sti ish

i currently just bought a very nice 53sti with only 65k on the clock 2 previous owners completely box standerd apart from prodrive exhaust

i have the car in the bodyshop for all dent removals and rust repair where mudflap was fitted and i am looking to get it undersealed

the engine is clean but it could do with a spruce up i dont really have the time nor space to take everypipe out of the egnine and clean it myself so i was hoping someone can shed some light on this.

is there anyone who cleans there engine to make it look like new ? like mobile service

also i have seen the threads about doing it bit by bit with degreaser but wouldnt a steam clean be much quicker ?

mind you i have had a bad experience with steam cleaning and engine ...

BBB3

iTrader: (7)

I degreaser and pressure washed my engine bay, looked ok but I had rubbish degreaser!

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

Cover the alternator fuse box in tin foil

Cover the tmic fins in cardboard.

Pressure wash

For a good degreaser check out polished bliss website

Steve

sti ish

thanks for the replies peeps

is taht all you need to cover?

BBB3

iTrader: (7)

Yes, what Steve said but make sure you get some decent degreaser

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

I think so can't remember of the top of my head just make sure to avoid the tin foil

Probably short blasts

With the degreaser from polished bliss your supposed so spray it and agitate leave for an hour maybe more and hose off

The first time I did it I never used any degreaser and the amount of crap that came off was unreal

Steve

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

As above or if you have a steam cleaner it's less risky.

Get some 303 Aerospace Protectant for the plastic parts and you're good to go

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

Bodski would you recommend leaving the engine running whilst doing it? (can't remember if I did or not was a long time ago)

op here you go

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/engine-degreasers-and-dressings.html

Steve

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Yes I always did when using a pressure washer. I always cover the fuel rails too

sti ish

cheers all

so tin foil over anything electric keep the egnine running and short blasts

i had my car cleaned in a truck was last time and they left the engine running and it went pop pop bang had to use wd40 on the whole engine to get it to run again it did look good but scared the s*** out of me

shanew

Just my personal practice but I don't cover anything other than airfilters if its a cotton/foam one.
I'm not stupid so I can aim the jetwash and avoid spraying directly at the alternator and pulleys. I've done quite a lot of engine cleans and never had a problem

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

As the op is a tiny but worried it's better to be safe than sorry and cover up the required parts

Steve

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

Don't know where this pointless comment has came from. You basically hi jacked a thread to say your not stupid?

And I believe the op has the Airbox so doesn't need to cover that up as it already has a cover!

Steve

quattroowner

iTrader: (5)

Did mine earlier this year:


Covered open air filter, MAF , Alternator, coilpack,sparkplugs,3 port boost solenoid and wiring. Covered all that with clingfilm and bags. TMIC fins with card.

warmed the car up sprayed a mix of degreaser and Ironx. Scrubbed with a brush everywhere, agitated like hell.

Powerwashed quickly then redid it with a brush. Started engine up again making sure the clingfilm etc isnt in the way of belt's or working parts. Powerwashed and dried. Came up well and never had a running problem because of moisture

shanew

It's not pointless nor was I wasn't hijacking a thread at all. I was simply stating that I personally see no need to cover parts up when cleaning an engine and using common sense. Mentioning the air filter was just stating facts from my experience should another person be reading this post who has one and wants to clean their engine bay. It saves them asking the same questions to be told by unhelpful people to use the search button.

Rammi shaa

Did mine few days ago came out nice just make sure you have a good brush set to get in all the gaps and hard to get in places

I used 50/50 tfr. On a started engine scrubbed and jet washed off took about 10 min .


If u got really fussy I would have given top mount a clean with metal cleaner but didn't bother .


Before





After

CutMasterT

iTrader: (2)

Pretty good job that Rammi! Think I'm gonna tackle this next week!

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

I have lost count of the amount of times I have posted this but here you


http://www.polishedswiss.weebly.com

jaygsi

iTrader: (46)

Has anyone tried using a steam cleaner?

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

I am going to borrow my wife's Karcher steam cleaner next time I do the engine bay (she doesnt know yet ) and see what results I get

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

I did it the old fashioned way
Took a week of sick
after 12 years of neglect
got various cleaning brushes Apc and lots of hot water in a small spray bottle and gunk /,wd 40 /,plastics cleaner and spent hours and hours doing it then added a bit of colour and some of the boys inheritance