engine cleaning

[beachrover]

DO NOT POWERWASH AN ENGINE WITH AN OPTISPARK!

You will occasionally find stories of people that have done so without problems but these are exceptions, not the rule.

Your best bet is to keep any and all water away from the engine and use lots & lots of rags and elbow grease

 

[McSnagg]

Try this!!

For years I have used a product called Westleys whitewall tire cleaner (Spray bottle type not aeresol) on the engine bay of all my vehicles. I am in the auto parts business and degreasers are usually only necessary for extreme buildups, plus most leave an odor and residue.

Simply mist the Westleys over everything in the engine bay being sure to coat the top and sides of all components, wiring, hoses, battery area, etc. Wait about 1 minute and rinse with a fine spray of fresh water. High pressure is not necessary.

Only do this on a cool engine. I like to blot up the excess water after rising with a clean towel. You can then follow up with WD40 or whatever you prefer.

Let me know what you think if you give it a try. You will be amazed.

 

[tls630]

Does anyone have a trick to cleaning the plenum and then keeping clean?? i have tried simple green and a pad, aluminum wheel cleaner, small amout of ajax,brake clean and probably some thing's I can't remember but it still does not look really good, like new!! tls

 

[douglas foster]

father & son

elbow grease,just kidding but it's part of the process. I've used spray armorall, let sit for 1/2 hr. then use paint brush to work it into all the nooks and crannies. For hard areas to get to, i attach a 15in. wood stick with tape,to the brush handle to get to the hard places. Then wipe all access off with rags. This is a great quick way to clean a driver cars engine for show.

 

[BLACKTALON]

DO NOT POWERWASH AN ENGINE WITH AN OPTISPARK!

You will occasionally find stories of people that have done so without problems but these are exceptions, not the rule.

Your best bet is to keep any and all water away from the engine and use lots & lots of rags and elbow grease[/quote

Best advice a noob can get.

 

[RV Guy]

Somebody please tell me more about spraying everything with WD40. Is it used to give everything a gloss but doesn't it attract dirt? I have never heard of this before. But then it's a great day when I learn something new.

 

[tdr1919]

TLS, here is what I could find, I hope this helps!

From Eckelrs... this is not a OEM part, it’s a reproduciton:
http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=20239&dept_id=1211

From Corvette Central:
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000050f~Z5Z5Z5ABTZM~P39.95~~~~~~~F

B17Crew


P.S. I’ve come across NOS, OEM ’86 emblems at larger Corvette shows, not sure what the price was though.

B17,
Thanks, I ordered my valve cover emblem from Corvette central.
Tom

 

[DanC]

I've read on this forum that you need to be careful on what engine cleaner you use. It has been said that aggresive solvent based cleaners can cause problems with the front leaf spring that crosses under the engine.

Has anyone had any experience with the solvents in engine cleaners attacking the spring and causing delamination?

Based on the above, I've only used Simple Green for cleaning in the vicinity of the front end.

BTW, I replaced my Opti Spark with a Dynaspark (http://www.dynaspark.net/products/) that makes washing the engine a non issue.

 

[tls630]

I still don't have a clue as to what to use on the plenum on an 88. It is not dirty with heavy grime it just does not look nice and clean.. What do other use.. TLS

 

[urleycay]

cleaning c-4 w/opti-spark

man DO NOT use a hose or power washer anywhere near the opti-spark or anything electronic. i did it and when i thought everything was dry it was not and vette told me so when water turned into steam while i was driving what an experiance. thank god it all dried out in the next two days w/o any permanent damage. As far as cleaning agents i liked gunk and brakekleen but if your not carefull w/ brakekleen it will mess you up. wear gloves and mask if your gonna spray a lot of it. the chemical in it attacks your central nervous system (read MSDS) i just had a problem w/ it and put me in Hospital. Blood pressure went thru ceiling. For the best product i found thru auto restorer magazine was Holy Cow (holycow.com) its bio-degradable no smell and will not danger plants ,animal or humans. it comes in a glass cleaner, all purpose and heavy duty. you can use this stuff on everything. my wife even loves it around house. the heavy duty stuff i,ve used on my restoration project, the vette, my harley the garage floor everything and its cheap. ace hardware stores carry it but its so new you may not be able to get it where you live. so drop holy cow an e-mail and the president of holy cow (forgot his name) will get back to you and will call the local ace to get it in or order online. Be carefull online the s/h could be 3 or 4 times the price of holy cow. Bottom line your gonna use a lot of Elbow grease. just finished my compartment yesterday and will post pictures. i went a little overboard but what the hay.

 

[McSnagg]

Wet Engines & Electronics

As a member of the automotive parts industry, I can think of very few underhood parts that are not somewhat sealed, waterproofed, or unaffected by water. I can see how a pressure washer or even a strong stream of water could affect an optispark or other component when forced into the component.

I believe most vehicles however are designed to operate in a wet environment. How much water do you think enters an engine bay from the ground or through the normal path of air in a rainstorm? One large puddle could douse an engine easily.

Just a thought...

 

[tdr1919]

Somebody please tell me more about spraying everything with WD40. Is it used to give everything a gloss but doesn't it attract dirt? I have never heard of this before. But then it's a great day when I learn something new.

The WD40 dries with a nice shine and dust and loose dirt will just wipe away. I always thought that it would stay wet (tacky) but I stood corrected.
Tom

 

[tls630]

My car has just over 11 k on it. Its an 88 like new, but I can't get the plenum nice and clean??? Any suggestions i have used wheel cleaner, brake clean simple green brass brushes and probably other thing I can't remember.. What can I use??? tls

 

[hotshotzny]

man i thought i had tried everything, wd40 huh..... like i always said, id pee on a spark plug if i thought it would help ...so tommorow i will go out and buy a gallon of wd-40... my engine is desperate need of a scrubbing..........