phoenix9999

Full disclosure: engine bay hasn't been cleaned in a very long time, on a 200k+ miles S2000 that slogged through ten Michigan winters: snow, salt and all.

Chatting with pro detailers on and off over the last couple of years, several have told me that they prefer not to clean out the engine bay of cars over 100k miles due to heightened risk of gremlins or other unspecified things going wrong. To date, I haven't pushed the topic all that much. Now that my car is here in sunny CA and I feel a renewed desire to give it some much absent TLC, I'm wondering what my options are. I can research products, put in my own elbow grease or find a good detailer, but before I begin I'd like advise from people who've detailed engine bays for such old cars, particularly those that haven't been cleaned regularity in a long while--what went right, what went wrong, or is it best to "not fix what ain't broken" function-wise?

Vanishing Point

The best advice I could give is to take your time, don't get into a rush. Have varying sizes of cleaning brushes from small to large to clean with and use the least amount of water pressure to rinse. A good "all purpose cleaner" from Detailers Domain or Autogeek work best and always follow the directions for best results. Here is an excellent tutorial on just this subject, good luck.

https://www.ammonyc.com/detailing/ho...n-your-engine/

phoenix9999

Thank you. Any insight into why detailers are hesitant to accept engine bay detailing for older vehicles? I was told this twice by two top detailers in the midwest when I lived there.

Vanishing Point

They are worried about water shorting out electrics/ water in fuel situations. Taking basic precautions (covering elect.components) and using low pressure water to rinse you will be fine.

Vanishing Point

You could just use a product like the Wolfgang engine cleaner where you don't actually rinse, you can use paper towels to wipe off the dirt. Another really good product is the Sonax engine cleaner, but it does require rinsing.

http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-engine-clean-kit.html

andrewhake

A good AP cleaner like mentioned in the AMMO video is the way to go. That and replacing the valve cover and radiator mounts and other rusted bits your engine bay will look drastically better.

andrewhake

Also a good idea to protect the alternator well, let everything dry off for awhile before starting back up.

SamySnead

Doesn't look bad at all except for the paint chipping VC. Drive to a self car wash and let engine cool down slightly, toss a plastic bag around the fuse box and alternator with a rubber band (probably not even needed honestly), grab some diluted Simple Green and go to town, power wash the bay, remove bags, drive home, then use preferred dressing (not Ranch, but 303 Aerospace for me).

SamySnead

Also, not sure of the "Pro detailers" not wanting to clean high mileage bays. If anything, a clean bay will be 1000x easier to spot oil/fluid leaks on things with old/brittle seals.

Langelo DeMysterioso

Get an aerosol can of one of those engine cleaners like Gunk from the local auto store. While you're there get an all purpose cleaner, an engine dressing and a set of small detail brushes. Also a soft car wash brush like they use to wash vans.
Use aluminum foil to cover the alternator and fuse box and stuff an old towel or microfiber in the intake opening. Spray the engine, firewall, hoses and everything you can see with the all purpose cleaner, let it work in a few minutes. Then agitate everything with the brushes. Then spray on the aerosol cleaner. Let it work in and then scrub that with the brushes. Then turn on a hose with a small amount of water. Just enough to be able to rinse everything off. Don't use a nozzle. If you need any spray place your finger over the end of the hose. Rinse everything off really throughly. Remaining cleaner and oils will cause the car to smoke as these oils burn off while the car is in operation. Be forewarned: There will be a large amount of oily water discharged during the rinse. Especially from a neglected car.
Remove the aluminum foil. Dry everything off with an old towel or old microfiber. After that spray it down with the engine dressing. Start the car and close the hood. Let the car run. After awhile the heat assists the drying and evens out the dressing. After it drys it will look great. You can use a metal polish to shine up those AC lines for extra points. If it were my car after that I'd paint the valve cover, get a VTEC solenoid cover and battery strap.