Cleaning the engine

[jimw1010]

What it the best product to safely clean the grut and build up off your engine without damaging anything electric. I heard wet and dry rags was the safest but was wondering if there are any products which make the cleaning easier.

[abakos]

Jim Powell has a good writeup on his site.

go to www.apexcone.com and get to his personal page, just look around :) Other members have said good things, I've not tried his method yet.

[jimw1010]

I checked out his site, it was pretty good. Basically he says degreaser, rinse then armoral....any suggestions on which degreaser?

[GKGreen]

I usually cover up the electric parts with aluminum foil, and then use a degreaser and then gently spray the areas with water. Then go in with a brush and towel and clean the rest. Once everything is clean, apply a rubber dressing to protect and beautify.

[frKENm3]

hey jimw1010 take a look at the thread i started, there was alot of helpful stuff that people said.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69947

hope that helps

[frKENm3]

o ya, try simple green....that wrks well with me....

[jimw1010]

Thanks that other thread was very helpful....take home point, be very careful and don't use a firehose to rinse :nono I'll give it a try when the weather warms up in the northeast....maybe 3 months!!! Winter sucks

[318ti - Fred]

The information on this thread is great. I used Simple Green (50/50) to clean, followed by a good shower with Lexol Vinylex. It looks great. And I'm sure it runs better now too ;-)

I didn't bother covering any of the electrical. I just used low pressure to rinse and aimed down so water wouldn't be forced into areas like the wiring harness, fuse box, etc.

[Ben Carufel]

I usually don't use anything to cover up electrics either. You don't need to blast the dirt off with the hose...

FWIW, I've found that Eagle1 A2Z Wheel Cleaner works wonders on engines. The stuff in the translucent orange bottle. Too bad it's not so hot on wheels...

[FredS]

Simple Green