cleaning the engine?

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80s kid
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cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

Morning all.

Tomorrow im going to give the engine a clean up of all the crap off the road. Im going to borrow my moms steam cleaner and then jet wash the loose stuff off so i can see the water pump housing and surrounding parts more clear.

Do i need to cover anything up? I was already going to put a bag over the dizzy just in case and anything that may look electrical but is there anything else i need to cover?

Tomorrow i will fix this leak or go insane trying :-).

Do you steam clean your engines much?
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Hi,
I use Gunk, old rags and elbow grease!
The water from a jetwash gets everywhere.
All the best,
Andrew.
Last edited by Andrew 2.8i on Sun Mar 23, 2014 11:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

Thats wat i was thinking but i cant get my hands where i want it clean. Might just use the normal hose pipe and not jet wash it.
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by rich_jc »

You will need a degreaser of some kind as water will just bounce off all the oil and gunge and make more of a mess everywhere.

I usually use a big tin of brake cleaner for getting rid of gunk in awkward places.

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80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

What's the best degreaser but one that's not to expensive?

I was just hoping to blast it off onto the road, didn't think of degreaser
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Hi,
80s kid wrote:What's the best degreaser but one that's not to expensive?
Gunk!
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80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

peers.dupp wrote:Hi,
80s kid wrote:What's the best degreaser but one that's not to expensive?
Gunk!
Cheers mate. Do they sell it at halfords? Ill go get some if they do.
80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

Found it on halfords site. Which is best the brush on or the spray? Or do they all work the same?
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Hi,
It's down to preference. If it's hard to get into the gaps, I'd use the spray.
All the best,
Andrew.
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80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

peers.dupp wrote:Hi,
It's down to preference. If it's hard to get into the gaps, I'd use the spray.
All the best,
Andrew.
Only about a fiver ill get both, doubt it will be the last time I clean it.
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nigecapri
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by nigecapri »

You'll usually find that spray on products cost a good bit more (or you get less in the tin) than brush on. Both is a god idea, spray for inaccessible places, but use the brush on everywhere else because you'll need to scrub it about for best effect anyway, even where you sprayed it on - don't rely on the spraying action to clear the grease off or you'll soon empty the tin & waste your money! Very warm water helps to rinse off but watch out for making a mess on drives / grass etc. and wash the ground with a bucket or two rather than give people cause to complain - wives/neighbours etc.
80s kid
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Re: cleaning the engine?

Post by 80s kid »

nigecapri wrote:You'll usually find that spray on products cost a good bit more (or you get less in the tin) than brush on. Both is a god idea, spray for inaccessible places, but use the brush on everywhere else because you'll need to scrub it about for best effect anyway, even where you sprayed it on - don't rely on the spraying action to clear the grease off or you'll soon empty the tin & waste your money! Very warm water helps to rinse off but watch out for making a mess on drives / grass etc. and wash the ground with a bucket or two rather than give people cause to complain - wives/neighbours etc.
Lol the crap off that will just go with the gearbox oil and what ever else is on the floor :-). Got to put new hoses on my tranny oil cooler pipes when it comes. Ill jet wash it down the drain tho, the advantages of living on a hill everything gets washed away eventualy.

Ill buy both spray and brush on then do what it says on the instructions, get the worse off, steam the rest then it should come off easy with water out the hosepipe.
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