Best degreaser?

[EJackBauer8]

Alright guys, I've been meaning to clean the engine bay sooner or later. Now I can't take it anymore I'm getting tired of how dirty it is. So if you guys could tell me what degreaser works best for you and why?

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[CO671]

Buy a gallon of concentrated Simple Green and pour it into a bottle of your own mix of water so you control the dilution.
In my automotive course, we used this product called Orange Pro I think, it's bought in bulk and it's effective afaik it's great. Simple Green should be much better though

Cleaning engine bays with Wd40 works well. Wd40 is used to penetrate some of those nuts, bolts etc; right? So wouldn't penetrating the dust, dirt and grime in a bay make sense? I used it to clean my CRV and Civic bay, did a lot.

When using these methods, try not to spray onto the belts, sensors, any pulleys, spark plugs/distributor, alternator, etc;
post a before and after picture!

 

[Trekk]

Brake cleaner works really well for the engine. I have a 50gal drum of it at work and have plenty of experience with it lol. Simple green works great but I wouldn't water it down for the engine you'll just make it weaker.

 

[EJackBauer8]

I guess simple green it is, ill post pics. When I do it probably this weekend.

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[R3dline]

i got some stuff called m80 or somthing like that, is is the best stuff iv ever used

 

[EJackBauer8]

^^ Where did you get it from ?

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[mymmeryloss]

Simple green is great but i heard they changed their formula?

 

[EJackBauer8]

So I was in my laundry room here at home and saw a degreaser called mean green have you guys heard of it?

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[R3dline]

my bad, just looked at the bottle, its called b52 brown bomber . it works awersome, way better than simple green, i got it at a family owned auto parts store, but you can look online or somthing.

 

[PHAHEEM]

Once you guys decide on what type of degreaser to use, how exactly do you go about cleaning the engine bay?

I'm sure you don't just spray the whole thing down...what methods do you use and how do you do it?

 

[CO671]

Once you guys decide on what type of degreaser to use, how exactly do you go about cleaning the engine bay?

I'm sure you don't just spray the whole thing down...what methods do you use and how do you do it?

Many many rags, and a spray bottle (unless the chemical didn't already come with one)
Spray selectively, avoid electrical and exposed mechanical parts. Like the distributor, alternator, power steering pulley, A/C and their belts. Move wires around, clean hoses, the bay surface itself; etc.

 

[JohnS.]

Simple Green is not safe on aluminum if used on such surfaces and not used properly. I've read there are "better" products out there but I've never really been into detailing so I have hardly paid attention.

Straight from Simple Green's site:

Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

Simple Green has also developed break-through water based cleaners that are safe for use on metals, plastics, rubber and high tech alloys. Extreme Simple Green® Aircraft & Precision Cleaner and Simple Green® Pro HD are available on both the industrial and retail markets, respectively. These products were initially developed for the aircraft industry and extensive testing shows that they are safe and effective on a variety of metals and other sensitive surfaces even in the most extreme circumstances.

Simple Green® Stainless Steel One Step Cleaner & Polish is another option for cleaning polished aluminum. This product is designed for light duty metal cleaning and polishing.

Yes, you can use Simple Green but use it with caution.

 

[crash!]

WD40 works fine too

 

[freshrex]

Simple green or Purple Power is what I use and it works great. Also if you decide to clean your engine theres this stuff called LA's awesome cleaner and it works wonders and its only a dollar. Can be found at dollar tree,dollar general and family dollar etc

 

[TokyoSkies]

Here's what I do:

We used Simple Green, and CLR for any terminal corrosion on the firewall (people rage when I do this, but we spot-treat with rags).
I disconnected my dizzy, pulled my spark plugs and wires, and took my intake off and sealed my TB opening with a s**t load of rags. Make sure opening to block from the dizzy and all electrical components are covered (we used trash bags cut to size, and duct taped them to each component). Seal off the TB opening with a sandwich bag and duct tape, quadruple check all electrical components and make sure they're covered, then saturate the bay with Simple Green. I let it sit for about 2 minutes, then hit it with a pressure washer, set to mild pressure, with a fan tip. It took me literally ten minutes, and my bay sparkled like mad. Afterward, use CLR to remove any corrosion or tough-to-clean stains. Usually works good, but be frickin careful with that stuff. I had to dilute it HEAVILY (seriously like 1 part CLR to 10 parts water in a water bottle). Afterward, wipe everything down with clean rags, and let it sit for a good hour. Take all the plastic bags off, wipe down any water/chemicals, and let it sit another 30 minutes. Reconnect everything, start the car and let it idle to assure that everything is good (since I removed my dizzy, we had to re-time. If you choose to remove yours, you'll need to do the same). I let mine idle for about 20 minutes to burn off any water sitting in hard to reach places. It looked brand spankin new after this. If any of you do this, BE CAREFUL. Pressure washers can f**k your s**t up BAD. Use them with extreme caution, and use LOW pressure.

 

[DuckIt]

Purple power works awesome in my experience. Be careful, it will take off paint if you scrub it. Or wipe hard.

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[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

Simple green or Purple Power is what I use and it works great. Also if you decide to clean your engine theres this stuff called LA's awesome cleaner and it works wonders and its only a dollar. Can be found at dollar tree,dollar general and family dollar etc

LA's Totally Awesome is the best bang for the buck. I use to make the 20oz and gallon bottles for them so we would get it for free. For $1.07 every 20oz you can't beat that. 100oz of simple green is like what 20 bucks?