I notice the xb's engine gets quite dusty and dirty quickly, is there any special way to clean the engine? Or do i just blast it with the hose ?

 

blasting with a hose is good and nothing really harmful, just you know.. engine off and let dry.. sorta thing..

but uhm.. for some plastic panels, i've used meguiar's products, and it seems to keep the dust off very well even after miles of driving.

it looks good and it ends up being easier to dust off as well if needed.

 

Here is a good write up

http://www.clubxb.com/forums/f33/600...e-compartment/

 

good diy but it scares the hell outta me that you can spray water into the engine bay and, from the looks of it, on the alternator!!! im just gonna get that spray cleaner and a ton of towels/old shirts and clean it like that... no water!!!!
- sh00k

 

yes it does scare me.

 

Why does it scare you to spray water on your engine? Same thing happens when you drive in the rain. They make those components to endure that type of environment.

 

LAZY ENGINE CLEANING METHOD: leaving the hood open in the rain.

 

NO ZOMGXB DO NOT leave your hood open in the rain....cause with your luck it will turn to freezing rain and you will have another ice related incident

 

thats a good one Ted, and guys its not gonna mess up the alt to hose it out, using engine cleaner will however eat the windings in the alt and get in connections and mess them up, computer companies tell you to run keyboards through a dishwasher when they get dirty, a little soapy water sprayed under the hood, works just fine, nothing that will eat paint or has a wax in it though, and don't spray it on the hood liner

 

so blasting it with water is ok??? i was afraid the alternator would blow up and i would die. lol. i sprayed this alternator cleaner on my previous car and the next day i had alternator problems. so i just don't mess with the engine anymore.

 

nah you don't spray chemicals, you can do light degreasers and stuff like that, nothing acidic, if your battery starts to leak acid you pour either a coke or baking soda on everythign covered in acid right? well you gotta clean that up somehow, water and soap, I'm trying to think of a brand that doesn't have wax in it but most of your car wash soaps have a wax substance in it

 

I just put my gold class in the Mr. Clean gun, suds it up and rinse with the spot free. I always get comments on how clean it is. Low pressure and a cool motor is the key. Of course I've just kept it clean with every wash since it was new. It's easier to keep clean that way.

 

Is there any components or electrical devices that should be covered (with plastic?)

 

Not really. You must remember that under the hood is a "wet" area. Water spray all thru here in the rain. Used to be that distributor caps had to be kept kinda dry as they leaked, but, in these days of direct firing ignitions and better distributor design you do not have to worry about it really. I prefer not to high pressure hose directly on a distributor cap nor into electrical stuff, but washing and rinsing these is no big deal. High pressure everywhere else rocks!!

 

I hose my engine down before every show and make some parts shiny (you can do this...just take it easy on the shiny...you'll dry out your hoses and such after too long)

 

Lightly hose down the engine with mist setting, with a shpritz of orange soapstuff to suds off the dirt, the DIY says it all, especially if you can get your buddy to do it for you!

 

I'm not the original poster, but I want to thank everybody here. This is something I've been wondering for months and too chicken to ask. I KNEW that all sorts of water had been flying around the engine compartment (I mean...I'm assuming that's where the mud came from), but didn't know what to do about it. Thanks!

You REMEMBER that? Great, JUST the legacy I want to leave! "Hi, I'm ZOMGxB, and everytime it snows something stupid happens to my car!" :D

Though you're probably right - something stupid will happen. And then I'll be up here posting like "NESTING BIRDS HAVE MOVED INTO MY ENGINE COMPARTMENT...NOW WHAT?"

 

Simple green did good for me!!!!

 

Have to be carefull with stuff like Simple Green and even more carefull with even heavier cleaners. There are alot of aluminum parts in there that will discolor if strong caustic cleaners are used. Even Simple Green which is relatively benign compared to alot of what is on the market could discolor some parts if used in high enough concentrations or left too long. Gunk engine degreaser (Made for engines yes??) will discolor some alloys if left soaking too long ( I have had it happen). Cleaning often with what you use on the outside is safer. Carefull application of stronger cleaners as needed to remove spilled oils etc.

 

^^ very true ^^ when we wash the F-15s at work, we delute Simple Green so it wont eat the paint or discolor the plane...some one would get it if our gray jets went to green!!!