Anyone know of a good way to clean the engine without screwing up the engine its self? I just want it to look less dirty when I open the hood to show what I have under
Use Simple Green or Orange Blast etc. You don't need to cover your electrical, I never have and I clean my engine once a month. I do cover my CAI filter.
It's best to do it when the engine is cold.
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2005: Banks, K&N CAI, Stillen Big Brakes, Stillen Transmission valve body mod. Detroit Trutrac, PRG TRACTION BARS, ODYSEY BATTERY [b]BLUE LED DASH LIGHTS MOD STILLEN RADIATOR
1997 PATHFINDER w/ original engine and and diff. (Tranny died at 473,000 Rebuilt by Aamco )
Odometer reads 500,000 miles . 9/06/2009. Totaled on 9/13/09. R.I.P.
Nice variety of answers. Steam is no longer recommended for any engines, as the steam will get inside electrical connections and form condensation which is trapped inside and forms corrosion. Cold water is best, or cold pressurized water, if kept away from certain areas. Remember that the starter islocated under the Intake cover, and on person ruined their starter, by cleaning the engine and getting the muddy water in the starter. Simple Green is an excellent cleaner. You can wipe the engine parts dry and use armour all to finish it off, sense it has so much plastic. A warm, not hot, engine is OK to aid in the cleaning action.
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2006 XE CC Pref Pkg BT with AEM Brute Force CAI, PowerAid TB Spacer, TB Reversed Valve ByPass Mod, 2007+ Intake, JBA Headers, MagnaFlow 24" Muffler, 2008+ Rear Axle, Stillen: F & R Sway Bars, Black Diff Cover, Engine Dress Up Kit, 4 pc StreetScene SS Mesh Grille, PRG Street Traction Bars, UpRev Osiris Tuner 93 Performance Tuned, 18" SE Rims, Functional Hood Scoop, Custom Graphics ...
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2006 King Cab, LE, 2WD Radiant Silver, Born 04/06, Bought by me on 06/27/06 Click here for a list of my mods-Click here to see my photo gallery
[color="Blue"][QUOTE=TitanBlue]Nice variety of answers. Steam is no longer recommended for any engines, as the steam will get inside electrical connections and form condensation which is trapped inside and forms corrosion. Cold water is best, or cold pressurized water, if kept away from certain areas. Remember that the starter islocated under the Intake cover, and on person ruined their starter, by cleaning the engine and getting the muddy water in the starter. Simple Green is an excellent cleaner. You can wipe the engine parts dry and use armour all to finish it off, sense it has so much plastic. A warm, not hot, engine is OK to aid in the cleaning action.[/QUOTEI respectfully disagree.
If that was true, then on rainy days our electrical systems would fail when ever we drove our trucks through a puddle or when off roading through mud and water.
I have 62K miles on my truck and Thousands of miles on other vehicles I've owned without any problems after cleaning the engines.
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2005: Banks, K&N CAI, Stillen Big Brakes, Stillen Transmission valve body mod. Detroit Trutrac, PRG TRACTION BARS, ODYSEY BATTERY [b]BLUE LED DASH LIGHTS MOD STILLEN RADIATOR
1997 PATHFINDER w/ original engine and and diff. (Tranny died at 473,000 Rebuilt by Aamco )
Odometer reads 500,000 miles . 9/06/2009. Totaled on 9/13/09. R.I.P.
303 Aerospace cleaner and finish up with 303 Aerospace protectant. If it's good enough to clean up oil spills which is what it was invented for, it's good enough to clean my engine. Keep em shiney,
__________________ IRC VK56 Member "BIG CHIEF WANNARACEUM"
2005 XE, "Land Shark",1/4 MILE: 13.851 AT 98.52 Full Street Trim on Snow Tires Record HolderBuild date 3/05
Performance mods: UpRev, JWT cams, NISMO CAI, NISMO True Duals with Dr Gas Xpipe, NISMO Headers with Swain's White Lightning Coating, Suncoast Ram Air Hood, Tru Trac, Burnout mod
Stereo mods: Pioneer Premier DEH-P880PRS head unit, Audison LRX 4/300 Amp, Boston 6x9 coaxials front & Focal 6.5 coaxial rears with JL tweeters in dash.
