I can't believe how dirty my engine bay was.... I mean, look at this! Also, post pics of how nasty your car got on the outside if ya got 'em!



to this:

 

i have you beat with my gxe. simply said, i live in kansas where there are a lot of gravel roads... i'll get some pictures of it

 

Yeah, gravel sucks bad. especially when you live on it and have to drive 3 mph after you wash it till you hit pavement.

That thing was messy nutbag!

 

I took my old black max offroading once. got a bunch of gravel on the inside of the wheels, so the rocks were spinning like a hamster in a hamster wheel.

 

Yeah, it was pretty messy. That was taken two years ago when I first got the car. She was given to me by my dad to drive to school for my senior year of HS, and I wasn't much of a Maxima enthusiast at that point (didn't know how pimp maximas were). Then in 2003 (after I had caught on to how sweet they are and had been on the .org for about a year) I got sick of it looking so nasty and took a bottle of simple green to it with a toothbrush. The main motivator was I was at a meet and somebody asked me to pop the hood to take a look, and they said "man, that thing looks ancient!!"

 

Wow....that is dirty. Mine is as clean as when new.

 

after pics looks nice, but how come the first pic seems out of focus?

 

That's your secret, a bottle of simple green and a tooth brush. Very good. Your radiator support look to the the worst, in the before pic it almost look back. Out of curiousity, do you still have your under carraige engine covers? My engine bay probably just as dirty and I haven't driven with my covers for about 6yrs, I do not drive on dirt roads (all paved) and I got dirt and sand collecting in the nook and crevasse of the intake plenum.

MIKE

 

That sounds like some kind of punishment. You know that they make engine cleaner and pressure washers, right?

I am just kidding with you -- it does look a lot better and it cleaned up really nice.

Mine is still kind of dirty. I had my first Maxima super clean inside and out. When I traded it in at 160k, the dealership guy (finance manager, or whoever the guy is that determines car value) almost crapped his pants because the thing was so clean. He kept telling me that he couldn't believe it had that many miles on it.

 

I do believe I still have my undercarriage covers. Will have to get under there when it's light and check. What I did to get it clean was spray simple green on, then wait 10 minutes. Come back, hose it off. Then spray it again and scrub it with the toothbrush. When I was done I brought my dad out to look at the end result and all he said was, "wow, it's blue!". When it was his car all he focused on was the exterior and mechanical conditon, he never bothered with keeping the engine bay clean.

 

now that it's clean, just a simple hose down with plan water when you wash the car should keep it that way.

This is how mine stayed after I spent two days cleaning it the first time

 

here's my gxe....





looks even worse in person

 

dude, thats very similar to mine (yes you have me beat) if i get a digi cam i'll take a pic, and then an after as well.

 

What parts do you need to cover when engine degreasing/pressure washing? Some people say it's not even needed if the engine is cold.

 

mines pretty ******* dirty too. Is it better to get some place to clean the engine, or do it yourself? What kind of places would clean the engine?