It is an amazing feeling when your car shines. The well-cleaned car looks incredible when you drive. The fits and finish of the exterior of the car is always a priority of the people, but if you genuinely want to increase your car’s performance, just look at the engine’s bay.
Below the hood of your engine there lies a huge swath of lines, hoses, turbochargers, intercoolers, radiators, wires, breakers, admissions, and other motor segments. A spotless engine bay is not easy to maintain because there are many issues of leakage and spotting and can be camouflaged by dirt and grime. A clean engine not only makes your journey beautiful but also increases the life and performance of the vehicle.
If you hadn’t done the cleaning of the engines bay before, here are few steps to clean your engine bay:
Before start cleaning your engine, make sure that the engine is not too hot to touch. It should be a little warm so that the warmth of the engine flushes off the concentrated dirt build-up in the body of the engine.
The second thing to which you need to pay attention is that the parts such as air intake, alternator, coil packs, ECUs, and OBDs should be shielded well where there is no contact with water is allowed.
Step 1:
Clean all the dirt and debris present in the engine’s bay using an airbrush or compressed air. There are various types of dirt or debris present in the engines bay such as:
Mud:
This is the most common spill in the engines; off-road adventures and dirt, muds, and puddles are the most common splatter that enters your engine’s bay.
Engine oil:
Engine oil may leak through gaskets, hoses and may spill across the engine while oil changing.
Transmission fluid:
Transmission fluid may also spill across the engine’s bay during the catastrophic happening.
Brake fluid:
As the brake master cylinder is mounted near the tops of the engine, spills, and splatter can quickly make the engine bay dirty.
Step 2:
Depending upon the dirt content in your engine, you need to scrub the engine bay. Sometimes you need a brush with non-metallic bristles that will help you to clean the amount of grime over the valve cover that has been caked with oil and dirt. You can also use a good quality degreaser is need to remove the grime or dirt over the engine bay.
Step 3:
Wash your engine using a power washer with a light setting with a standard hose. The local standard sprayer can also be used as a DIY car wash. Rinse the entire compartment to wash away the degreaser that was applied. Use an appropriate amount of water to rinse the engine compartment as it takes time to dry.
Step4:
Dry the engine compartment using compressed air by blasting air in the nooks and crannies to remove the excess water from the compartment. Use can also use a towel or rag to wipe off excess water present in the engine. This will remove water as well as grime from any left behind.
Step5:
Reinstall all the terminals and batteries and remove all the coverage of the electrical components. Check all the connections and do properly dressing of your vehicle before and driving test.
Some pro tips to clean your engine bay
- Always wash your car when the engine cools downs because when your pour water into the hot engine it will generate steam and that can crack plastics and can also corrode the wires.
- Always cover yourself with soft clothes, as well as cover your hands with gloves, this will protect your hand from unwanted starches.
- If you are doing the cleaning and washing of your engine bay by your hands, it is always recommended to use the two bucket method this will avoid dirt, debris to return into the engine bay.
Final thought
The key to keeping your engine bay clean and spotless is not letting your engine compartment get too dirty. You should always do degreasing every year will help to keep your engine clean and this will also increase the performance of your engine. Because a gleaming engine guarantees a happy and safe journey.