[color="Blue"][QUOTE=TitanBlue]Nice variety of answers. Steam is no longer recommended for any engines, as the steam will get inside electrical connections and form condensation which is trapped inside and forms corrosion. Cold water is best, or cold pressurized water, if kept away from certain areas. Remember that the starter islocated under the Intake cover, and on person ruined their starter, by cleaning the engine and getting the muddy water in the starter. Simple Green is an excellent cleaner. You can wipe the engine parts dry and use armour all to finish it off, sense it has so much plastic. A warm, not hot, engine is OK to aid in the cleaning action.[/QUOTEI respectfully disagree.
If that was true, then on rainy days our electrical systems would fail when ever we drove our trucks through a puddle or when off roading through mud and water.
I have 62K miles on my truck and Thousands of miles on other vehicles I've owned without any problems after cleaning the engines.
I understand your point, but still stand by my statement, which referred mostly to "steam". Water can still do it though. GMC Sierra Distributors of about 2001 had TSB's because of this. I've had our cap replaced 3 times due to moisture inside the cap, exactly like the TSB stated. Had it towed in once. My point is that "steam" can penetrate where water would normally not penetrate the seals. Steam is a much different animal. I would never steam clean my home computer or electrical devices leading to it. Failures do occur at times in harsh enviroments. The ensuing corrosion will occur later than just 62K, but it can happen. Not saying it has to happen. I work on wet electrical systems quite a bit. It takes time...
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2006 XE CC Pref Pkg BT with AEM Brute Force CAI, PowerAid TB Spacer, TB Reversed Valve ByPass Mod, 2007+ Intake, JBA Headers, MagnaFlow 24" Muffler, 2008+ Rear Axle, Stillen: F & R Sway Bars, Black Diff Cover, Engine Dress Up Kit, 4 pc StreetScene SS Mesh Grille, PRG Street Traction Bars, UpRev Osiris Tuner 93 Performance Tuned, 18" SE Rims, Functional Hood Scoop, Custom Graphics ...
But my point is that you don't have to worry about cleaning your engine. If a starter fails, it was not because you cleaned or steamed the engine.
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2005: Banks, K&N CAI, Stillen Big Brakes, Stillen Transmission valve body mod. Detroit Trutrac, PRG TRACTION BARS, ODYSEY BATTERY [b]BLUE LED DASH LIGHTS MOD STILLEN RADIATOR
1997 PATHFINDER w/ original engine and and diff. (Tranny died at 473,000 Rebuilt by Aamco )
Odometer reads 500,000 miles . 9/06/2009. Totaled on 9/13/09. R.I.P.
A wet rag then a little armorall. I guess it all depends on how dirty the engine compartment is.
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2006 Crew Cab SE 4x4
Alert Red
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Utility Bed, Spray In Bed Liner
Zoomer Exhaust, Fram Boost ll Cold Air Intake
2* Timing Advance
20%Tinted Windows, Tinted AVS Bug Shield
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I understand your point, but still stand by my statement, which referred mostly to "steam". Water can still do it though. GMC Sierra Distributors of about 2001 had TSB's because of this. I've had our cap replaced 3 times due to moisture inside the cap, exactly like the TSB stated.
yeah but... i thought the VK56 is a distributor-less design, so no having to deal with distributor caps and such.
I use simple green or purple eater from pep boys and pressure washer or just the water hose. Works great, and I don't cover anything except maybee my Injen CAI now that it's on. And I don't clean the motor while it's hot, cold maybee a little warm.
I just use a bucket of hot water with dish soap and 3 different size brushes, toilet brush, flexible 8 inch long medium bristled brush and an old tooth brush. once everything is scrubbed, I rinse, wait to dry and see if I missed any spots. If you like shiny, I have seen people use tire shine foam on their engines and makes it sparkle.
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2005 Galaxy black XE 4X4 - NCD 2.5" leveling kit - K&N Drop in filter and airbox snorkel "chop off" mod - Goodyear Wrangler tires with Silent Armor
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