Cleaning Questions - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

clhdrums · 08-27-2009, 01:22 AM

Hey guys, I've got a few cleaning questions..

Years of car abuse has left my car with HUGE deposits of oil/dirt pretty much everywhere except the alternator, and the battery. I've heard pros and cons of engine washing, and have been considering it.. because doing it by hand would take TONS of time I don't have. I've been using Gunk engine cleaner, and WD40 to get what I can get to by hand. What do you guys suggest?

Also, a little interior question- What do you guys use to clean your seats? I've got some stains the previous owner didn't tend to?

atobe · 08-27-2009, 01:40 AM

gunk works for the tough spots... what i do is use a pressure washer not the 1400psi ones.. i have a small one where i hook up to an air compressor 30ish psi with warm water + soap then water rinse does the job pretty good... just try to stay away from electrical connectors and let it sit over night just to be safe.

Jimnist · 08-27-2009, 01:42 AM

I washed my engine bay. Didn't do too much, but i guess it helped a bit. As long as you know what to cover and what not to aim the hose/pressure washer at, then you're all swett. If it makes you feel any better, my mate who works at a Toyota dealership workshop says all engine bays are washed with a high pressure washer, they just know what not to aim at.

Can't help with your seatbelt problem. Club soda? Baking soda paste (baking soda mixed with a small amount of water)?

clhdrums · 08-27-2009, 01:57 AM

What do you guys think i should cover when i wash it down? Alternator and battery are the obvious choices.. maybe reinforce the spark plug wells with some tape?

Jimnist · 08-27-2009, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clhdrums

What do you guys think i should cover when i wash it down? Alternator and battery are the obvious choices.. maybe reinforce the spark plug wells with some tape?

Those + dizzy and fuse box. That's what i did. I didn't bother with the spark plug wells, but you could do that.

clhdrums · 08-27-2009, 10:27 AM

awesome. thanks guys for the help. i'm going to try to use some oxyclean stain remover or something on the seats.. it's just years of old stains, it's not too bad.. but it just looks gross.

Should i go to a place where you wash your car to do the engine? or should i use my home's hosepipe.. because it's going to get REALLY messy

home- neighborhood low pressure, grass, going to be really really messy on the grass afterwards
carwash- high pressure, cement, don't have to worry about cleanup

white90dx · 08-27-2009, 01:15 PM

The biggest place to watch out for is the distributor cap. You can put some electrical tape over the seam to keep water out.

Otherwise, go nuts.

I generally don't cover anything, use a regular hose with a spray nozzle and some simple green. Wet it down, scrub the dirty spots, rinse, clean the still dirty spots, rinse, etc. Then dry off the parts you want to get really clean then go for a drive to steam out the rest of the water.

This was when my Alltrac had about 95k miles on it:

-Charlie

Jimnist · 08-27-2009, 11:24 PM

That's soo clean Charlie. You don't even want to see my bay :lol

clhdrums · 08-27-2009, 11:47 PM

Yeah Charlie that looks a LOT better than mine.. haha.. check some of these out

Engine before i touched it-

Bottom of hood before i touched it (that black isn't reflection, that's alll oil and dirt)-

Today I scrubbed and wiped and scrubbed until my rubber gloves had holes all in them, I used Purple Power degreaser as i've read it's much more gentle on paint and rubber hoses.. take a look at it now -

Still not completely spotless but i'm pretty proud of how it looks now.. and you can see where i tried a little on the intake manifold and scrubbed with a hard nylon brush.

maybe i'll get around to washing the actual engine compartment sometime this weekend.

fredk · 08-28-2009, 10:37 AM

a pressure washer cleans all

white90dx · 08-28-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clhdrums

Still not completely spotless but i'm pretty proud of how it looks now.. and you can see where i tried a little on the intake manifold and scrubbed with a hard nylon brush.

maybe i'll get around to washing the actual engine compartment sometime this weekend.

Cast aluminum parts are really hard to keep clean. You have to be diligent about it constantly and clean any grease/dirt off quickly or it soaks in... And if you think the Alltrac engine bay is clean, you should see my WRX engine bay. 107k miles, and it looks better than new.

Of course, I clean it and treat all the rubber parts pretty often and have owned it since new.

(that's the best picture of the engine bay I have online)

-Charlie

Wangan · 09-02-2009, 10:22 AM

damn charlie that engine blanket is pretty clean on yours. Mine has rips and stuff. I'm contemplating getting a new one to help with appearances under my hood.