DIY: 10 minute engine bay detail

[Razr]

As requested, here's the 10 minute engine bay detail DIY :wink:

What you'll need:

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Engine Cleaner (Degreaser) spray pack. Make sure you choose one that's labelled safe for plastics, rubber and paint.
2x clean rags
Foaming tire cleaner for a "sheen" look, or a good rubber/plastic conditioner (like the Meguiars NXT pictured) if you want to go for the high gloss look. For this detail I went for the sheen look - the Meguairs NXT pictured was not actually used.

The obligatory before pic:

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Step 1:

Do this on a cool engine - if it's too hot the products applied will dry out too quickly.

If you have an exposed aftermarket air filter you should wrap it in a plastic bag to keep the products used and water from getting into it.

Spray the engine cleaner everywhere in the engine bay. Don't be shy with this stuff, and make sure you get it into all of the nooks and crannies. For a single detail I normally end up using about 250ml (8.5 fl oz) of the stuff.

Step 2:

Leave the engine cleaner to sink in for a couple of minutes, then hose it all off using normal garden hose pressure water. Be thorough. There's really nothing you need to concerned about when wetting in this engine, so long as you're using normal mains water pressure.

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Step 3:

After hosing it down, get your first rag and wipe off any excess water, then apply your tire shine or rubber conditioner. Don't spray this stuff on your belts.

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Step 4:

Let the tire shine / rubber conditioner sink in for a couple of minutes, then wipe the engine bay down using your second rag. Spray a little of your shine product onto the rag to help cover up any spots you might have missed. There's no need to get into every little nook and crannie here - just thin out the bulk of the product so you don't end up with blotches.

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That's it, now sit back for another few minutes as the rest of the shine product dries off. Viola!

Told you guys it was easy :tongue:

Here's a few after pics:

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[[FR] Sébastien Loeb]

ur pics are not shown.

[Razr]

Ooops! Should be working now.. Thanks :wink:

[forpinks]

DAMN! THOSE ARE NEAT! YOU SHOULD WORK FOR TOYOTA....:biggrin:

[ChinoCharles]

I'll give this a shot with the Meguiars. I use it on my interior too.

[Blenjar]

sexy..

-- Blen

[[FR] Sébastien Loeb]

Look awesome, but are you sure its ok to hose the whole engine bay with water? what bout the battery, and electrical stuffs?? will they be damaged? how long of a period have you done this on cars? looks really awesome, i would love to try but scare of the electrical parts.

[eTiMaGo]

The stock engine electricals should not be a problem, only think I am worried about is the extra stuff like grounding wires. Although, if they're halfway decent, they should not be prone to rusting...

[Razr]

You won't have a problem with the electrics in the Yaris, as the only exposed potential your water might get in contact with is 13.8VDC and anything sensitive to water is encased with well implemented Ingress Protection (e.g. coil-over plugs, ECU etc).

Have been doing it this way for 15 years on 11 different vehicles, never a problem.

[Razr]

The stock engine electricals should not be a problem, only think I am worried about is the extra stuff like grounding wires. Although, if they're halfway decent, they should not be prone to rusting...

Right after rinsing the engine bay down with water, you should definately use a rag to wipe it all down - if nothing else so that you're not diluting the dressing/protectant applied next. So long as you dry it off there's no chance of anything rusting - fact is that your engine is exposed to water during normal driving, and is designed to cope with it.

As you noted, any decent quality grounding kit will have it's exposed metal surfaces plated in gold or nickel for corrosion resistance. The fumes that come of your battery pose a much higher risk of promoting corrosion than H2O in any case :wink:

[Black Yaris]

Sébastien Loeb;69232']Look awesome, but are you sure its ok to hose the whole engine bay with water? what bout the battery, and electrical stuffs?? will they be damaged? how long of a period have you done this on cars? looks really awesome, i would love to try but scare of the electrical parts.

come on Mr WRC racer guy you if anyone should know they answer to that one....

[Razr]

I'll give this a shot with the Meguiars. I use it on my interior too.


Post some pics for us when you do :wink:

If you use the Meguiars Tech Protect it'll come out showcar shiny - that's what I used in the Vios pics that inspired this thread..

[Pavel Olavich]

Great Tutorial! Thanks for taking the time!!!

[mcdaddy]

nice & clean!

[[FR] Sébastien Loeb]

come on Mr WRC racer guy you if anyone should know they answer to that one....

