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Cleaning: The Bhr Legacy


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Alittle knowledge is a dangerous thing...

So is alot.

Albert Einstein

 

 

Part 3: Engine bay cleaning.

 

This is the shortest and simplest of all guides, it will contain the proper way to clean the engine bay of a millenia S, and a safe way for all others, in addition I will explain how to clean neglected engine bays on older cars.

 

I take NO responsibility for any damage caused by using this guide, when all steps are followed properly and warnings are adhered to this is exactly what the professionals do, however, there is little room for error, should you chose for example to do this without the engine bay cool you can crack the block and will require a new engine, do this at your own risk and make sure to follow all steps to the letter. Please note that I have posted 2 methods, under the first there is little to no danger and worst case is that you pull something out and can easily plug it back in, under the 2nd it is much faster, but remember, do it at your own risk

 

 

 

What you will need

 

Turtle wax car wash wipes

Terry cloth app pad

Mothers "back to black"

Bathroom towel rag.

Meguiers tire shine/tire shine gel

“tuff stuff”cleaner…or any strong household cleaner

“gunk” engine cleaner *optional, see last steps

 

 

I recommend doing this after the car has been running and then cooled for a few hours, ideally you want everything to be luke warm. The first step is to simply brush off the super lose dirt with the towel, remember to remove the engine cover until the end, as well as any grease or oil you spot. From there (and yes by hand) take the car wash wipe and proceed to wipe down the entire engine bay, every cable, cord, fuse box, cover vin plate, head light cover, part of the grill which stays inside, even on the sides where water runs off, everything. This is extremely annoying, and takes probably 20 mins, but due to all teh electrical connections and unknown computers in a modern engine bay it truly is the safest. Now on anything such as piping that still isn’t completely clean, apply whatever strong household cleaner you have and clean as directed.

 

Once this is done find all the metal that you have painted from engine dress kits etc. In a stock millennia S engine bay I recommend the intercooler piping. Take the tire shine and apply a single coat to whatever is painted from you or the factory (no chrome pats such as intakes etc) after this its time to put the final touches on, the back to black. Please note that this is not a wax, and is not only for black, it is a product made for “mothers” that is only meant for plastic such as bumper trim etc. Shake bottle extremely well, get your app pad and apply like there is no tomorrow to the following items, anything plastic. In my engine bays I do the engine cover, airbox, fuse boxes, cables with protective coverings, front plastic that covers headlights etc, basically anything that’s plastic cover. Wait 10 mins or so, then buff those pieces.

 

That’s basically it for the safe method, even if you don’t care about how clean your engine bay is, the cleaner it is the better everything performs, cleaner engine bays stay cooler in the summer and are easier to heat up in the winter, in effect, all the dirt is like a blanket around everything, causing it to hold heat or not let it in. Should you ever decide to sell your car a clean engine bay is 99.9% of the time a sing that the car was well taken care of.

 

Method 2.

 

Lets say you have an older car and don’t have to go anywhere for awhile (I recommend doing this on a weekend morning or at night when you get home)

 

The best way is to have the engine just running for a little bit to get everything WARM, and when I say warm, I mean like room temp, nothing above, this is extremely important as you can actually crack the block. Take off the engine cover and with your hand feel around as much as you can, make sure its cool, infact, if you don’t know much about cars or don’t know what doing, just do this when cold, the only reason to do it warm is to assist in loosening some of the dirt.

 

Now with a hose (no nozzle at all) wet down the engine bay, from there spray “gunk” all over, then let sit for 5 mins or so, after this, after with no nozzle on the hose rinse down the engine bay, fairly well at that, but not in the same spot, always keep the hose moving.

 

After this is done you will need to towel off as much as you can, what I personally do is actually get a leaf blower and use it as the worlds largest hair dryer. But you can just towel dry, from there, proceed with above steps for applying mothers to all plastic pieces and the tire shine to painted, non chrome metal pieces.

 

VERY IMPORTANT, after you wash the engine bay it is best to leave it open in a sunny area for ATLEAST 5 hours before starting the engine. IF done before you risk water or so pooling around the plugs and causing a misfire. It is best to do this in a driveway when your going to be outside and can just watch it and have it open.

 

 

 

 

*update* Due to my ownership of multiply cars I would like to add the following, its best to simply disconnect a terminal of the battery and cover completely with electrical tape, this way you can freely wash everything without fear of doing damage. In edition, if you MUST go, let it dry for an hour, then get a leaf blower to air dry, then start the engine and let it idle to get rid of any other water, it may take 1-2 tries to get the engine started, also, please note, ALITTLE smoke is normal, this is simply because you've displaced grease which may be on something much hotter then where it was before, if something is clearly on fire. I would turn the engine off

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