How do you clean under the hood?

[EWC88]

Curious how you guys keep the engine looking clean and the underside of hood?

 

[LS5DodgeRam]

Some soap, water, a rag, and some degreaser(when it gets bad) almost the same as detailing the outside

 

[Pull Ya]

Depends on how dirty it is. There are lots of speciality cleaners out there, however I use Simple Green and it does a great job and in most cases it's cheaper than most.
Jay

 

[03MopaRamman]

Compressor Air blows off the dust then just wipe it all with damp microfibre towels and I then wipe on and shine it with Gunk degreaser with built in shine stuff, Oh and the Truck I use the pressure washer after winter and dry it off with the air.

 

[Sharp Charge]

Spray it with Simple Green, wait a few min then hose it off. Done...

 

[EWC88]

When using simple green and hose, should I put a plastic bag over alternator/fuse box/ battery? Anything else should I cover?

 

[audio1der]

I cover the coil packs if I'm spraying the engine off, that's about it.
Typically I wipe it down with a quick detailer and use simple green where needed.

 

[WhiteExpress]

I don't soak anything under the hood, but I've never covered anything (other than an open intake) and never had an issue.

I have a long reach soft bristle brush (saw it at Lowes) that I use to 'scrub' stuff after a quick spray with simple green. quick rinse and dry with a Mircofiber.

It's not show quality under the hood, but it's pretty darned nice.

 

[EWC88]

So water getting into alternator will be ok? I don't want to screw myself lol

 

[audio1der]

So water getting into alternator will be ok? I don't want to screw myself lol

Once in a while AND if you dry with forced air, you should be fine. I drove a car around without the hood for a week in the snowy spring and that killed the alternator LOL

 

[EWC88]

Lol ok, air compressor be ok to blow air out of it or should I do my leaf blower? Hoping I can do a good cleaning next time it's real nice out and I have a day off lol.

 

[Chewy]

I do mine this way! Then I use a non silicon containing dressing (like Adams SVRT) so it doesn't attract dirt like a mother...

Adams Engine Cleaning Video

Adams Engine Dressing Video

 

[Sharp Charge]

When using simple green and hose, should I put a plastic bag over alternator/fuse box/ battery? Anything else should I cover?

I don't cover anything but I don't use any high pressure either. If you break out the power washer you may want to cover the sensitive electrical stuff.