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Looking to degrease my engine

SubwayGuy

SubwayGuy

Who is this guy?
I recently was finally able to replace my valve cover gasket so now I want to get rid of the all the oil thats been pooling up for years. I bought O'Reilly heavy duty engine degreaser. Now a while ago, I was adding some oil to my car while it was hot and some oil spilled on the headers and started on fire. Lesson learned, but my question is, when I use the degreaser on the oil deposits and it lands on the headers, will that start on fire? Do I need to wash it off with a hose when I'm all one, and if so, what should I cover up, the alternator? Thanks.
 


Yep. I just cover the alt and spray away. Just don't use a pressure washer on it, lol.. Might get a stiff bristled brush for the baked on junk. Like the one you use for pots/pans. Should be at any dollar store. Scrubbed up my VC's nicely when I did it.
 
Do with the engine cold and it won't be a cause for concern.

Just spray everything down with degreaser and let it set, grab a old ****ty brush or something and start scrubbing. Let it sit for a few minutes and then hose it down. Everything can get wet under the hood, just be smart and not directly spray the alternator with water.
 
get the car on ramps first, then get some old crappy cloths on, get under the car and spray the bottom of it down first, from the pass side wheel well you can spray the tranny down pretty good too. then spray the top down.

let it sit how ever long the can says then i just spray it all down, but no direct blasting of the alt. its all water proof under the hood.

if you have a compressor or a leaf blower, you can blow the water off the top of the engine when done. or just let it dry on its own.
 
So just spray the offending areas and then brush it? I don't own a pressure washer so I'll be using a normal garden hose. I'll probably cover the alternator just to be on the safe side, but the electrical connectors don't need to be covered or anything?
 
nope. all weather tight connections, spray at will.

get like 2 or 3 cans too. one can is never enough. you'll be doing it two times easy. one can will soak the whole engine and bay well, but like i said, its never enough.
 


ScottyDoggs said:
nope. all weather tight connections, spray at will.

get like 2 or 3 cans too. one can is never enough. you'll be doing it two times easy. one can will soak the whole engine and bay well, but like i said, its never enough.
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I got 2 cans because it was $5 for 2 and they're pretty large cans too so I think it will be enough.
 
oh, rule #1 here is to do this in a area you dont care about, if your engine is super nasty you'll leave a oil mess in your driveway and could stain it.

if the hose reaches the street do it there, or over some grass or dirt area.
 


ScottyDoggs said:
oh, rule #1 here is to do this in a area you dont care about, if your engine is super nasty you'll leave a oil mess in your driveway and could stain it.

if the hose reaches the street do it there, or over some grass or dirt area.
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I've got a pretty large piece of card board I was gonna use. It's like 6'x3' piece that I normally use when I lay on the ground and do work underneath. The road isn't the best option as the road I live on is really busy and I don't wanna get hit or something. Do you think the cardboard will catch most of the oil?
 
it will help for sure. but its trash now lol time for that nice new cardboard box. wash the drive way down asap when done.

i went through 5 large boxes doing my engine swap. had em as a floor covering under and a round the car. made sliding under it nice. and it caught all the mess i made.
 
go get a few cheap cans of the foam wheel and tire degreaser/brake dust cleaner. Spray everything until its nice and white and foamy let it sit for a bit then hose it down.......

i usually hose engine down with some tire foam and blast it out every few washes at home and rarely use drive through gateway to hell automatic car washes lol.....
 
i tried that tire foam crap once. ill never do it again. all it did was make the engine super dirty fast, as every last spec of dirt sticks to it.
 
ScottyDoggs said:
it will help for sure. but its trash now lol time for that nice new cardboard box. wash the drive way down asap when done.

i went through 5 large boxes doing my engine swap. had em as a floor covering under and a round the car. made sliding under it nice. and it caught all the mess i made.
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Yeah that cardboard piece is in the trash now. I used dish soap on the rainbow parts of the driveway. I also used a leaf blower to speed up the drying time. The worst part in my opinion is starting the engine and seeing all the smoke come up because you don't really know if it's the degreaser or excess oil burning off. I started it for like 30 seconds to make sure it still ran and then shut it off. Left the hood open to air dry some more. Looks good though.
 


98bleedingaholevet said:
go get a few cheap cans of the foam wheel and tire degreaser/brake dust cleaner. Spray everything until its nice and white and foamy let it sit for a bit then hose it down.......

i usually hose engine down with some tire foam and blast it out every few washes at home and rarely use drive through gateway to hell automatic car washes lol.....
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Yeah I heard about the tire foam recently, but for $5, I was able to get 2 cans of heavy duty degreaser so I just went with that.
 
Alright, but if it starts on fire and burns to the ground, it's your fault and you have to buy me a new car :p
 
well lets not go that far lol you already know what oil smells like.

keep in mind engine de greaser will make a stink once washed off and heated up. like a kerosene smell.
 
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