DIY: Clean-up Everything Under The Hood

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DIY: Clean-up Everything Under The Hood

Post by kyleabaker »

After a couple free days spent cleaning my 1995 325is, I have cleaned it from the inside out.

I was able to clean under the hood very well and it's not expensive at all.

Disclaimer: Warning, possible electrical damage can occur if you are not careful. Follow this guide at your own risk. I am not responsible for the actions your take from this guide.

What you will need:
* Degreaser (I used 409 Multi-purpose)
* 2-3 Plastic bags
* 2-3 Rubber bands
* Pressure washer (or you can do this at a car wash)
* Brush to scrub parts of the motor with (make sure it's an old one, cause it will most likely end up with a lot of grease on it later)

Make sure that you have all of the items you need to complete this engine clean-up.

1. Take the plastic bags and place one bag around your air intake and tuck the other in above your DME (passenger size). You can use the rubber bands to secure the plastic bags in place. Make sure that your DME is covered well, so that the water will no leak into this area. Fasten the bag over the DME as well as you can, but don't worry if you can't get it attached perfect, cause we won't be spraying this area directly.

2. With you pressure washer, spray the engine down so that everything is wet (if your engine is hot, it will dry quickly, so spray it well). Make an effort not to spray directly on the plastic bags. Also, you would be wise to not spray within approximately 4-6 inches of the bags, just to avoid some problems later.

3. Grab your 409 and quickly spray down the entire engine and all of the parts that you can get to under the hood. I even sprayed the hood clothe down very well to remove grease and dust from it. You can't really use too much of this stuff.

4. (Optional) With the brush that you brought, scrub down any parts that you think may need an extra bit of cleaning. You might even want to spray more degreaser on these areas after you finish scrubbing.

5. Let the chemicals work for a few minutes to do as much as they possibly can. If you engine is warm and you can see most of it drying quickly, then you may not be able to wait as long.

6. Spray down your engine thoroughly, but make sure that you're not spraying too close to the plastic bags. After you've cleaned the engine, move up to the hood clothe (it may take some time to get the degreaser out of this). If the hood clothe is holding too much moisture and wants to close, simply rinse off the engine again and let the hood down for a few minutes until enough water has drained for it to hold it's own weight again.

7. Repeat this process as you see fit.

8. Remove plastic bags only when your hood has stopping draining a significant amount of water.

9. Take a clothe later to the parts that you were unable to reach and clean up around the air intake and DME.

10. Pickup your supplies and close your hood!

It may take some time for your hood clothe to completely dry. I left mine sitting open for the rest of the day (in the warm sun) and it seemed to be mostly dry.

Hopefully after everything is finished, you will enjoy a shining clean engine!
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