[caffine]

After recently fixing a oil leak & a power steering fluid leak - I went under the car last night and found much of the underside of the engine area (parts & under panels) coated with oil & dirt & general filth.

Any suggestions as what to use to clean it all?

Apparently not a Power washer - with all the concerns of the old wiring & rubber parts.

But what of Simple Green or engine degreaser products followed by a low pressure hose rinse?

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[flash]

brakekleen works pretty well

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[Darryl]

+1 on brake cleaner...simple green or simple green HD (Heavy Duty, the purple stuff) will work well too as well as any of the engine degreasers and you'll probably find that a combination of all of the above works best. Get a couple of long handle stiff bristle brushes for the hard to reach areas and a pair of goggles. Glove up and dive in!

- Darryl

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[timbits]

I've heard that Simple Green can discolor aluminimum, but I've never actually tried it myself. Has anyone actually used Simple Green to clean their engine? Noticed and ill effects?

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[flash]

i just did this - my oil cooler line blew and dumped all of the oil across the underside of the car - worked great - easy, quick, controllable

wear eye protection and gloves

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[bob blackwell]

I have been using Simple Green to clean my engine for years and have not had any discoloration of any alloy components. It works well and is biodegradable too! Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[flash]

i've had mostly good experiences with simple green - however, i have had it discolor some things, but always because i didn't get it rinsed off, and always on aluminum

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[gryphon]

<!--quoteo(post=75471:date=Jul 13 2009, 01:48 PM:name=bob blackwell)-->QUOTE (bob blackwell @ Jul 13 2009, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I have been using Simple Green to clean my engine for years and have not had any discoloration of any alloy components. It works well and is biodegradable too! Good luck, Bob Blackwell.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

+1

good stuff

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[Johannvb]

I just had the Porsche main dealer do it for me for 20 Euro...much easier than doing it at home [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

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[flash]

lol - always the easy way to do that - let somebody else do it - sure wish we had that service around here - a couple of the car washes offer underbody stuff, but they really don't get in there and get it very well

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[caffine]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

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[Gregg]

A lift and brake cleaner,watch out for the drops !

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[rxter]

Sounds simple but I want to check before I go nuts with this stuff.

1) Lift car on ramps or jack stands and chock wheels
2) Spray the simple green (or purple - which?) all over everything???
3) Let sit for XXX minutes
4) Scrub with brush (is this really necessary?)
5) Hose off with garden hose or use pressure washer?

Would like to avoid teh brake cleaner if possible - already enough toxic crap that will be coming off the car.

Thanks

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[flash]

did the simple green thing - didn't work very well on the denali

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[PorscheDude]

I just did a bunch of cleaning on my 951. I had lost all my power steering fluid and had big mess. 
I changed the steering rack and converted to late offset struts, mounts, hubs, spindles and rotors while keeping the car early offset.
 
Anyhow, as I worked, I cleaned. I used degreaser and brake cleaner, with lots of rags, a scrapper, brushes and even srewdrivers to get into tight cornors. No power washer, just elbo "grease".
I put a big piece of cardboard under the car to keep the floor somewhat clean.  
It took allot of time to remove 24 years of dirt and grime. I can't say how long it took because I did lots of other maintaince along the way.  
 
Also, if you use brakecleaner, make sure the area is well ventilated.  

These are the only pics I took during reassembly. If you want to clean your fender liners, they come out very easily. 
 

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[Ryan]

Dude, nice job...looks like new.

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[biotechee]

My jealousy level just shot through the roof- looks great Pat. Let me know when you want to come to my house and burn off more of that elbow grease!

My naughty bits are in need of a serious cleaning! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img]

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[PorscheDude]

Cheers guys!

Jim, sounds like a good job for the wife...

There's really "nothin' to it, but to do it"

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[porsche]

wow! great results!!!

As I live near the beach, I'm super conscious of what goes in the gutter (and quickly into the surf)!

So, I take my P-cars to my local detail shop who has a "catch" for the runoff, 4-post lift and heated 2,700psi power washer.

The "engine cleaners" will remove the "film" on various metal parts (like the "skin" on top of chocolate pudding, which I want to keep). Thus, I go with the Simple Green (as above, bio-degradable and leaves the "skin").

Mist on the Simple Green, let sit for 15-20 minutes; and then have-at-it with the hot high pressure.

Dawning a "rain" suit, booties and full face shield, I power wash right down to the nooks-and-crannies

Once done, it'll pass a "white glove" test.

2 cents,
Porsche

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