Engine compartment cleaning

[freshtiva]

I used foamy engine brite see this thread:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6708

[WmWatt]

I use a vegetable brush once it's life in the kitchen if over. I've found the Dollar Store or equivalent to be a good source of cheap brushes. In the kitchen utensil area there are vegetable and bottle brushes. In the hardware area there are toothbrush-sized and larger wire and nylon brushes. In the personal care area there are fingernail brushes. So far I've only used vegetable brushes and wire brushes on the Festiva.

[WBBulldogs]

So I have a few choices:

Castrol Super Clean or equivalent
Simple Green
Foamy Engine Brite (stuff that freshtiva reccomended)
One Touch (gomer reccomended it)
or
I can go to the car wash.

What would be best. I have a lot of grese caked on (probably a little oil and alot of dirt) I need to replace a gasket. So what would be best for my situation? And any precautions?

[packrat427]

So I have a few choices:

Castrol Super Clean or equivalent
Simple Green
Foamy Engine Brite (stuff that freshtiva reccomended)
One Touch (gomer reccomended it)
or
I can go to the car wash.

What would be best. I have a lot of grese caked on (probably a little oil and alot of dirt) I need to replace a gasket. So what would be best for my situation? And any precautions?

Castrol is aggressive ,it works well and breaks it down ,hard on hands ,wear gloves !!
Simple Green is great ,easy on the hand's but does break down heavy build up as well,it works great.
One touch is not aggressive , it is mainly used for tires , it is just like No touch tire dressing stuff.
I have not used Foamy , but I know it does work .
Just try to get the heavy stuff off first with a small scraper ,it will save time , Use a good stiff bristle brush to scrub whatever you use and rinse well, It does not need to be car wash pressure .

You can use No touch after you are done , I use Tire wet on a soft sponge to wipe all the rubber and black stuff for a shine .

[freshtiva]

before :

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/2297000-2297999/2297633_27_full.jpg

after:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/2297000-2297999/2297633_28_full.jpg

Took a days worth of elbow grease but I didn't use the car wash.

The wife's car had a bad valve cover gasket for several years.

The foamy engine brite worked well. Engine still looks good.

Beware, I bought some super clean make by Castrol and it worked good. I bought some more super clean later in the same purple bottle except this time it wasn't make by Castrol and it didn't work. I think Castrol might have sold off the original super clean. The new stuff didn't work.