# Cleaning oil spill on engine bay?



## MC (May 22, 2002)

What the best way to clean the oil spill on engine compartment? Would soap and water do the job? I hate using any harsh chemicals on the engine bay. 

Marlon


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

Try Simple Green or one of the citrus based claeners.

If htat doesn't work, Foamy Gunk Engine Cleaner works well.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

As a counterpoint to julz experience, I used Gunk engine cleaner before bimmerfest and had outstanding results. I was very happy with it, and will use it again.

I don't remember anything about foam, so I can't speak to whether or not there are different products from Gunk for this purpose. I can say that it didn't foam up at all, but rather sprayed out of the can in a think stream, and simply deposited in a manner that looked like any common sort of solvent -- wet.

Followed the directions on the can to the letter. Worked like a charm. The biggest angst I had was hosing the motor off.

Now, it is also true that rubber and some plastic parts were dull afterward, but not discolored, deteriorated, and/or damaged in any way. Rather, they were just really clean of any oil, grease, or anything else that might make them shiny. I simply dressed these parts with Griots Rubber & Vinyl dressing, and they looked deep black and satiny for the show. I dress these parts regularly, so it wasn't any big deal. The whole engine still looks great.

I think I'll be doing this once or twice a year.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

I've used a Gunk and a Berryman's product in the past with decent results. I once had a bit of a spill while installing a gauge kit, and I believe that was mostly citrus cleaner and lots of elbow grease to clean that up.


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## TOGWT (May 26, 2004)

*Simple Green FAQs*

~One man's opinion / observations ~

Simple Green is corrosive and will react with bare aluminium causing hydrogen embrittlement (used on suspension components).

Here's their FAQ...

Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminium is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times of All-Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminium surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminium cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

~Hope this helps~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted&#8230;/ Jon 
justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *


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