Cleaning Engine Bay

jhayregz · May 7th, 2006, 09:08 PM

Well I havent really dont any engine bay cleaning/detailing on a VW before.
Any hints?
What to cover, what not to spray.

kthnxbai

p.s. this if for a MKV, but Im sure it might be the same as MKIV's

96Trek · May 7th, 2006, 11:25 PM

When I do my engine bay (mk3) the only thing I cover is the alternator... not sure if that any...

Bpanther007 · May 8th, 2006, 04:16 AM

Be sure to check sparkplug wires and boots plus the cap for any cracks, chips and that it is on properly to keep water out of high tension circuits.

Cyrus #1 · May 8th, 2006, 09:11 AM

On mine I just use some degreaser like simple green. I just use a garden hose and don't bother covering anything. If you use a pressure washer you may want to be more cautious. As long as you don't shoot water at any electrical connections you should be fine.

Sam2 · May 8th, 2006, 09:48 AM

Yeah make sure you don't take it in to get it steam cleaned. I did that and lost a plug in the transfer case, the rad fan would turn on when the engine turned off, and the car stopped running eventually untill it randomly felt better and was fine. We left it at the Volkswagen dealer for a few days and they didn't even know what was causing the problems.

Oh, and some clear-coat chipped off the front left fender.

On the plus side it was clean and any leaks were easy to spot.

Jessica · May 12th, 2006, 10:16 PM

You have a mkV and your engine bay is already dirty!? I second the use of simple green and gentle water flow. Effective and relatively safe. Tire shine works really well on the plastic engine cover.

vw91vr6 · June 2nd, 2006, 09:52 PM

I bought one of those brass drill bit brushes to clean up my VR6. All surface rust was polished off and the block looked frieken' clean after that. Then I covered up all that shiny metal with a flat black engine paint and it looks pimp.

I did the same to my tranny and it's sparkly clean. Not gonna paint the tranny though.

As for general engine cleaning, I prefer Mr. Sparkle. :boink:

Pocari Sweat · June 3rd, 2006, 12:46 AM

For my VR6, I'd cover up my spark plug wires like Bpanther007 suggested. When I cleaned my engine bay, I was sprinkling pre soak then rinsing it out with the low pressure rinse. Apparently I got some water in my valves and it caused missfiring. Brought it to the stealership to get it dried. Hard lesson learned. And just incase, I'd cover my coilpacks too, better safe than sorry.

Enjoy! Heh.

Malachi · October 15th, 2006, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pocari Sweat

For my VR6, I'd cover up my spark plug wires like Bpanther007 suggested. When I cleaned my engine bay, I was sprinkling pre soak then rinsing it out with the low pressure rinse. Apparently I got some water in my valves and it caused missfiring. Brought it to the [size=medium]stealership[/size] to get it dried. Hard lesson learned. And just incase, I'd cover my coilpacks too, better safe than sorry.

Enjoy! Heh.

Lol thats a good one

riskey58 · August 1st, 2007, 08:58 PM

Thank you for all the information. I have always wanted to clean my engine, but was not sure if I had to cover anything before cleaning it.

May 7th, 2006, 09:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
jhayregz Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 144	Cleaning Engine Bay Well I havent really dont any engine bay cleaning/detailing on a VW before. Any hints? What to cover, what not to spray. kthnxbai p.s. this if for a MKV, but Im sure it might be the same as MKIV's

May 7th, 2006, 11:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
96Trek Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 376	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay When I do my engine bay (mk3) the only thing I cover is the alternator... not sure if that any...

May 8th, 2006, 04:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
Bpanther007 Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 18	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay Be sure to check sparkplug wires and boots plus the cap for any cracks, chips and that it is on properly to keep water out of high tension circuits.

May 8th, 2006, 09:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cyrus #1 Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 106	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay On mine I just use some degreaser like simple green. I just use a garden hose and don't bother covering anything. If you use a pressure washer you may want to be more cautious. As long as you don't shoot water at any electrical connections you should be fine.

May 8th, 2006, 09:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
Sam2 Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay Yeah make sure you don't take it in to get it steam cleaned. I did that and lost a plug in the transfer case, the rad fan would turn on when the engine turned off, and the car stopped running eventually untill it randomly felt better and was fine. We left it at the Volkswagen dealer for a few days and they didn't even know what was causing the problems. Oh, and some clear-coat chipped off the front left fender. On the plus side it was clean and any leaks were easy to spot.

May 12th, 2006, 10:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jessica Super Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 457	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay You have a mkV and your engine bay is already dirty!? I second the use of simple green and gentle water flow. Effective and relatively safe. Tire shine works really well on the plastic engine cover.

June 2nd, 2006, 09:52 PM	#7 (permalink)
vw91vr6 Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 169	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay I bought one of those brass drill bit brushes to clean up my VR6. All surface rust was polished off and the block looked frieken' clean after that. Then I covered up all that shiny metal with a flat black engine paint and it looks pimp. I did the same to my tranny and it's sparkly clean. Not gonna paint the tranny though. As for general engine cleaning, I prefer Mr. Sparkle. :boink:

June 3rd, 2006, 12:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
Pocari Sweat Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 90	RE: Cleaning Engine Bay For my VR6, I'd cover up my spark plug wires like Bpanther007 suggested. When I cleaned my engine bay, I was sprinkling pre soak then rinsing it out with the low pressure rinse. Apparently I got some water in my valves and it caused missfiring. Brought it to the stealership to get it dried. Hard lesson learned. And just incase, I'd cover my coilpacks too, better safe than sorry. Enjoy! Heh.

August 1st, 2007, 08:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
riskey58 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 145	Re: Cleaning Engine Bay Thank you for all the information. I have always wanted to clean my engine, but was not sure if I had to cover anything before cleaning it.


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