Cleaning Engine Bay

I'm thinking of steam cleaning it as its got quite grubby. Is that a sensible idea or plain daft?

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Great idea! Do it every 6 months.

Wow! That looks so clean, do you have to be mindful of any areas?

Just look out for electronics and tubes I also used a silicon detailer spray to make al tubes black again.

Loads of components under the bonnet are protected against water ingress and corrosion with long-lasting waxy coatings. Steam cleaning will remove these and the steam may penetrate electronic connectors. Steam cleaning makes everything look nice but opens up a whole world of long-term problems. I wouldn't ever steam clean an engine bay. I suggest you just wash the plastics off with warm soapy water.

There should be no wax in the engine bay area, even the toughest anti corrosion wax based coating would melt way with the temperatures that could can be reached, as the engine bay area will get to over 100deg, just after a regen or when the engine is shutdown and is left to cook on a hot sunny day.

I don't believe it would do any long term damage, but I would not want to be doing it every 6 months, and as above hot soapy water with a bit of degreaser would be better.

I use Autoglym Engine Cleaner on mine. I am always nervous using a pressure washer under the bonnet, so find the Autoglym, a soft brush for the stubborn parts (the Autoglym wheel brush is firm but soft) and a low pressure hose to rinse off works really well. This was my last C7 at just under 4 years old and 80k miles just before I sold it. I hadn't used the detailer spray when I took the photo.Attachment 33335

This stuff has worked well for me over the years:

Astonish C1606 750ml Engine Degreaser: Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

As above, work it in with a soft paint brush then a light mist from a hose on low or use water spray bottle. Once dry use a dash protector on the plastics, but never actually use it for your dash :biglaugh:

My engine bay looks like that any day.

Every time I wash the car I spray snow form (which is what I wash the car with) just mildly and then wash it off with the pressure washer though at not so high pressure just to get the soap off. I go easy on electronics such as headlights, spark plugs, etc.

Grub never builds up.


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Thanks for all the valuable advice. I cleaned the bay as much as I could but it's got over four years of grease and grime so is decided to get it detailed instead. Does anyone know a good detailer in West Yorkshire?