What products to clean engine bay/undercarriage while engine is out

[Deanh]

So I have my drivetrain out, and while it is I need to do some serious cleaning of the engine bay and undercarriage. The car has spent most of its time up north so alot of it is like a thick crust. Any opinions on the products, brushes and what no I should use to get it back into a presentable state?

[David]

My method is start with power washing everything after soaking with Simple Green and follow up with paint prep degreaser and lots of paper towels.

[cabmandone]

Purple Power is nice for softening up crud, just don't let it get on the exterior paint. You could use "Goof off" found at Lowes and other stores. It works nicely for removing tar. There's also Black Jack (I think) sold at Lowes that is used for tar removal. I used that for getting the spray on undercoating off of my wheel wells. The best thing to use is a hot water pressure washer. If you don't have one, I'd think you could rent one fairly reasonably and it would be well worth the money as you could then almost completely skip the chemicals and just melt the crud off.

Have fun.

[Jcslocum]

Take a look at small home steam cleaners for this grime busting!!

Do as each as there was a thread on this in the last few weeks.

[geowar]

"AT-30". Water soluble degreaser used in the aviation industry. A bit pricey, but well worth it. The ease of cleaning years of the worst grease and grime will amaze you.

[Deanh]

just did some looking into "at30". Guess Ill order some and have at it.

[77Targa0912]

Super clean in the purple jug cuts the crud fast. Just don't let it sit for more than a minute or so. $7 for 64 oz at Walmart.

[CCM911]

I may be old school, but original Gunk engine cleaner has always been my weapon of choice in the fight against greasy buildup.

[Spenny_b]

About to continue doing this myself, except my cause has been slightly complicated by a previous owner (or more likely somebody on behalf of the PO) has applied either black Waxoyl or black Dinitrol to the inner arches and behind the front pu....I'm debating whether to clean and keep it, or continue to try and remove it (a bugger of a job on the original anti-stonechip surface)...anyway, not wanting to hijack, but in researching again last night, I found this guys writeup on Detailing World....very nice job he's done too.

He hasn't done an engine/box removal but did go to a lot of effort into other greasy and grimy areas, using a product called Tardis. A nice quick thread to read....quite inspiring too. (Think he's also quite local to me in the UK)

[PorscheAmateur]

I usually start by taping up electrical connections and hosing out the engine compartment with either a pressure washer (wide tip moving quickly) or a low pressure hose. I then allow to dry and spray Zep orange degreaser straight or 1:4 onto surfaces (lowes or home depot). Another good degreaser is Meguiars super degreaser available online. repeat except agitate the cleaner to get the finer grease bits off. For agitation, use a wheel brush or a tooth brush for small areas. If you are worried about ruining exterior paint,it is best to either mask off, or rewax afterwards. Don't have pictures of doing my 80' 911, but i do off a saab i did.

Before:

After:


Same products/process also work really well for wheel wells!

[SC Eddie]

I like using the purple power, and if you have to use a brush try a 1" chip brush cut down at least half way, found it works really well.

[will hung]

I found that using POR-15 Cleaner Degreaser (formerly known as Marine Clean) works really well for degreasing engine compartments. Plus it's water based so it's not as harmful to your paint if you mess up.