[Ricky2400]

Well, I got rid of the Saturn and for the time being tooling around in a Buick LeSabre. Oooooh, how Tena and I just LOVE that Buick "Dynaride"! Anyway, I'm looking to clean the motor as it's a bit on the dirty side; i've been told not to spray-hose clean but rather STEAM as the electrical components (alternator, etc.) are under the hood.

What do you guys recommend? In terms of cleaning an engine?

 

[PWSchuh]

Warm engine. Cover distributor. Wet down with hose. Hit everything with Simple Green. Let soak. Hit everything with nylon brush. Rinse everything. Uncover distributor.

I would be very careful steam cleaning. It can be effective but there is more potential for damage if you are inexperienced.

 

[NYSWLHUNTER]

Ricky why are you cleaning the engine? You got some gunky oil build up near the valve covers? Best bet is to get it detailed by someone. I worked for GM and did detailing and engines can be tricky. If you have a older vehicle that had been driven in the winter routinely its prone to rust around the elbows that hook to your radiator and you might disturb some of it and cause some problems. Buick, what year? Most likely its coil packs for every two cylinders and I bet there on the side of the engine just behind the radiator. Just hand clean it or come up here and ill do it for you. Don't run cold water on a hot exhaust. Where's the saturn? Are you customizing it?

 

[Ricky2400]

It's a '96 Buick LeSabre I got and figured that it runs great but the engine's a bit dirty (not disgustingly filthy, but could IMO use a little cleaning here and there) I don't want to ruin the distributor or anything else either. As far as the Saturn: the head gaskets went and I sold it to a young kid who says he'll rebuild the engine. We'll probably be getting a 2nd car after the first of the year.

 

[Atencio]

I always use engine cleaner or gunk and then drive the car to heat the engine up to the car wash and use engine cleaner there.

 

[NYSWLHUNTER]

Head gasket.... BOOM blub blub blub cylinder fills with water, leaks into crank case. Obnoxious white cloud of exhaust, stinky but sweet. Compression, what's that? Scored bearings, what a job. No distributor on that 96', just be careful with your 30,000psi industrial power washer you just got from SEARS

 

[harristotle]

When we got my Thunderbird SC you couldn't see the engine, it was covered in gunk! We got it home, rinsed the engine, soaked it in simple green and let it sit for a couple minutes then hit it with a pressure washer.
I've had the car for 3 years and put about 3000 miles on it and you can eat off the engine.

By the way, she's for sale now :lol: if anyone's interested...

 

[Woody68RS]

Really it depends on how anal retentive you are, and how much patience you have. Simple green and a pressure washer usually won't hurt coil packs unless you have one going already. That's not to say that it never will, but they're not like the opti distributor in the LT1 cars where you absolutely cannot get them wet. If you go that route, I recommend spraying it with the pressure washer while it's running. Keep the spray away from any air inlets and you'll be fine. If you develop a miss, you have a coil that was cracked and going to go already.
Now if you really want to get deep into it, a set of brushes from autozone (one brass, one steel, one nylon slightly bigger than toothbrushes) a can or bottle of degreaser, water in an empty windex bottle and do it by hand. Wipe everything down with semi clean rags as you go scrubbing the tough spots with one of the brushes depending on the surface. 000 steel wool works well too, especially on chrome. For the rubber and plastic pieces, pick up a can of dry silicone spray - it's readily available at AutoZone. Spray either the rag or the part (hoses and wiper blades are okay too.) It will clean and condition them but not make them too shiny or sticky.

Hope this helps!:thumbsup:

Here's the engine of the '68 with about 12000 miles on it now...

 

[NYSWLHUNTER]

By the way, she's for sale now :lol: if anyone's interested...

I have had three of these sc's. Two were the anniversary editions. How big is your exhaust? 2.5"s will let that engine breathe and not blow head gaskets filling #1 cylinder. Craziness. 3.8L with a mclaren supercharger! 5 speed????? How much?

 

[harristotle]

I have had three of these sc's. Two were the anniversary editions. How big is your exhaust? 2.5"s will let that engine breathe and not blow head gaskets filling #1 cylinder. Craziness. 3.8L with a mclaren supercharger! 5 speed????? How much?

Mine has a stock exhaust with the exception of magnaflow muffler's. I was going to put mid length headers, high flow cats, 2.5" into single 3" then into the resonator followed by true dual 2.5" then magnaflow mufflers when I brought it out to school. My plans kind of changed within the last week or two though when I bought a 96 SVT Cobra. If you are seriously interested PM me, and no it's not a 5 speed .

 

[Ricky2400]

Well....guess I'll just forego the engine cleaning 'cause we did some searching around for a newer vehicle. We settled on a Chevy Equinox and working out a plan w/ a local dealer. So if all goes right, come the time of the Keystone CARnival in April, Tena and I will roll out to PA in an Equinox.