Oh noes!! I melted the intercooler!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/meltedintercooler.jpg

 

Well, maybe not. I did have some engine detailing advice to impart though. When I first saw under the hood of the LGT I was pretty happy to see so much plastic. That makes it so much easier to keep the engine bay looking presentable. If you ever plan on going to a local 'Show and Shine' event or anything then having a sharp looking engine is going to be important. One thing I have noticed about the Legacy is that water spots seem to show up around the edge of the underside of the hood fairly quickly. Something you can do to prevent them from becoming permenantly etched paterns in the paint is to just slap a coat of wax or sealant under there every now and then. That will help protect the paint. It probably gets hotter on the outside of your car just sitting in the sun all day than those painted areas ever get, so you don't need to worry too much about it burning off too quick. It will be a good way to prevent future damage to the paint though.

 

A lot of people are paranoid about using any water under the hood. I'm here to tell you that your engine isn't going to melt. You don't need to pop the hood and then level a 2400 psi blast of water at it or anything, but running water on the painted areas isn't going to hurt anything. One thing I will suggest is that you put your HID ballasts in a plastic bag if you have done that conversion. Those are things you don't really want to get too wet. Everything else under your hood is designed with the knowledge that it may get wet sometimes. Even your intercooler will survive getting wet.

 

All you really need to keep on top of your engine is an occasional rinse. Unless you are dealing with a 5 year old engine bay that has never been detailed then its pretty hard to get it that dirty. The 05 Legacy is new enough that the most you should have is some dust and waterspots. Waterspots are easy enough to clean up with some soap and water. If you want, then you can use my favorite method of just spraying some foaming engine degreaser everywhere. Don't spray it on the plastic covers as that might stain them. Aim for the painted surfaces. Just the perimeter of the engine is all that needs to be dealt with that way. Then you just rinse the degreaser off with low flow from the hose and you are good to go. You can use some of those blue shop towels to mop up the water and sort of clean up where dirt may have gathered and formed a muddy little puddle, but most of the cleanup work should get taken care of pretty quick with the degreaser and hose.

 

Now comes my favorite part. Shining up the plastic is the best part about having an engine bay like ours. There are a couple products out there that do a good job. Stay away from the Black Magic brand engine shine. That stuff is crap. There are better products out there than that. Even a good Tire foam is better than that stuff. Even better than tire foam is CD2 Engine Detailer. Ahhhh.... now this stuff rules. Following exactly the procedure that I just explained, look at what it did to this engine in about 5 minutes:

 

http://www.ocdetails.com/assets/images/139-3979_IMG.JPG

 

http://www.ocdetails.com/assets/images/139-3984_IMG.JPG

 

I've got another engine before/after picture on this page too. Anyway, all I did to that engine was spray foaming degreaser around, rinse it off, dry it, and then spray the CD2 Engine Detailer on the hoses and plastics. It even glosses up the paint. Pretty sweet, eh? Our engines look even better because most of what you can see is black and either rubber or plastic. It looks great when its all shined up and looking new. CD2 doesn't attract dust and it lasts for a really long time. I've never really tested how long because my last car gathered dust in the engine bay rather quick and I was cleaning it up every few weeks. Even with dust and dirt everywhere, the hoses and plastics were always looking black and new. Its awewsome stuff. You can find it at AutoZone most likely. Its in a silver can with a black top and will be over by the degreasers. Very cool stuff.

 

Those are just simple steps you can take to keep your Legacy engine bay looking good. Start now while its still new and pretty clean anyway. Its not hard to keep up on. Just remember to watch out for waterspots along the edge of the hood. They gather on the door frames and trunk lid too. Some simple quick detailer spray usually cleans them up. Oh, and don't melt your intercooler.

Impressive.. Read through your site, good stuff..

There is a Meguiar's product that does a similar thing with shining up the hoses and plastics. I don't have much experience with it though. Its discussed on meguiarsonline.com a lot. When I get my hands on some then I'll let you guys know how it looks on our engines.

what's your thought on the simple green? I use that around dirty door hinges and in the engine compartment. Even on the nose of the car to get off the bug guts?

Simple Green is great stuff as long as you use it diluted in some cases. I wouldn't ever let it get on your plastic. It has a tendency to stain. Its great at getting waterspots off that have been there a really long time. Just remember that if you use it on the outside of your car then that area is going to need to be waxed again when you are done.

 

For bugs I would suggest using a bug/tar remover. Turtle Wax gets a bad wrap for their products mostly, but their bug and tar remover is pretty good stuff. It disolves bugs really fast. Its safer on your wax than Simple Green and you don't have to worry about dilution ratios. (normally I use Simple Green at a 50:50 ratio to water) If you happen to spot the yellow spray can of Turtle Wax's Bug and Tar remover then you should give it a try. I can't vouch for the other versions, but that yellow can stuff is really good.

I have used the Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover, it works great and I am very happy with it.

Did you use the stuff in the yellow can or was it in the spray bottle? I've heard the stuff in the spray bottle doesn't work so well, so I've always stuck to the yellow can. Its amazing on sap.

I couldn't find the stuff in the can.

