This comes up currently after just doing a starter on my grandson's Toyota Tacoma, high miles and everything connected to, or under the engine well oiled. I'm not sure it even drips, but anything/everything is covered with a film of oil and dirt. I swear, it's worst than an 80s BMW!
DIY car wash places are nearly obsolete these days around here, but even before they disappeared many of them forbid doing anything like engine cleaning. Doing it over a concrete driveway isn't good, and the small front yard/grass ares is less than ideal too, even if there's only an ounce or two of actual petroleum product, along the the dirt in a black paste it holds in suspension.
So anyway, what are you guys in the suburbs doing to clean an engine/underhood/etc.
So how are you guys doing an engine degrease these days?
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austin8753
- Posts: 1490
- Joined: May 16, 2010 1:37 AM
- Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Re: So how are you guys doing an engine degrease these days?
i place a couple large baking sheets under the car (the big automotive type ones sold at most large parts stores), along with 2-3 of the harbor freight concrete mixing pans to collect the drippings. generously apply full strength purple engine degreaser where ever necessary, to agitate the dirt and grease, followed by as many cans of brake parts cleaner it takes to get your area clean. once that's done, rinse the cleaned areas with a garden hose. i put the drippings in a 5 gallon bucket and dispose in a safe manner.
not quite an ideal method, but if the containers are strategically placed, it leaves minimal mess and actually does get the area pretty clean. make do with what you have!
not quite an ideal method, but if the containers are strategically placed, it leaves minimal mess and actually does get the area pretty clean. make do with what you have!
Re: So how are you guys doing an engine degrease these days?
I've always done the Dexter method: unroll copious amounts of heavy duty plastic sheeting then cover that with equal amounts of heavy cardboard.
The cardboard absorbs whatever comes off the car and plastic contains the run-off. If there is too much water, then suck it up with a shopvac or use all those contaminated/dirty microfiber towels. Gather it all up and dispose into large plastic bags and find the nearest dumpster.
But it really depends on the extent of the soiled area and severity of it. If it's only lightly with a few heavily soiled areas, then you attack just those heavy areas and contain it best you can. The rest just use rags and spray bottles to rinse.
If it's intensive where a hose or lot of water is needed, then you have to get equally intense about the protection and containment.
This was my last intensive effort in the hangar (Part VII midway down on page 1):
https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=139465
The cardboard absorbs whatever comes off the car and plastic contains the run-off. If there is too much water, then suck it up with a shopvac or use all those contaminated/dirty microfiber towels. Gather it all up and dispose into large plastic bags and find the nearest dumpster.
But it really depends on the extent of the soiled area and severity of it. If it's only lightly with a few heavily soiled areas, then you attack just those heavy areas and contain it best you can. The rest just use rags and spray bottles to rinse.
If it's intensive where a hose or lot of water is needed, then you have to get equally intense about the protection and containment.
This was my last intensive effort in the hangar (Part VII midway down on page 1):
https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=139465