just a quick question and to pick your brains really, my engine bay although cleanish, hasnt really had a good old deep clean, its oily/greasy in there, very oily/greasy indeed.

[url=http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/smurf182/media/IMG-20130825-00918_zps012ecd09.jpg.html][img]http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb441/smurf182/IMG-20130825-00918_zps012ecd09.jpg[/img][/url]

i have a plan to steam clean it

the plan i have is to:-

1. give it a general wipe over first
2. apply liberal amounts of degreaser
3. high pressure steam it
4. wipe my way along as i steam it

would this be the right way to go about it? and can anything be done to help keep its shine afterwards(bar regular cleaning)?

thanks

That's pretty much what I'd do - be careful when you're steam cleaning it, try to stay away from electronic gubbins like battery, dizzy etc - toothbrush and deagreaser work well!

Ongoing, just use a rag to wipe over it every now and again - once its clean, keeping on top of it should be easy

cheers Hughie, im guessing it would be a good idea to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before i start too?

Actually, I would have the engine running at operating temperature before steam cleaning, but don't quote me - realistically, I wouldn't clean it

ha ha, i have a leak in there somewhere.....an annoying leak, i think the rocker cover has no gasket, it just seems to be a black mastic kind of thing, so im wondering if there is perhaps a very tiny warp in the cover which is why it wont seal properly, and it really could do with a clean. and as well as getting stuck in to it, i might just learn a thing or two, as in what goes to what from where etc

The rocker cover is leaking because it has mastic on it. gasket alone, except for the sharp corners, is all it needs. a lot of people make the mistake of using sealant, and the low torque bolts don't pull it down flat...and it leaks

Steam clean very carefully, it's easy to get water where you don't want it. I always prefer to use degreaser, and clean it with brushes and cloths and rinse with the hose, then use paint cleaner and wax on the bodywork (inner arches, underside of bonnet etc)
If you have a small nozzle on the steam cleaner, keep it to the block etc, places that you can't get to with the cloth

a hose...really? i thought the steam would have been the better option than a hose due to the volume if water from the hose.....electrics are something i dont understand.....apart from adding water to them is best avoided .
i guess top tip would be to properly cover them with a plastic bag(or similar first)

thanks for the advice , if we get a dry day over the weekend ill give it a go.

steam under pressure is more likely to get into places, some running water won't be forced in, I've used a pressure washer before to be honest (only on my own car) and the worst thing that happened was I lost the black paint from my mazda badge on the engine cover. It was the 6, so I really wasn't bothered

I do always use the air line to dry it all off afterwards, which helps I guess.

One tip, get some corks, and pull your HT leads off the plugs, and fit corks (rubber bungs if you can get them) in the holes - this will stop water getting down to your spark plugs

other than that, small bin bags or rubber gloves can be used to cover electrical stuff and air filter inlets etc. In my opinion, it's well worth spending a bit of time covering and protecting some bits

excellent stuff, i would never have thought about corks/bungs for the HT lead holes. brother in law makes wine so i know he has millions kicking about

thanks again

Do you mean actual steam, or pressure washing? I know people call pressure washers steam cleaners a lot, but unless its actually >100c, it isn't steam

A big puddle (and me going a bit toooo quick without seeing it) was enough to soak my V6 and make it a V5 for a bit, so I'm a bit reluctant to pressure wash my engine. Still a fair amount of water. I've just had an industrial hot pressure washer that will [b]steam [/b]clean dropped off though... so one day I might do it with that.

yup sloth, its actuall steam i was thinking of using rather than pressure washing, i thought the temperature would help with shifting the ingrained muck

Ahh If you do it, do let us know how you got on Before and after pics too!

Sloth, if you feel like steam cleaning the decking outside my house as a test run, feel free

Throw some detergent out there and let the rain, hail and wind do it