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I want to clean the engine bay in my 01 civic with one of those engine degreasers, however, I'm a little worried about spraying down my engine. I have heard of people's engine lights coming on after shampooing their engine. Are there any parts that I should avoid getting wet? Can anyone give me a little advice on how to do it correctly?

Thanks

 
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cover up the valve cover.

 
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i'll send u a link for the DIY engine cleaning.

 
Rep Power: 454

you dont need to cover the valve cover.

When I cleaned my engine bay, the only thing I covered were the opening of the intake and the tranny dipstick because of how flimsy it sits in the tranny. then I sprayed away. But make sure you dont spray directly at the alternator. And dont spray hard at any parts, lightly spray everything. You will be fine.

 
Rep Power: 454

you dont need to cover the valve cover.

When I cleaned my engine bay, the only thing I covered were the opening of the intake and the tranny dipstick because of how flimsy it sits in the tranny. then I sprayed away. But make sure you dont spray directly at the alternator. And dont spray hard at any parts, lightly spray everything. You will be fine.

 
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spray with simple green, spray off with light mist. YOu don't need to cover anything if you give it a few hours to dry. So if you want to do it, do it at like 5pm on a Monday, and just leave your car out to dry over night.

 
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I windex my engine bay, rofl!!! haha, I really do to.

Works like a charm. But Its more of a maintaining the clean engine, than cleaning it first with it. If it gets really nasty, I would just use soap/water, and let everything dry. I just dont spray near the intake filter. and I try to keep it away from certain spots (electrical). Just dont spray directly on electrical, and when you dry it up, just move the towel over the spots you missed, cuz the towel will be wet anyways, and will clean it up. Mag polish is a good thing on the engine after you clean it as well. Made my engine shine nicely.

 
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Thanks for all your advice. If anyone comes across a formal diy guide, I still wouldn't mind taking a look.

 
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you can also steam clean it.

 
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Blue Coral make an awesome cleaner. It is safe on all clearcoats, paints, unfinished aluminum, pvc plastic and many other things. Its the Wheel Cleaner. I use it on my STi. Make sure the engine is cool, cover alt. with plastic bag, cover intake filter too if u have one. Spray cleaner, let it soak for like 2-5 mins.....and rinse again. It works amazingly well. Give it a try for $4. why not.

 
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where is the alternator?, thought u were also supposed to cover the distributor cap and everything, i dont spend much time under the hood, maybe i should spend a little more

 
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Maybe you should because on the 7thgen there is no distributor cap.

Alternator is right in the front. You can't miss it.

 
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Simple Green undiluted if really dirty. Diluted 50% if just dusty. Rinse with light mist. Cover the filter unless it's stock.

 
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thanks, kinda guessed there was no distributor, but just wanted to make sure, same with the alternator, i know what they look like but i mess things up alot so no harm in checkin

 
Rep Power: 311

i just drove into the DIY car wash bay at the local place and poped the hood and had at it, didnt cover anything didnt watch fore certain areas, i sprayed every square inch and had no problems. then i went to home depot and they had a engine degrese spray, (oddly it was near doorknobs and handles) and the spray was 5 bucks it worked pretty good but id say it only has 2-4 uses in the can depending on you.

 
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and to know which is the alternator, its got the openings around it near the front and you can see wires that look like they are wrapped around something, sometimes they are a color.