How to clean your engine bay
Overview
Maybe you wash your car every weekend. Perhaps you’re a once a month kinda person. Either way, you’ll know there’s nothing more satisfying than a super clean ride. But what about the engine bay? Not only does a clean engine bay look good, it makes it easier for your mechanic to spot problems as they arise. Not sure how to clean your engine bay? Continue reading to find out.
You can do this job in your driveway or workshop but just be prepared for grease and oil if your engine is messy. Also you’ll be dealing with chemicals so please be careful they don’t runoff into stormwater drains – we don’t want things getting into our waterways that shouldn’t be there.
As well as the chemicals, there’ll also be plenty of dust, so a mask as well as glasses or goggles are essential. And some of these chemicals aren’t the nicest on your skin, better whack on some rubber gloves too.
Items
- Car Wash – Yep, simple car wash that you might already have in the garage is great if your engine is just a little dusty.
- Aerosol Degreaser - You can grab aerosol degreaser at a super low price from our website, it’s great for the occasional engine clean.
- Bulk Degreaser – If you use degreaser more often, degreaser concentrate is a cost effective product. It can be applied using our next item.
- Pressure Sprayer – Use a pressure sprayer to mix and apply degreaser or car wash. It has chemical resistant seals so it’s made for the job, plus you can mix it as strong or as weak as you need depending on the state of your engine bay.
- Brushes – Stiff bristled, soft bristled, pipe cleaners, and paint brushes of all shapes and sizes for every nook and cranny. View our range of brushes.
- Rags & Towels – Car wipes, rags & cloths will come in handy throughout the whole process
Steps
1. Preparation
Start by disconnecting the battery or consider removing it altogether (this makes it much easier to clean). Take a look at your air intake as well. If the opening isn’t exposed, you’re pretty safe. If it is exposed; take steps to seal it off. Check all of your filler caps and dipsticks. Water in any of these would not be super! Same for fuse boxes and distributors, you can wrap these up in plastic bags. Don’t forget to make sure your engine is cool enough to touch before you begin the job.
2. Pre-Clean
Engine bay cleaning starts by removing loose material before anything gets wet. Leaves, dust and sand can all be removed with compressed air if you own a compressor. Otherwise a garden blower or even a vacuum cleaner works fine.
3: Under Bonnet Clean
The best way to clean a car engine bay is to start at the top and work your way down. That way you won’t be dripping grease and gunk on your nice clean engine. This means we’ll begin with the underside of the bonnet. If there’s just a little dust and road grime, some car wash and a soft brush will do here. For grease and oil, better get the degreaser onto the job. If you have a bonnet liner under here, some carpet cleaner (yep carpet cleaner) actually works wonders to scrub that up. However if your liner is looking a little ratty, it’s best to avoid soaking it at all – you don’t want to make it any worse!
4: How to Clean Your Engine Bay Without Damaging the Engine
Again it’s about choosing the correct cleaning solution. Use ordinary car wash for dust and road grime, degreaser for spilled oil and greasy build up. Degreaser is also brilliant for muddy 4x4 engine bays. Just spray the solution around the engine and engine bay, being careful around electrical connectors and distributor – also don’t go crazy around the spark plugs. Make sure you allow the degreaser to soak for a few minutes.
When it’s time to clean it off remember, you should never use a pressure sprayer on your engine. This is where your variety of brushes and rags, along with a little elbow grease, will be super handy. Use soft brushes where possible, then firm brushes on thick build-ups and tough mud. Be gentle, we’re not scrubbing charcoal off a BBQ here. And remember to go easy around those electrical connectors, accessories and ignition components. Rinse gently as you go and apply more degreaser if needed. Just be careful to make sure that any chemicals don’t get washed down stormwater drains.
5: Dry It Off
Finally, it’s time to dry it all off. An air compressor will work here but be careful, compressors can force water in where you don’t want it. You can also use a workshop vacuum if you have one. Just suck the water out of anywhere it has pooled.
Of course if you don’t have either of these machines, don’t stress – just use rags or microfibre towels to wipe the water away.
With all the water dried up, and the battery and air intake ready to go, the last thing to do is start the engine and run it for 10 minutes or so. This will warm everything up and help any remaining water to evaporate.
Tips
- To make your engine bay clean easier the next time around, try to keep on top of it every 3 months or so. That way you won’t have to scrub so hard – your future self will thank you!
- And if you really want to keep it super, dab some trim restorer around your plastics. Then wipe it off after 10 minutes for a brand new look.
Did you enjoy learning how to clean your engine bay? With the right directions and supplies, a DIY engine bay clean is super easy. Browse our entire range of car care products available online or in store at your local Supercheap Auto store. Shop now and get started today!
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