I'm cleaning up the twenty year old campervan to sell it, so I thought I'd give the engine bay a bit of a spruce up whilst I'm at it. I'm not talking about polishing spark plugs and getting all the bolt heads to align perfectly, I'm talking about removing the worst of twenty years' worth of oily grime.
Is it just a case of spray everything liberally with degreaser, leave for a bit, hose off? The battery is in a separate compartment so I can quite easily avoid hosing that.
You would really need to work the degreaser in with a stiff brush, spraying it on, letting it dwell then rinsing off won't do much. Just be sensible about protecting electrical components and don't use a strong jet of water
Spray on degreaser, agitate with a paint brush, use more degreaser if needed and very carefully hose off. Maybe use the rose/plant watering spray pattern.
Smashing, thank you
If everything’s working ok I’d leave it. It would let a prospective purchaser see whether there are any oil leaks. I might be suspicious of a too clean engine bay and also there is a risk of the degreaser and water actually creating problems.
+1 on leave a manky engine, to show you are not hiding a leak.
I would clean paintwork etc to make it look better(ish).
Have you got access to a steam cleaner?
Watch what this guy does - it's pretty much what Fossy says.
If i opened a 20 year old bonnet i would want to see a manky engine bay... Because its 20 years old.
I would probably walk away if it was clean... Because its 20 years old so what are you hiding.
I’m with Josh - nothing screams oil leak coverup like a freshly cleaned engine bay
exception to that would be an enthusiast owned car that’s obviously been cosseted by a fastidious owner over many years, but that would be obvious from so many other aspects. A jet washed engine bay wouldn’t achieve that
If everything’s working ok I’d leave it.
Leave it alone, If I'm buying a 20 year old mechanical thing I want to see where it leaks and what it leaks, because I expect I'll be doing some maintenance. Personally I'm always a bit suss about vehicles that old that look like they've been overly cleaned - unless it's a y'know, show/concourse/summer fun thing.
If everything’s working ok I’d leave it. It would let a prospective purchaser see whether there are any oil leaks. I might be suspicious of a too clean engine bay and also there is a risk of the degreaser and water actually creating problems.
I concur.
Doesn't have to be spotless. Mine was very tidy for a 22 year old car. Just occasionally went over the internal body panels/bonnet and the main areas you could see. I've done similar with my "new to me van". Some mucky bits down by the intercooler intake. Doesn't take much to give it a wipe over to keep the dust down. I've generally kept a clean engine bay on all my cars. Just don't go near electricals, or just wipe with a cloth.
The intention is absolutely not to get it spotless, we're very much talking 'a bit of a wipe down' to just get the worst off.
I get the point about looking like I've got something to hide but, to be honest, a bit of a clean can only help anyone looking to spot leaks as at the moment it's all that mucky you wouldn't spot any bits that looked any muckier/oilier than anywhere else.