Folks, behold....the engine of my new import Impreza.

I really wanna start dressing the engine bay up, and aside from the obvious silicone hose upgrade, what products work best in an engine to really get the best out of the plastics and rubber?

Is there any good products for really lifting the oil/grease off the filler caps so I can restore them back to their original yellow goodness?

 

P21S Total Auto Wash and 303 Aerospace Protectant; see them being used here...

Polished Bliss - Car Care Advice - How to safely clean and protect your engine bay

 

Cheers bud, you've done some crazy amount of articles there! Some excellent info!

I might just give your products a go at the end of this month then!

 

f*** Thats going to take some cleaning
Did they tow it behind the Ship ?
Best of luck

 

I know mate, someone really didn't take pride under the hood! They probably don't wash their ball bag either like, so... what can ya do?!

I want this engine pristine by this time next year, and will be committing myself to making it better than new!

 

bloody hard work..................


i attacked mine with metal polish and an array of Asda "Smart Price" toothbrushes

 

I found TFR (Traffic film remover) and a Jet wash to work wonders on all the metal parts of my engine baym especially the alloy


This engine looked so old and dingey, a good clean and some new SS nuts and bolts, and looks like a dream for a 13 year old engine, if you look carefully at the head not the rocker cover, you can see it came up like new, the gearbox came up the same too

And on the plastice i just used a trim detailer made by meguires

 

That looks awesome mate! Very very clean for a 13 year old! Fair play to ya!

 

Cheers, it started off old scuffy and dull like yours, so just a few hours and you will be laughing
Be carefull when you jet wash/hose it as i got water around my spark plugs, so had to dry them out.

 

No danger there, pressure washers and engines dont really mix in my own opinion, and I would be paranoid as **** about it.... so, I'll put in a bit more elbow grease instead.

I've started taking off the bits of metal that I can easily remove without disturbing gaskets and the like. Its amazing what a power-drill and a wire brush attachment can uncover!

I'm gonna prime the metal and then finish it in a satin-black just for now, satin hides a lot of imperfections, which is good enough for me for now.

 

Just an update for you all from my original posting a couple of weeks back.

You will remember how CRAP and unloved my engine bay looked the day I bought the Impreza, but I've been very-determined to really make it shine, and I thought I would show you all what a bit of TLC and determination can do for ya.

No part of the engine has been replaced apart from the battery which let me down a couple of days ago.

Aside from that, everything you see here is just the result of good old cleaning.
Wynns Engine Degreaser was the winner for me on getting most of these results.

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/5744/91608362uo1.jpg
Original Engine Bay (One day old with me)

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/134/29232286uq3.jpg
The Engine Bay as it is today (Incase you think I've overdone the bling on the intercooler, the sun was directly on it just! LOL)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3463/60593044tz8.jpg
Close up (Before)(Gawd that battery with the piece of wood...c'mon!!!! Who does that?!?!)

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4871/27394976rr2.jpg
Phewww...much better! Booya! (although, I still can't get a -great- finish on the Yellow Coolant top (seen in the bottom right corner)

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/7328/45767221tb4.jpg
In a word...."GrUbBy"

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4800/61780068bw8.jpg
Even the little 'P' clips have started to get polished up. They were not replaced!

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2597/52813544sk6.jpg
It deserved the slight slagging it got when I showed this the first time round

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3175/52949471rt5.jpg
...and here it is, as good a cleaning as I can give it.


So whats the next plan?

Well, I got paid this weekend, so I've started to order some silicone hoses (in red). And I'm REALLY looking forward to getting the manifold off to have it sand blasted, acid bathed and then powder coated in a good vibrant red!
Thats gonna be a lethal look after that!!

I'm gonna see a man about getting the intercooler re-fined/re-cored. Just depends on the price, coz I know I'll very likely be going for a front mount intercooler a little later in the year anyway.

So? What do you's think so far? Result?

 

The pics are too small for us to appreciate your results...........

 

Psh! really? I saw the first time round that they were just thumbnails, but I thought I had corrected it by putting on the links no?

 

Links work fine for me, you've done a great job on the engine bay

 

Thanks man. I'm about 50% through. I've done all the obvious, easy to get to bits. I wanna start putting the time into getting at the harder to access areas that are still visible... good thing im off work the next 2 weeks!

 

I covered my alternator up then let the engine soak in Gunk for about 15mins. Rinsed off with a strong stream of water (only using the pressure washer for the sticky green grease). Let dry with the engine running then once cool protected with Swissol/Swissvax Motor Shine.







Sorry no before pics.

 

Looks great!

 

Is it considered obsessive that I have a photo of my engine bay sitting as my desktop in windows here in work?

Coz, I just look at it wondering where do I really need to spend my time on next! LOL

Honestly, I do!

This is by far the BEST car I've ever owned (I think its my 8th vehicle, usual, Nissan, Vauxhall, Toyota trail....) and I'm just pure into the engine!!

My friends are beginning to worry! I say let them! hehe!!

 

I like a clean car and was surprised how good the engine came up, but when you tell people what you done they just look at you like you`re mad. They will never understand.

 

Colzo mate that looks AWESOME!!!!!! I would wanna do without the whole pesky hood thing altogether if my engine looked as sweet as yours!! What year is your motor?

 

Its a 2005 MY so it wasn`t too hard to clean up, but it was a bit grubby. I will just keep on top of it now and hope the protective dressing does its job!

 

Where can you purchase the Motor Shine from?

 

haha thats cheating! mines a 98!

i agree with you though, clean it regularly, and it will keep its great looks!

 

Swissvax GB - The official UK importer

If you are going to use this I would suggest you cover your wings and grill/bumper with cling-film then spray several even layers but do not go OTT as its like a spray wax. Top stuff though.

 

If only I owned your car from new eh mate!

 

Jesus Colzo - looks like a new car!

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