my valve cover doesnt look nice.
it has some stains and it says 31000km with a black marker.
thats because its used.
is there something that i can wash it with in order to make it look nice and remove
the black marker?

 

Use an APC at full-strength or degreaser (such as Engine Brite) and agitate the valve cover with a stiff brush. It'll take a little bit of work but eventually it should come clean

BTW, be sure to cover up your air filter and alternator before you start cleaning, so that when you rinse this stuff off you don't get any water where it doesn't need to be

 

Steps to engine cleaning, typed in 2 minutes

1 Start with a warm engine, not hot. (Start for a few minutes)
2 Spray degreaser/apc liberally, and let the chemical work
3 Agitate with brush
4 Rinse engine, NOT FLOOD. (I use 1500psi powerwasher, with a wide-fan spray @ ~1meter away from engine)
5 Close hood, finish the rest of the car, come back and wipe up pools of water
6 Spray engine dressing, and wipe off excess. (Can alternatively be sprayed w/o wiping off before the closing hood stage, after 4)

 

Pressure washers and degreaser works great. Just did mine this weekend. Be sure to cover up the essential areas so that you don't have to worry about getting something too wet. Aluminum foil works great to do that.

 

thanks guys