 

I used the spray bottle.

 

I spary, let it sit for 5 mintues, and wipe off.

 

First time, the bugs had been "drying" on the car for 1 week - took them off with no problems.

 

Now, I just do a light spray, sit for a minute and they just wipe off.

 

Maybe SoCal bug are not as tough as other bugs - all the smog you know...

oh noes!!11 you got soap on y00 intacoolAr

Just wait till I put it to the real test. I need to clean some sooty looking stuff off of it. Its just sort of starting to look dirty and I'd like to stay on top of keeping it looking clean. I'll have to <gasp> possibly appy soap and water directly to the intercooler with a toothbrush. Wish me luck...

As a bump and to just add a little more info....

 

Avoid the following areas of your Legacy GT engine (or any engine for that matter) with degreasers and high pressure water:

 

http://www.ocdetails.com/Engine-Avoid.jpg

 

A- Because that is where your air filter is and you don't want to necessarily force water in there.

 

B- Duh.. you don't need to be bending fins with high pressure. You certianly don't want it to get melted either, right?

 

C- That is a dangerous area for just about everything, but especially for anything flamable. Keep degreaser away from that. I'd keep water pretty much away from it too just to prevent corrosion.

 

D- Cars have been known to have problems when the battery gets too wet. If water puddles on the battery then it can cause corrosion on the terminals which cause problems. You also want to avoid the fuse box there as well as any relays. Water and electricity don't mix.

 

Everything else is pretty safe to get wet. I'd still be careful when working around electrical connections. You don't want exposed connections to get corroded and fail. Warranties don't cover damage done while detailing the engine. If you are careful when detailing then you can be rewarded with something that looks like this when your are done.

 

http://www.ocdetails.com/Engine-After1.jpg

lots of questions. okay, so for example....

 

you recommend using degreaser and then rinsing the painted areas. but then you also recommend avoiding getting water into areas "A" and "D" which are bordered by painted areas. so how do you rinse those painted areas without getting water onto the battery and fusebox for example? do you cover anything? when you say "low-flow from the hose" do you mean "drip-drip" or steady stream? most importantly, where are the spark plugs located on this engine? i don't want to get those wet.

holy crap! you could serve lunch out of that engine bay, OCDetails! lol

That's why I say 'avoid' and 'high pressure'. You aren't necessarily going to blow up your engine if you get something in those areas, but you want to avoid it. And you can use high pressure water in some areas, but you really want to be careful and avoid using it in others. Just control where you are getting your degreaser and water and you will be fine.

 

low flow means steady stream. Don't use a sprayer or anything. Just let it come out of the hose at a speed that you feel you can control. Just fast enough to rinse the degreaser off. Most of the detailing work will be handled by wiping down the surface with towels and brushes.

 

I don't cover anything except my HID ballasts when I detail my engine. In other engines where the spark plugs are on top I might cover those and the distributor. You want to cover any exposed air filters from SRIs too. Basically you need to use your head. Never detail your engine if you are drunk. lol

 

I don't know where the spark plugs are on this engine yet. I haven't looked for them. I don't pour water anywhere except around the perimeter of the engine and I know they aren't there. Someone else will have to provide us with that bit of technical information.

 

The bottom line for engine detailing is to not expect a can of degreaser and your hose to all the work. The hose and degreaser will do 20% of it, but the rest of the work is up to you. If you spend time getting the engine nicely detailed then it will take less time when you just want to wipe it down or rinse some of the dust off. Just take your time and use your head. It really isn't too complicated.

Does your wife make you keep the house as clean as your car? If I didn't know better I would think you were a single guy with a big trust fund, no job, and no friends (or neighbors, or relatives, or aquaintances). Come on, show us what you really drive every day.

See, I married the perfect woman. While I'm out keeping the cars clean, she is in the house keeping that clean and keeping the books ballanced. For all you guys who are still looking for the perfect woman, give up now. I took her off the market 7 years ago.

See, I married the perfect woman. While I'm out keeping the cars clean, she is in the house keeping that clean and keeping the books ballanced. For all you guys who are still looking for the perfect woman, give up now. I took her off the market 7 years ago.

 

I hope she can keep the books balanced with you around haha, im just playin.

That's why I detail. It's hard not to keep the books ballanced when my hobby pays for itself.

DAMN, big +1 for CD2 engine detailer. Got to detail while waiting for dinner today and the engine bay now looks remarkable. My parents said it was the cleanest looking engine they've ever seen, followed by "why the hell did you do this?" Sorry, no pics to post, but well worth the hour it took in the sun.

Just a little bump so people will get out there and get the salt and slime off your engines. I don't know if it was the hood scoop or just the way the grill is designed, but I've never had a car that gets dusty under the hood as fast as the LGT does. I can go for a year without detailing the engine of the Pilot and I'll have half the dust that a Legacy has after a week. It definitely needs to be rinsed off from time to time.

Awesome info. Your tutorials and threads have always helped me out. And a CD2 bump cuz that stuff really is awesome!!

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3142315004_cbcbbe1dca_b.jpg

wow! looks good. if i only had the time...or lived close to OCD!