Thanks for everyone's advice with the engine cleaning. Now my second problem.
I have a set of aluminum wheels that came with the car when it was bought used. They're on the cheap side I think, but ok looking, with a slight brushed look. The problem I have with them is they have a cloudy, milky look to them and it won't come off. I thought about using a light abrasive to bring it back down to the metal but don't want to make them look worse than they already do.
And no, I can't buy new wheels(wife won't let me) or I would have by now.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,

 

I would assume that your clear coat has been destroyed, and you're looking at either bare metal or cloudy clear lacquer..

the first step I'd try is to buy some mother's Mag & aluminum polish and try to clean them up.. that stuff will even put a shine on dirt!

if that doesn't solve the cloudy problem, you will probably have to use a chemical paint stripper to strip the rest of the lacquer off, then polish with mother's polish until shiny.. then wax with a good wax.. doing that will last a couple months, then you'll get to polish and wax again..

if you want to kepp them shiny all the time, your best bet is to take them to a body shop after you get them polished, then let them clear coat them for you. some places will use a "real" wheel lacquer clear.. it's thicker and more flexible than regular auto body lacquer.. cost will probably be anywhere from $25/wheel to $100/wheel, depending on the shop and how busy they are.
hope that helped