Engine bay detail

doggy

New member
ISDC Club Member
With a half day Friday, I had great plans for the weekend involving washing, claying, polishing and waxing....but then it pi$$ed rain all weekend and I had to content myself with getting a few small bits done between the showers, including the engine bay.

Before:
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Not too shabby but a bit of grime nonetheless.

Now for the prep work, anything electrical and vulnerable looking was covered over with tin foil.  The intercooler covered with cardboard so as not to bend the cooling fins and an old t-shirt stuffed into the intake in case of water ingress (mental note to self to take this out before starting engine).
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Now, liberal spraying of Autogym Engine and Machine cleaner, left to soak for half a minute or so and then agitated with a selection of cheapo Atlantic paintbrushes (they'll get pretty much destroyed during agitation so no point spending money on them) and a toothbrush.  Apply more degreaser to the bits that were done early and had dried.  Disconnect lance from Karcher and spray engine with low pressure stream, keeping the hose moving all the time to avoid soaking one particular area.  $hit several bricks and wonder if your engine will ever start again.  Console yourself that if prodrive build this thing to win the likes of the Safari rally, surely a drop of water can't do any harm.  Remove all aluminium/cardboard/t-shirts etc, cross fingers and start engine to dry it off (and make sure it starts).  With engine running give a quick gander for any major pools of water, give air con a blast to make sure compressor running ok.  Stop engine and mop up any obvious water with a cloth and/or kitchen paper.

Apologies for the lack of 'during photos' but it was threatening to pi$$ rain again and I wanted to be able to finish the job without leaving the degreaser drying out on me.

Mist a liberal spray of Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber care over whole engine.  Worry that it may leave white spots and console yourself that the Autoglym guide says to mist it and leave dry.  Leave to dry overnight and inspect next morning to find this...

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(it's more impressive in the flesh, trust me.  To get an idea, check out the lustre of the radiator hose in the after pic versus the dullness in the first picture, likewise the shine on the top of the rad)

Start engine again just in case, breathe a sigh of relief and stick on the kettle
 
Great Job. :thumbsup:

The engine is something I alway fail to do. :icon_redface:

Good technical guide to the how to section. :lol:

Realy like the "cross fingers and start engine to dry it off (and make sure it starts)." :lol: :roll:
 
well thats saturday taken care of :lol: looks the biz.......
 
Thanks lads just as good I didn't waste the weekend claying and polishing given the rain today, waste of time.
 
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