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While not as powerful as a commercial unit, I've gotten helpful results from a wallpaper removal steamer, I purchased at Home Depot. It doesn't produce much pressure, so it doesn't 'blast' off the grime. But steam is steam and it is HOT!

For cleaning in tight spaces, you can cobble up a wand, or just use the hose. I found it especially effective for 'pin point' steam cleaning the engine and transmission. Armed with the usual arsenal of brushes, sticks, Simple Green and the patience of Job -- the steamer did a good job loosening the thick stuff.

Once the heavy dirt is off, the steamer does a great job of removing the dinghy haze from the aluminium. Point the steamer and watch the dirt run off what you thought was a clean surface! Your intakes will positively sparkle! :-)

I also used the steamer to clean the wheel-wells. Less effective here, but still helpful. The heavy grime in the wheel-wells needed brushing and detergent to break it up. I used the steamer as my 'hot rinse'. Much better than using my hot water hose. Also, without the steamer I would probably have used twice as much Simple Green. Here again, the steamer did a great job getting that last surface layer of grime.

Incidentally, at a nearby industrial plumbing and boiler shop, I found stiff, long bristled brushes used for cleaning A/C 'fins'. Oriented vertically (as opposed to a horizontal toothbrush) -- they work great cleaning engine cooling fins.

I also bought another tool for the same purpose, which has contiguous metal fingers, bent 45 degrees; in the shape of a hand. Looks a bit like a hand-rake gardeners use in a flower bed. This is a 'must have' tool for getting the heavy gunk out of the engine fins!

Whenever I use tooth-brush style wire and bristle cleaning brushes, they get all bent and 'mushed up'. I must go through a dozen at a clip! The stuff I picked up at the industrial boiler supply has paid for itself, just in 'mushed up tooth-brush' savings!

Lastly, I bought the wallpaper steamer to steam-bend ash canoe rails. If you're interested in a steam source for wood bending, these units work great.

Sorry to go on like an infomercial, I just wanted to share my recent experience.

Robert