Engine cleaning

[xantia31]

Hi all, I have had my power steering pump replaced after a long and messy oil leak which has made my engine look pretty rubbish. I cannot find anyone near Durham, U.K. who does engine cleaning including the underneath to remove all the old oily deposits. Any ideas of where and how much. Thanks John.

[kez]

have to tried yell.com

[xantia31]

I've googled it to death everywhere and can't find anyone that does it strangely.

[94900turbo]

I live in durham myself and can't think of anyone, I take my car into work where we have an industrial type power washer for the buses and take advantage and use that

[kez]

Car valeting company near ? Should have steam cleaner

Or get some degreaser spray that on and rinse off

[aerojon]

guys over in the US have done this,most have had problems with the car after..

[deano93tid]

This is where you need to go over to the detailing world forum to ask such.

You need to use cling film and cover all cable connectors and sensors.

Use a heavy degreaser (Auto smart G101, Autoglym engine degreaser) with a clean paint brush and brush everywhere to remove the dirt, lightly rinse with a hose and repeat as many times until desired level is achieved.

[9-3newbie]

You could try HSS Hire. They have depots all over the UK.
Happy hunting

[aerojon]

pressure washing a modern engine bay is bad idea imo..

[virtualm]

Yeah just D-I-Y, as Zohan said cling film all the bits that look electrical such as the alternator and any visible plugs. Just take your time and dry as you go along, you'll be fine and much less risk than jet washing IMO.

[Sailorgriff]

Don't know about modern cars, but if its a classic, an oil leak is the best rust prevention you can have for your bottom.

Brian.

[cjapeterborough]

In the old days no one thought twice about steam cleaning an engine bay (well at least back in the 90's)now this type of service seems hard to find - none of my local garages offer this now.

Last summer I purchased a 9-5 that had an oil cooler let go and had an underside that looked like it had spent sometime in the Humber estuary and I couldnt find anyone willing to
take on the job of cleaning it....I was even willing to pay ;-)

Anyway in the end I did it myself.

Purchased 25L of engine degreaser on Ebay and used my power washer.

I used an old spray bottle to coat various sections of the car underside/engine bay and let them soak,rinse with power washer and repeat etc

The only real precaution I took was to remove the battery and let the car thoroughly dry for at least a week before firing up again.
I certainly would not do the job in cold weather.

This was a bit of a project for me so time wasnt a problem but if you are careful there is no reason not to tackle the job.
Plenty of vids on youtube........