Easiest way to clean engine?

[OverTheHillsATTW]

Use any kind of concentrated degreaser from the dollar store or somewhere and some warm water. Keep it away from the TPS and dist. Just don't go so heavy in those areas.

Let it soak up and rinse off. Easy and it will look great.

 

[xcm]

whenever a friend gets a new xj (usually craigslist specials) we take it to the car wash in the ghetto that has engine cleaning bays, bag the usual suspects, and hit her with the engine cleaner they have, works like a charm. if your starter or sensors are on their way out, it will excellerate the process, convieniently letting you know what you need to replace!! not for the faint of heart.

it took installing 2 lift kits on 2 beaters before we started cleaning the suspension/underside with the same process, it makes the lift process soooooo much nicer! if you take a set of ramps w/ you, even better!

ive killed a starter though, so be forewarned to take your AAA card, and dont have to be anywhere that afternoon.

take wd-40 w/ you, incase you get waterlogged. after you get home from the cleaning, get under there and look for any fresh leaks.

 

[NCjeepgirl83]

Well I unscrewed the nozzle from the hose and tried to let the hose water penetrate any of the mud, however, it's caked on there pretty good (good ol' clay mud!) so the water didn't do a whole lot. I didn't get it as clean as I wanted it, but at least the mud's mostly gone and I don't think it will affect any moving parts, so that's good. I'll probably get some degreaser and do it right when I have a bit more time...

It started up fine but now it squeals when it starts up, and it makes an awful squealing noise when the fan's running for the A/C... I guess i need to get those belts tightened, but I'll have to take it somewhere as I don't have the tools or the knowledge to do it myself.

 

[RichP]

Let it warm up and get hot to operating temp for an hour or so, that should cook out any moisture thats in the belt. As for tightening it, two bolts, there is an idler pulley behind the electric fan under the power steering pump, you just loosen that a tad, 1/4 turn. Then about midway between the power steering pump and the engine head you will see what looks like an out of place bolt facing kinda down, thats the adjuster and it moves that idler pulley up and down to tighten and loosen it. The tension gauge you get from NAPA, it's called a "KriKitt II' tension gauge, $14 or so. It's a 1-2 minute adjustment, takes longer to get the tools out than do the job. I have a special thin ratchet wrench that gets down to that idler pulley, saves having to take the electric fan out of the way.

 

[bigalpha]

Yeah, tightening the belt is easy peasy.

 

[Sand-Dog]

First time my daughter cleaned her '99 XJ's engine compartment, she got the on-board computer wet. (It is mounted on the driver's side fender, towards the front of the vehicle.) Cost me about $600 for that cleaning. So be careful and use a plastic grocery bag to cover the on-board computer. I use Scrubbing Bubbles, the bathroom cleaner, to clean the engine compartment. Cheap and it works great.