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G'day all, my donk is looking a little dirty [a fair bit of residual oil, but no major leaks] - so to give her a freshen up - what type of cleaning product / degreaser do you recommend? I've used a couple of brands in the past on some old bangers with mixed success, but nothing on the Foz. Any tips / suggestions will be greatly appreciated, cheers Peter

Be careful where you wet because although most engine sensors are pretty water resistant when the car leaves the factory, constant heating/ cooling cycles weakens their seals. Be careful around the knock sensor, coil pack and throttle sensor.

Usually just spray the oily areas with foaming degreaser, let it sit for a while and spray off with a hose. Pressure cleaners are generally not recommended because they can force water through rubber seals

Home Brand (generic) Oven Cleaner ?

Sorry, the following may not be very helpful but the MY with its EA81 engine has no sensors so I use the nastiest stuff I can find which is the degreaser from Reject Shop for $2 a can and the engine cops it.
Not for too long though as I think it may take the paint off.

I've had a fair bit of success with a few liquid ones and brushing it on, letting it settle the brushing / wiping it off with a rag.

Currently using a chemtech one. CT14 from memory.

from within the automotive trade the advice is don't, on anything efi.

I love SCA export degreaser in the spray cans. Wax and grease remover is good on a rag -wipe,wipe and my favourite is the wire brush on a rotary tool

some stuff does nasty things to the alloy as I found out. I will stick with the degreaser spray can from now on.

steptoe wrote:from within the automotive trade the advice is don't, on anything efi.

I love SCA export degreaser in the spray cans. Wax and grease remover is good on a rag -wipe,wipe and my favourite is the wire brush on a rotary tool

The Export spray degreaser is surprisingly good, and with it you can get the stuff right where you want it. Picked up a couple of cans for $1 each on sale not too long ago.

I did have some CT/14 but sadly that came to an end

great stuff but it will make polished aluminium pearl finish.

TOONGA

I'm happy to give my EFI engine a good clean but there's a few rules I stick to:

*Never use the high pressure hose anywhere inside the engine bay.
*Keep away from alternator, coil pack, spark plugs, electrical connectors, sensors, fuse box & esp the ECU (mine is on the engine)
*Use degreaser 1st.
*Then use low pressure soap.
*Then low pressure rinse.
*Have a coldie

cheers for all the advice guys - I went with a watered down blend and opted for a bit more manual labour, just to be safe - good thing, too - for I found a couple of things that needed amending along the way...so thanks again