Honda Car Forum

I have a 97 accord with 130K miles. The engine compartment is filthy
and I would like it to look as clean as my exterior, especially before
I eventually sell it. It seems that the consesus is to use something
mild like simple green and to spray it on a cool engine and then after
rinse with low pressure water.
It is not clear however which under hood components need to be covered
up to prevent damage by water or simple green. I would like to tap the
experience of Honda owners who regulary clean their engine bays and
ask what they cover up when doing this procedure and with what do you
cover it with. Thanks

Joe Blo wrote:
> I have a 97 accord with 130K miles. The engine compartment is filthy
> and I would like it to look as clean as my exterior, especially before
> I eventually sell it. It seems that the consesus is to use something
> mild like simple green and to spray it on a cool engine and then after
> rinse with low pressure water.
> It is not clear however which under hood components need to be covered
> up to prevent damage by water or simple green. I would like to tap the
> experience of Honda owners who regulary clean their engine bays and
> ask what they cover up when doing this procedure and with what do you
> cover it with. Thanks

my 98 civic has about 46k miles on it. i basically just use the pressure
washer on it yearly, avoiding the distributor, alternator, and wiring
jumctions by not training the gun on em.

i do hit up the tranny, inside fenderwalls, underneath the hood, intake
runner area, engine head and block, (especially the backside, where the
oil filter is) and spray the radiator and A/C condensor from the inside
out. it basically looks new.

i make sure i run it for a while, preferably on the freeway for a bit
before shutting it off.

I'd be very carefull with high pressure wands on the radiator and
condenser fins. They will flatten quite easily, and if they're
painted black, you can take all the paint off too. Don't get in there
trying to get the bugs off with it, in other words.

I gave up cleaning engines years ago, for the most part. Every time I
did it, it would cost me $125 for a new elecrical part that failed
within a few days after it got wet. That was a pos GM, not Honda.
Never the less, on the rare occasions that I still do it (prompted by
a coolant spill or such), I don't try to make it clean enough to eat
off of. Avoid alternators, relays, and such like the plague. The last
step is to rinse it down with a gallon of distilled water. It dries
spot-free and looks pretty good.

JM