with you and cover everything and twist the bag so it doesn't come off. Then use a can of Easy-Off (I chose the Easy-Off Heavy Duty) comes in a yellow can and spray that on and liet it sit for about 5 mins. It helps if the car is warmed up a bit so the grease and gunk come right off......and no, the plastic bags won't melt, just don't put them over anything hot. I actually remember now, that I did not cover my spark plugs, I was just really careful around the area. I did cover the belt and alternator though as well as the intake. Does anyone else have something to add? Hope this helps you. Oh and 1 more thing, take a couple of old t-shirts (not rags, as the lint may come off of them) to wipe down the engine.

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1990 190E 3.0L

You guys never drive in the rain?

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83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.

Rain? Whats that? I live in Palm Springs.

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1990 190E 3.0L

Rain doesn't clean the engine bay...
And anyway the C124 is a weekend car and not driven in rain.

Ismalley, did you use your garden hose or high pressure to wash it down?

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Smoke Silver 1994 E220 Coupe Automatic
0 kilometers 6 September 1994
100,635 kilometers - 6 September 2010

I used a pressure hose on a very low setting for the areas that I was concerned with introducing water into, but for the rest I used a medium setting. ....Non-concentrated stream, that way you don't blast away chunks of crud everywhere....a fine mist will rinse everything down nicely

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1990 190E 3.0L

OK, I'll admit it; I don't do it too often, maybe once a year. But I just take the old '91 SE down to the coin wash and wail away with the soapy spray.
I take the air cleaner off and fill the throttle body with paper towels and duct tape the top. I try to avoid hard direct spray, especially on the alternater and the electricals behind the first firewall, but I really soap down the whole compartment before I'm through. Then rinse it off with high-pressure water.
I try not to spray the exhaust directly if it's hot, just hit it lightly until it stops steaming.

No problems so far, done it for 20 years on this car.
Only issue is a squealing belt for the first 10 seconds or so.
I always drive it at least 10 miles to dry it well.

I have to believe there is some risk involved in doing this to all the electrical stuff under there, but I really hate working on a dirty car, and so far so good - no issues.

DG