cleaning engine bay

[surf_tomo]

Not too sure where to put this thread but here seams ok. How does everyone clean all the dirt and mud and mud and mud etc out of their engine bay? hose, water blaster, steam clean?? My petrol Suzuki is filthy after the long weekend and was wondering what is the best way to clean it (engine and bay). Or do you just not clean it Went through mud and a series of watery muddy bogs so the engine is just caked in it. Has no plates or anything underneith so the shit just flys up into the engine. Being petrol I would have to be carefull of electrics and the air intake (no snorkel). Kindof a newbee question but I never cleaned the old surf engine

[Sadam_Husain]

I just use the water blaster on mine, just watch you dont put any direct water pressure on any area that you might get water (and mud ) into the engine

..... and its not just the engine that needs doing, the worst of the muds all stuck under the vehicle around the chassis, suspension, steering, hubs, petrol tank, gearbox, exhaust, tyres, brakes wheel arches and .........


its a dirty job but somebodys got to do it

[surf_tomo]

Holy shit, and I thought my engine was bad!! thanks for the advice

[Sadam_Husain]

Holy shit, and I thought my engine was bad!! thanks for the advice

Nah thats not a badly caked engine, it gets worse when the V of the engine block fills up with mud and burries the carburator

Good luck with your water blasting

[gimmemud]

i used straight degreaser in my engine cleaning gun with compressor and it did an ok job. but got it even dirtier the next weekend and hired a hot water blaster to clean the whole truck and chassis and gave the engine a quick cleaning and it worked awesomely.

[surf_tomo]

Oh nice,, how much did that cost to hire, and where from?

do people steam clean or just waterblast for mud etc

[gimmemud]

Oh nice,, how much did that cost to hire, and where from?

do people steam clean or just waterblast for mud etc

got a mate who works for mcentee hire so didn't cost me anything but usually $80 a day. i usually just waterblast my truck at wash world and leave all the mud there and then clean it at home with a car wash if i can be bothered.

[Heath]

Yep dump the majority at Wash world and just get vthe tricky bits at home. Have jacked my old 413 up on a highlift at washworld to get all the hard to get parts. Got some funny looks from other patrons. Besides I didnt need the clay at my place (got heaps there now).

Heath

[UBZ]

I just love the look on the attendants face at wash world, as you drive away leaving half a ton on clay on the forecourt for him to shovel up

I water blast and degrease the engine bay after every trip , makes finding leaks easier.

[surf_tomo]

Haha . We have a place here in Dunedin called "The Clean", I assume they have waterblatsers. Good idea about the degreese - I do that on the moterbikes - use the $2.99 a can stuff from Supercheap, works well. Should do the same on my truck

[fweddy]

I find a good wallow in clean water does the main part of the underside or ideally a few fast drives through shallow water - it sort of semi waterblasts it, then you still need to do the top and rest of the engine bay

[Majpie]

I use truck wash, dilute and put in a garden sprayer spray on and wait five minutes and hose off. Also before you go on a trip spray engine bay with CRC, it makes it easier for the dirt to come off later on.

[Steve_t647]

If you are going to the truck wash or similar wetrting the engine bay to get the mud a little muddier before you go can help. Depends how far you are going too far and it will be dry again.

Take a can of CRC and spray that on your electrics when you want to go you may need to clean out the distributor.

[DaveM]

I use the work water blaster so I don't have to clean up the mess.
If it dryish mud, I'll park it on the lawn with the sprinkler going under it to soften it up a bit