Cleaning a 911 engine bay?

[DGriz]

I removed what was left of my crumbling engine insulation pad on Sunday. What a mess! I vacuumed out the engine bay, but it's still fairly cruddy from 31 years... of .

On non-Porsche cars in the past I have warmed up the engine, soaked the engine & compartment in Gunk, and then wiped/washed off the grease & grime.

Is it OK to do the same on a 911? Dickson

[Boostin]

Check out the technical articles section of PP as I believe there is an article on just this. But yes, that is generally the procedure, just be sure to adequately cover electronic components.

[CCM911]

I spray gunk on the bottom of my engine with the rear jacked up. For the top, I generally use simple green and a damp rag. I am sure you could get away with gunk and a hose on the top, but with all the electrics and stuff, why chance it?

[theclaw]

I've gone in there with degreaser and a light hose just to rinse being careful not to spray water all around. Watch out for simple green and some of purple degreasers, they attack aluminum (valve covers).

Last month, I had the engine out for a clutch job and after covering the electrical connectors full soaked it with Gunk, brushed it good and spayed it off only spot I couldn't get was the bottom sine it was sitting on a dolly.

The pad replacement is a PITA but I used the reflective one from out host but it end up pretty nice.

[JJ 911SC]

Couple of different product at post #1 & #2 of http://forums.pelicanparts.com/cleaning-detailing-polishing/550748-best-cleaner-bar-none.html

Good result from both but the Facto AT-30 is the winner.

Have fun

[DGriz]

Thanks guys.

I had never come across the Pelican tech forums - I just searched here. Thanks - lots of reading to do!

I don't need the engine clean enough to eat off of, but some cleaning is definitely in order. I appreciate the advice! DG

[Bob Kontak]

If you can do the cleaning at home that would be great.

What scares me is driving to the $2 pressure washer place, Gunking it up and blasting, then bank on driving home.

I use Gunk at the $2 place on a lot of regular cars but the connections are "better" then 911 connections regarding water invasion. It does a real nice job.

Cover the distributor and 14 pin connector as best you can and go to town with the Simple green or Gunk. The pressure washing is the cat's meow.

If you can do this at home (better) and then use compressed air to dry the connections and distributor.

The significant other will complain about the Gunk smell. Two days then gone.

[Hard-Deck]

I have heard that it is ok to run the engine and spray cleaner and rinse water through the fan. Can anyone confirm ?

[inthedoghouse]

Not sure about cleaning it while running but when I bought my car I suspect it had never had the engine cleaned. I covered the distributor cap with saran wrap, covered the fenders with towels, then I used gunk top and bottom, let it soak a bit, scrubbed a bit and then used the car wash to spray it off. I did not pull the trigger..just used the lower pressure. I did not want all that mess on my driveway.

It worked well. I will say it smokes like crazy and the smell is pretty intense but as someone said its all good in a couple of days. Its definitely worth doing but I admit I was sweating it when I turned the key to make sure it would start. Did this on another car once and it got the points wet and would not start so be careful.

If you treat the rubber and plastic parts with a nice quality product, the engine looks better and you may actually see where any leaks originate.