Brought paint back interior comeing along next step engine bay what not to do when cleaning

 

Goodo so far.

Engine bay is a "special" place, and GREAT care is needed.

Pressure washing, NEVER
Drowning, as in the garden hose, NOPE.

For the 1st time, just a solvent soaked rag, and wipe the panels etc, remove the air filter covers for access further down, and then the same rag wipe over what is really grubby.

The problem you will eventually run smack into is the degraded wiring insulation, and that is always going to be a problem until it is renewed totally, thus returning the 100% reliability to the beast.

Water anywhere near the distributor and the "V" at this stage should be avoided.

A compressor, and good long nozzled air gun, and CAREFULLY blow all the crud out of the "V" is as best for now.

From underneath, degreaser, stiff brush, and go for it. Wash CAREFULLY as needed.

1st time I did the PreHE, the forecast was for 42C, so 6AM start, and washed that sucker with everything, and left the car out in the sun, with the bonnet up, all day. Next day was 44C, so left it out there. Fired up just fine that night. 32 beers in total.

All mine were rewired very early in the ownership, and they took regular baths without issues.

YOU, as in the Human, will need beer, it will steady the nerves, trust us all on that one. Start with 12 stubbies, and work up from there.

 

Don not steam clean, pressure wash, or even use high pressure from a garden hose.

I use aerosol brake cleaner, Simple Green, WD40, dish detergent, together with rags, paper towels, various brushes to clean one section at a time. If something needs to be rinsed, use water from a spray bottle to do so

Cheers
DD

 

I detail my AJ16/V12/AJ30 engines with art brushes, microfiber towels and engine degreaser, never sprayed on the engine itself but instead on the towels and on the brushes. Never spray anything on the engine directly. I normally keep my engines clean so it doesn’t take time, but if you are trying to clean of decades dirt, then it will be a couple of days.

Side-bar, it’s insane how often member post here about issues after power washing the engine. There should be a sticky labeled “DO NOT WASH YOUR ENGINES!!!”

 

Hi all,
My 78 Daimler DD barn find reached new levels of engine bay filth, beyond anything I have ever imagined, and that's with a lifetime of British car ownership. During it's hibernation the tangle of pipes and wiring had not only provided a home to numerous generations of rodents but also countless snails. Surprisingly no real damage was done and the body and interior were in good condition.
As the engine was not running and had numerous mechanical problems including a misplaced valve shim I had to largely dismantle it. Without this level of disassemble I have no idea how I could possible of got the engine clean. To make matters worse the greasy gunk that smothered the engine seemed to defy just about every degreaser known to man.
it is disappointing to see any car that looks nice but to lift the bonnet is to see a






black mess

My attempt to clean up the engine bay is not perfect but it looks better than it did
Al

 

looks sharp

 

I use a tried and true method of simply not letting anyone look under the hood, works every time.