STOP BEING A LIL PUNK, if i want to ask questions, i m going to ask. non of ur business

[forpinks]

I've done this on my 2003 Corolla with no engine cover "it has the plug wires open"

and I just bathe it with the engine degreaser I bought for 2 bucks, and rinsed it off with a garden hose, until its clean and I wiped it off with a rag,then I just sprayed the bay with armor all tire-foam, then I drove it off to evaporate and kinda seal the shine also it takes out the excess water with the G's your car creates...

[brickhardmeat]

that's sparkly, mines is down right dusty right now

[JDM_EK3]

Yikes.... Regardless of your results, I would NOT follow any of the advice given.

First and fore most, when applying a degreaser your engine should actually be warm to the touch prior to application. Depending on how harsh of a degreaser you use, the time of "soaking" will vary of course before rinsing it clean.

Also the fact that you're misusing in extremely excessive amounts, products that are ment for interiors and tires on your engine is horrible detailing etiquette. Have you ever noticed what occures to your tires with the use of most tire "sheen" products? (there are exceptions of course) Due to the heat, they actually end up turning rubber a nasty brown/yellow colour after time.... would you honestly want that occuring with all the rubber components of your engine, such as mounts, hoses, etc.?

Lastly, once soaking up the majority of water after washing an engine bay, you can actually let the car run for a said amount of time to quicken the drying cycle.

[Razr]

Yikes.... Regardless of your results, I would NOT follow any of the advice given.

No-one's making you :wink:

First and fore most, when applying a degreaser your engine should actually be warm to the touch prior to application.

The Engine Cleaner I use specifically states to apply it to a cool engine, and logic dictates that it's going to be difficult to get much soak-in time if the engine is warm or hot. Maybe it's just a matter if what's warm to you and what's warm to me? We never get daytime temparatures below 30c (86f) here, so I couldn't comment on whether effectiveness is reduced at lower ambient temps.

Have you ever noticed what occures to your tires with the use of most tire "sheen" products? (there are exceptions of course) Due to the heat, they actually end up turning rubber a nasty brown/yellow colour after time....

It cannot be due to heat, otherwise my tires and engine would *always* be brown - It's 41c (106f) as I type this BTW :) I have seen what you're describing though, and have always attributed it to people who think that tire shine products are somehow or other a substitute for cleaning. From what I've seen, layering tire sheen over old dirty tires time after time, is what leads to brown tires.

would you honestly want that occuring with all the rubber components of your engine, such as mounts, hoses, etc.?

For this one, I'm going to let some pictures do the talking.. Here's my last car, at 2 years of age, having had this exact type of engine detail peformed on a weekly basis (so 104 times):

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Lastly, once soaking up the majority of water after washing an engine bay, you can actually let the car run for a said amount of time to quicken the drying cycle.

Good advice, thanks!

[JDM_EK3]

The Engine Cleaner I use specifically states to apply it to a cool engine, and logic dictates that it's going to be difficult to get much soak-in time if the engine is warm or hot. Maybe it's just a matter if what's warm to you and what's warm to me? We never get daytime temparatures below 30c (86f) here, so I couldn't comment on whether effectiveness is reduced at lower ambient temps.

Then unfortunately the product you're using isn't that great of an engine degreaser. Most well known engine degreasers, will even go to the extent of asking you within their instructions to warm up the vehicle. The reason they would like your engine warm to the touch, is that it actually helps loosen the build up and helps in preventing the engine degreaser from evaporating too quickly.

[forpinks]

Then unfortunately the product you're using isn't that great of an engine degreaser. Most well known engine degreasers, will even go to the extent of asking you within their instructions to warm up the vehicle. The reason they would like your engine warm to the touch, is that it actually helps loosen the build up and helps in preventing the engine degreaser from evaporating too quickly.

I tried degreaser when the engine is hot once...

Well... its an old honda civic "93" my buddy used to own... well I sprayed that "solder seal" engine degreaser when he came to my place and ask me to wash it bcoz his going for a group meet, so I hustled and sprayed it with E.D. and about 3 seconds after I sprayed it, nasty smelling smoke came out... then I hit the freakin header! and it went to flames! quickly he grabbed his "NOS lookin" fire extinguisher and sprayed the hell out of it!


the engine lining he installed got melted a bit and he told me to just stop it... and he just went to the club meet with a nasty lookin engine with a burnt hood padding...

what I'm saying is some cars need the engine cold just to clean it safely...

