finally warming up so i changed my own oil yesterday, when i noticed my engine bay was really filthy (damn salt). just wanted to know what i should cover up before i start hosin' her down?

 

I never hose down my engine bay. I just take some degreaser and clean small section at a time.

 

i cover my GAB, spray it down with foaming degreaser, wait 10 minutes and hose down.
i do that every couple of months.
i use 409 for any touchups

 

thanks sooner. i wish my engine looked like just yours (except for being smaller that is.)

 

here is a recent pic. i just polished all the metal (AC tubes and timing belt cover)

 

Mine's still like new. Cleaner than yours! Haha. JK

 

I'm a little worried about hosing it down. Before I bought the '01 I drive last month, I looked at another used '01, on a nissan dealer lot, where every piece of exposed metal was rusted. What could be the cause ... washing?

 

most important thing.....after you are done washing RUN THE CAR with the hood closed for a few minutes to dry it. the heat will get rid of the water and nothing will rust

 

I'm gonna do this real soon....most folks would also cover fuse boxes and connectors before hosing down...just to be on the safe side...

2k3TitaniumSe....I guess they stopped bothering you about your sig...

 

i dont cover any of that. since you are just spraying water on it, it runs right off.
if you have an intake that is the only thing i would cover since the filter will soak in the water

they stopped bothering him because now the pic is half the size it used to be

 

i cover my alternator and intake. degrease with motor slightly warm, wait a few minutes and hose

 

i then spray wd-40 on all metal connectors and hoses to keep them lubricated.

 

I have a 2k, Stock engine. I go to the car wash and spray some degreaser on it, then hit with the high pressure rinse while it is running, I haven't had any problems or signs of problems, maybe I just been lucky......lol

 

Actually 1/4 the size before. At first I thought they didn't like the europlate. BTW, the europlate is there just for testing. Soon gonna be on my X5.

 

Won't putting wd-40 on it make dirt stick to it later on or no?

 

isn't wd-40 bad on rubber parts, such as hoses, belts, in the long run that is? I know these parts are consumable/replaceable, but isn't there a better solution thatn spraying wd-40? for the hoses I would use rubber/vinyl protectant, but as for the belts...

 

I think all that stuff helps contribute to dust and dirt sticking.

 

you are low on coolant in the reservoir...

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don't have snow here but what i do is i use an adjustable nozzle and clean the tranny and block from above, then whipe the rest with a rag. then i detail around the fluid bottles (caps, necks other tight spots). it never gets dirty this way. mostly dust more than anything else.

while at it use a high pressure washer to remove dust and grease around the front CV and inside of the wheels.

 

good observation
i had actually just pulled in so the engine was still hot

 

Damn that engine looks nice Jason! But what I really like is that stylin black maxima next to your car

 

Spraying the rubber/vinyl parts with WD-40 may eventually lead to those parts cracking....WD-40 is a very good solvent for removing thicker oils or lubes....besides you guys are probably right, the dust & dirty will stick to them....

 

I use Simple Green, spray it on then hose it off after a few minutes. Works great. I don't have any clean engine pics of the Maxima but heres one of my Camaro to give you an idea.

 

How do you guys cover the intake filter ,because its so deep on the side of the engine i can't reach it.

 

My engine looks a bit dirty too. What is it that I have to cover up? Intake filter? Where dat? Any other things?
Do I use regular engine degreaser? Suggestions welcomed :-)

 

When you go to the car wash the manual one they have special formula to clean the engine.I allways use it before i have cold air intake.

Now i'm afraid of cleaning my engine .Do i have to take my cold air intake or cover the filter but how????????

 

Oh, the Cold air intake filter . I don't have one so then I'm ok. I was thinking of some other intake filter that I've never heard of which makes absolutely no sense. Thanks for straightening that out for me.

 

my bad not wd-40 i have this lubricant in a black bottle it has teflon in the mix. so far i havent had any problems.

 

here is a pic of my engine.. i had cleaned it bout a month ago...
but still clean...
i get a full detail every six months were they clean the whole engine with pressure air... and detail EVERYTHING after that i keep up with the cleaning..
my next major cleaning is due in june

 

Thanks for the Info Looks real clean uneder your hood gonna start cleaning mine aswell you know with my ricy hood and all. Keep it clean i never said i didnt like a stock Max just perfer to stand out and down here in the retirement state too many old people drive maximas and i want them to shake there heads and saw look at what he did to that maxima.

 

wow, it looks like Rican and soonerfan are making peace! Good thing, I think you guys already got 2 threads locked! Rock on!

 

Im trying man ive come to realize that some people do think its very ricy of me to put that hood and other parts on my Ma and ive come to accept that but never the less Ricy is not my goal my goal is more of a WTF or What kind of car is that (i shaved all emblems off even the back nissan one over the tag). I enjoy the attenchion and im young and live near miami and females like cars that are hooked up and so im trying to do the most i can so hey dont get me wrong i had my max stock for three years and i figured it was time to make it something diferent yet the Max i feel in love with.

PS: Yup 2 Threads were locked because of us but i hope there will be no more.

 

yeah dude things are different in Miami than they are in Washington, DC - no doubt! It's all good....we all talk some **** on here but in the end it's all in good fun.

...and this is a good thread - I need to clean my engine after our brutal DC winter of salt, salt, and more road salt!

 

avoid gettin water on the alternator... and any filter's...

 

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we cant agree!!
just kiddin. no hard feeling dude
we are adults. we can disagree on apperance mods and still agree on other things.
btw, i removed all my emblems too (something else we agree on)

 

yeah you do!!! nasty dirty car
ill go wash it while you are gone
and if your cargo net is gone, I DIDNT TAKE IT

 

What I would recommend to use under the hood is a silicone spray to keep all the rubber and plastic parts from drying and cracking, since it is not petroleum based. Most professionals use it to detail the engine bay. I've used it for years and the great thing is that is doesn't collect dust and dirt. My .02

 

Jason... you are SICK! :

and my wife thinks I'm ****!

 

why am i sick?!?
everyone says im ****. why, cause im ALWAYS doing something to my car (cleaning or working on it)? thats not normal?

 

actually I'm just jealous that I can't spend that much time on my car without hearing a bunch of whining and moaning from the wife. I just thought the "polishing the AC tubing" was funny, It's something I would do.

 

I did this once with Simple Green and a hose...
I made sure the engine was up to full operating temperature, then shut it off and disconnected the negative side of the battery... sprayed Simple Green on most exposed parts, EXCEPT any rubber belts/hoses or electronics, and blasted everything with water, taking care not to get water inside the alternator or the fuel injectors. I blasted everything else though (firewall, backside of the engine, tranny, etc.)
Afterwards I let it sit for a bit, then wiped off the battery and reconnected it. Promptly started the engine and let it sit idle for ~10-20 minutes with the hood open to let it steam.

Afterwards I had little white water spots everywhere. I think next time I'm using a foaming degreaser.