My engine is filthy! Mud everywhere in there and I'm almost afraid to take it to the dealer for anything. Going to the coin wash tomorrow to spray it down real good. Anything yall can recommend I do in particular? Areas not to blast? Was already told to be sure not to get the distributor cap and sparkplugs, anything else? Hehe I'll be sure to post a before and after pics!

I wrapped a plastic bag around the alternator. Granted
A) The engine was cold
B) The skid plate had to come off

But I killed an alternator by washing crap into it.

Be careful using a high pressure sprayer, like those at the coin wash, on your engine bay. That high pressure water can be forced into places it shouldn't go.

When I clean my engine I generally wet the engine down with a garden hose, then wipe is down the major areas with a soapy sponge using car wash. Then gently rinse the engine off. Dry it with a towel, then armor all any plastic or rubber parts. Looks like new every time and I've never had a problem.

Some people I know spray simple green on the engine then rinse it off. They swear by the stuff saying it makes cleaning MUCH easier. I've never tried it for fear that it might discolor the plastic, but you might try it out, testing a small spot first.

Just my .02 cents.

Brian -
I'd really avoid a high pressure wash for the engine. Search thru the forums and you will find enuf stories of problems, usually electrical, caused by over zealous cleaning with a pressure wash.
Consider a garden hose with mild pressure. Get a stiff 'parts brush' to help clean-out stubborn dirt. Use simple green or the cleaner of your choice for oily areas.
But most important, protect or avoid anything electrical. The infamous nissuck alternator, distributor/ignition system and the small stuff too. Like the mass air flow sensor and just about anything that has a wire connected to it.
Try to avoid one of those "I screwed up the engine" posts.

dave and xtoy - never remove the protective mud

I usually use that engine degreaser and the spot free rinse (since its low pressure) to rinse it off. So far it works great and I've been doing it for years on my vehicles.

After reading some older threads (oops forgot to search!) I went out side and just sprayed it down with the garden hose and wiped stuff with an old towel. Did a fairly decent job but I'm going to go get a bottel of simple green and do that next.

Before




After



Not much better but im still working on it.

I had a questions about your pics. Did your x come with an engine carpet (heat shield) piece on the inside of the hood? I have one on my 2002 and was curious if its new or you just took yours off.

I think the heat shield is just in the supercharged X's. Mine has one, but I haven't seen it in the older X's or non-S/C 2002's.

Heat shield? Isn't it soundproofing? I'm just wondering why anybody would want to keep heat IN the motor area.

Keeping in line with the thread, I hose down my motor every time I wash it. Once in awhile I wipe some parts down too. A year later and many dirty dusty offroading trips later it still looks like it just came off the dealer's lot.

I like simple green sprayed all over the engine compartment.
I've never had it discolor anything, not even the paint, just try not to get too much on your fan belts.
And don't allow it time to dry on the engine!

When washing it off putting your thumb over the end of the hose to spray off.

I didn't cover anything with plastic, just keep the water moving so you don't spray any part of the engine to long and try to avoid the Distributor.
Let it dry overnight.

Always works for me.

Could be soundproofing, doesn't really matter. The point is: it only appears in the 2002 S/C.

On the topic. I've used the car wash pressure hose. It's okay, but I prefer Simple Green and the garden hose. The engine bay seems to come out looking better.

I have had great results using a product called greased lightning..cleans better than the green stuff and cheaper too

Yeah, Greased Lightning is good stuff. The aluminum intake manifold doesn't really like it though, it makes it foam and the manifold gets a bit darker, but doesn't appear to harm it otherwise.

Brent

That black stuff under the hood is SOUNDPROOFING. Has nothing to do with heat. The S/C is louder than the normally aspirated engine, and thus...

But anyway...

My truck is about 1.5+ years old now, and the engine has been *covered* in mud - to the point where you really can't make out any colors...

Here are some tips:

1) Make sure the engine is COLD
2) Hose everything off, let the water soak
3) Try some Simple Green or Gunk
4) Rinse
5) Apply CD2 "Engine Detailer" liberally

Voila! My engine still looks like the day I picked up the truck... I'm kinda anal like that...

My only problem is that all those "ridges & crossmembers" just keep oozing mud. No matter how much you spray, it just keeps coming. Although, the mud streaks on the windows are alot less since I cleaned it, they're not gone completely.

As seen in the "Oooh Shiny!" thread:

Ok did the Simple Green thing the other day. Looks alot better now.

Ramness570 - now hose that puppy down with CD2's "Engine Detailer" and you'll be looking real sharp.

Then, every other wash or so, just give the engine a quick hosing down (with the hose) to keep it sharp.

Simple Green and engine degreasers (like Gunk) are good for a greasy mess, but does very little for mud, unfortunately. I try to keep the use of such chemicals to a bare minimum - since they do tend to affect aluminum and gold-toned, zinc-finished stuff after a while, taking off some of the shine. Also, since they DO remove oily films and such, you're essentially removing a layer of corrosion resistance - which is why I hit the engine with goop once it's clean. If you're not comfortable using CD2's product, just hose 'er down with WD-40 well.