[PetersRedYaris]

Why degrease an engine that isn't greasy? As a note, those degreasers are powerful, so be careful not to get them into parts with bearings (ie. the alternator pully, A/C compressor pully)...
I just use low pressure water every time I wash the car and my cars stay nice and clean under the hood. Yes, I'm careful where I spray.
I would only clean under the hood by this method if I were tring to sell the car. Your pictures look great!

[Razr]

Why degrease an engine that isn't greasy?

Good question, and a simple answer really - obviously to break down any new grime that's on the engine, but also to remove the previous application of dressing/protectant, so you're working with an absolutely clean surface.

It's a little of a catch 22, but it works great :wink:

[Razr]

Then unfortunately the product you're using isn't that great of an engine degreaser.


I'm sure there's better/more expensive engine cleaning products out there, but it does the job just fine - the proof is in the pudding, as they say :thumbsup:

[nsmitchell]

You won't have a problem with the electrics in the Yaris, as the only exposed potential your water might get in contact with is 13.8VDC and anything sensitive to water is encased with well implemented Ingress Protection (e.g. coil-over plugs, ECU etc).

Have been doing it this way for 15 years on 11 different vehicles, never a problem.
Same here. I've been doing this using similar products for at least 10 years. No electrical problems ever.

[jaspie]

I want to do this with my friend's Camry Sportivo 2003 ~ Is it ok to the the exact same thing ~

Damn the water restrictions here ~ I will have to take it to a commercial car wash with the sprays ~ Yes, I will make sure it's on low pressure ~

About watching out for the belts and others.....how do I "look" out for them or know if I'm getting them sprayed or not ~

I will be doing this to my Yaris too ^_^ ~ Though one person can not drive two cars so I will have to take it to the commercial car wash separately ~

I DON'T LIKE WATER RESTRICTIONS ~

Jaspie ~

[Razr]

The Camry will be fine as well.

As for the belts, it's simple - look at them, understand where they are, then don't spray any dressing/protectant on them :) The engine cleaner and the water don't pose a problem for your belts.

Are you allowed to use a watering can with the water restrictions, or are all forms of car washing prohibited? If a watering can can be used, that'll probably do the job - you're really only rinsing off the engine cleaner.

[JDM_EK3]

I tried degreaser when the engine is hot once...

Well... its an old honda civic "93" my buddy used to own... well I sprayed that "solder seal" engine degreaser when he came to my place and ask me to wash it bcoz his going for a group meet, so I hustled and sprayed it with E.D. and about 3 seconds after I sprayed it, nasty smelling smoke came out... then I hit the freakin header! and it went to flames! quickly he grabbed his "NOS lookin" fire extinguisher and sprayed the hell out of it!


the engine lining he installed got melted a bit and he told me to just stop it... and he just went to the club meet with a nasty lookin engine with a burnt hood padding...

what I'm saying is some cars need the engine cold just to clean it safely...

The engine is not ment to be "HOT", it's ment to be "warm to the touch". :bellyroll:

[jaspie]

The Camry will be fine as well.

As for the belts, it's simple - look at them, understand where they are, then don't spray any dressing/protectant on them :) The engine cleaner and the water don't pose a problem for your belts.

Are you allowed to use a watering can with the water restrictions, or are all forms of car washing prohibited? If a watering can can be used, that'll probably do the job - you're really only rinsing off the engine cleaner.

We are only allowed to use a water bucket to clean our mirrors. car plate and windows now ~ We just reached Level 5 water restrictions >_< ~ Which means we can only have 4 minute showers ~

Thanks for the help ^_^ ~

Jaspie ~

[Razr]

car plate? 'sif you'd go to the trouble of letting speed cameras get a good shot of your car if you're not allowed to wash the rest of it :P

[jaspie]

car plate? 'sif you'd go to the trouble of letting speed cameras get a good shot of your car if you're not allowed to wash the rest of it :P

Agreed ~

Jaspie ~

[R0ME0]

Sweet! Is that the stock engine cover or did you add stickers to the VVTI part to make it red?

[jaspie]

Sweet! Is that the stock engine cover or did you add stickers to the VVTI part to make it red?

I'm pretty sure it's stock ~

*goes check my engine*

Hmm....mine's silver ~

Jaspie ~

[Razr]

Red was standard on mine..

[eTiMaGo]

yup, for some reason it looks like all 1NZ engine covers have some red VVT-i lettering over here...

The red color alone must bring the engine's power up a few horsepower!

