need info on washing my engine

my engine leaks very little oil. but its built up over time and it always get on the exhaust and burns oil. i didn't really care until i saw a post of a mazda that was on fire. so now i want to wash my engine. i'm pretty sure i need to keep it running when i'm doing it but i'm not sure about anything else. can you guys give me some tips?

watch the distributer truck wont start if you get water in it. spray the motor down with some degreaser let it sit for a few minutes and spray it down. if you have a lot of hard to get off stuff do it again but start the motor and let it heat up a little bit and repeat the process.

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go buy yourself a few cans or even a case of crc brakekleen... it works wonders...... its industrial strength brake cleaner.... dont leave your garage without it... it will cut thru damn near anything after a few squirts..... works better than anything i have seen.

but would leaving the engine on hurt? cuz i have a couple friends with older cars that said their engines didn't start for a while after a wash so now they do it with the engine on. is it bad in any way?

I washed mine Sunday. I just went to the local car wash. Opened the hood made sure the Dis cap was on good and tight. Used the tire cleaner on the motor (yes it was running the hole time) I then let it set (still running) while I sprayed the tires down really good. I then changed to rinse and washed the bed out really good. Then went back and rinsed the motor off. I also cleaned my inner fender wells and firewall and bottom of the hood. let it run for about 5 min longer then shut it off. Did not have any problems and I hit the dis with the water right on (it had some stuck on crap). I do all my cars this way and never had a problem with it. Im gone do my 97 grand am this weekend.

ok thanks. i might just cover the dis cap just to be safe. should i also cover the alternator or does that not really matter?

also dont get any in to your carb. wont hurt the alt.





-justin

i usually shut my motor off, put a ziploc bag around the distributor with a zip tie and hit it with degreaser and wash away. i made the mistake of drenching my distributor once before, truck wouldnt start, had to buy a new cap and button. only cost me around $30 though. that was for an s10, dont know about how much for a Maz, prolly around the same though.

cover the dizzy with a plastic bag and use a rubber band to hold it in place i use oven cleaner from the dollar stor3e works great for the build up then carb clean the hard to reach areas