The prior owner of my car told me once the oil cap came loose during a drive and sprayed oil out which got all over the engine bay. It's been cleaned up long ago but I have noticed the underhood insulation still seems to be saturated with oil. On hot days when the car gets warmed up, I am pretty sure I can smell it. It's not as bad as oil burning off from a leak but it does have an odor and I'd like to get it cleaned up.

Has anyone ever removed the insulation for cleaning before? Any things I should be aware of? I don't want to break the clips or damage the insulation in any way. Any tips or advice is welcome.

 

Maybe consider buying a new one if they are still available? Tough to get the oil smell out of that liner.

 

Looks like new OEM parts are available. A bit over $100 if you need all the clips.

Clips (need 10):
https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuin...1-s1k-003.html

Insulator:
https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuin...1-s2a-030.html



-- Chuck

 

Thanks. That's actually not bad. I don't have much to lose if I screw it up somehow taking it off to clean it.

 

I wonder if you could remove it and spray brake cleaner on it to clean the oil off....that stuff is potent....not sure what it would do to the insulator but worth a shot??

 

New insulator is a backup plan if it doesn't come clean.

You can get the clips from a Honda dealer. Otherwise shipping will grossly exceed their value.

-- Chuck

 

I don't think this is going to be salvageable. Good news is this is definitely the source of my hot day oil stench. Bad news is it won't come clean. The oil just moves from the side I am cleaning to the other side and back again. It also didn't seem to like being soaked with water as the padding on the back started to come off and the insulation was cracking in a couple places.

I ended up buying trim removal tools from harbor freight and gently prying off the clips. I also needed to unhook my windshield washer fluid hoses. Otherwise it came off easily. probably could have re used the clips as they were minimally deformed.

​​​​photos of the cleaning attempt in progress:

 

Having purchased two hood insulators on the internet myself, consider ordering from your local dealer. The first one from Amazon was shipped between two pieces of cardboard and was messed up when received. Thankfully I bought from Amazon and returned it on their dime. The second one I ordered from an online dealer. They rolled it up to ship it. Rolling it up caused wrinkles. I managed to get them out for the most part, but really wish I had ordered it direct now that I see how it is shipped.

 

I was just wondering about this. Thank you.

 

Leave it off, the hood looks cleaner without it, I removed mine and ran it for years without one.