There is plenty of material for cleaning an entire engine, but usually involves some type of water rinse either pressured or otherwise. My car is immovable in the garage while I'm working on it, but I need to clean the front of the engine that has a lot of built up oil and dirt to finish repairs.

Has anyone found something useful to spot clean engines without a getting the floor all wet?

 

Brake or carb cleaner works good and requires not rinse. I just spray the section I need and let it sit a few min and then use the straw and respray the area with a stream. It has always worked really well on even the nastiest motors