[Razr]

Well actually I've seen the Thai market Yaris rated at 109HP, while the North American Yaris is rated at 107HP, so there might be some truth in that.. or maybe someone just made an error in the conversion from kW :wink:

[eTiMaGo]

Dude there's like 5 different actual horsepower units and methods of calculations. PS, BHP, HP are the most common, but most end up within about 5% of each other, so it's not too bad. I think this is the cause of this slight difference in ratings :wink:

PS. For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower

[MDF]

I brought my car into the shop once and the guy did it for me (since at the time I had no clue how to do it myself...)

He kept the engine running, put a plastic bag over something, sprayed a whole can of degreaser, then hosed everything off...

[jinxor]

Im planning to wash down my engine bay.... Just wondering, do I need to cover any part before applying the degreaser, or just go ahead, rinse, appply degreaser and rinse and wipe?

[1NZYaris1]

cover your AFE intake , and go for it :thumbup:

[YarisSedan]

I did this when i had my ford escort. And then the car ran like crap afterwards cause i burnt out a coil.

[kustom play]

I did this when i had my ford escort. And then the car ran like crap afterwards cause i bought a ford.

fixed it for you

[Yaris Hilton]

The stock Yaris air intake curls up like a ram's horn in front of the air box, behind the bulkhead that holds the radiator, on the driver's side. Don't spray water straight into it.

[Yaris Hilton]

As for horsepower ratings, those are nominal anyway. You'll find considerable variations between individual cars of the same model, and with the same car from one dyno run to another. What you normally measure on a chassis dyno, that is really put from the wheels to the road, is a good bit less than the manufacturer's engine HP rating. Not worth quibbling over a few digits on the rating.

[nsmitchell]

You can use Simple Green instead of the engine degreaser and a sponge and wash it carefully. Then dry and do the tire shine treatment. Awesome results Razr!

[yaris-me]

You can use Simple Green instead of the engine degreaser and a sponge and wash it carefully. Then dry and do the tire shine treatment. Awesome results Razr!

Simple Green is environmentally friendly, but also dish washing liquid can be used with a soft brush. Yes, I am environmentally friendly.:laugh:

[jpoy]

should i cover the rotor and battery while hosing it down?

[Sir A.Y. Atoyot]

should i cover the rotor and battery while hosing it down?

What rotor? The Yaris doesn't have a distributor.

You can't hurt the battery by spraying water on it.

[jpoy]

What rotor? The Yaris doesn't have a distributor.

You can't hurt the battery by spraying water on it.

oh, i thought you call that thingy a rotor.. it at the engine near the coolant
i dunno what its called it looks round and metal (description doesnt help)

anyways is there anything or part i need to be aware of while hosing the engine bay with water?

[Klink10]

I think it would be wise to put a plastic bag over the alternator. I also would leave the engine cover on to avoid a build-up of water where the plugs etc sit. That's me though. I never have with intention sprayed my engine with water for cleaning purposes. Last, not wise to do a hot motor.

[StefanVVTi]

I hate dust and dirt on the engine cover...! I'll take a picture of mine, ass soon as I stick the little "Toyota" badge on it, and paint it all flat black! :P

[YarYarBinks]

so after the rinse and dry with rag, how long should you wait to start the car? ive cracked a block before cleaning the engine, though it was a 25yr old car and had no protection against water for the most part. but just want to make sure i dont ruin anything. thank you

[whiteyaris]

do we need to cover somestuff?

[Klink10]

do we need to cover somestuff?

Read my post entry a couple up from yours. That's my personal recommendation and how I do it. In my opinion, done once all you have to do later is a casual wipe down.

[whiteyaris]

Read my post entry a couple up from yours. That's my personal recommendation and how I do it. In my opinion, done once all you have to do later is a casual wipe down.

oh thanks:thumbup:

[JumpmanYaris]

BUMP for others asking on how to do this

[charlieXX]

Did you cover the alternator? or not needed?

[Altitude]

I've used this method many times and have never covered anything and haven't had any problems.

[bronsin]

I do not know how many times I have seen people wash their engines with a garden hose and have problems afterwards. Problems like: My engine wont start! or The Check Engine Light is on!

Yes a looking like new engine is a beautiful thing.

Not being able to start your car is not!

[Klink10]

Do a search on this site for CTScotts post reference having to clean up an alternator. Moisture can and will find its way in there and unless you dry it out can do damage. Yes I put a plastic bag on it. I also spend an hour drying the motor cabin with a combo of warm and compressed air. This because even a normal exterior wash gets water in there. I don't wash the engine bay but I will use steam in select areas if necessary.

[09sedan]

there is NO way a famous rally car driver is on this forum -_- lol

[azwad12]

Thanks!