FAQ: Degreasing Engine & Cleaning Under The Hood

No.Not advisable to wash a hot engine in cold weather.Spray Gunk Engine cleaner all over the cold engine,avoiding sensitive electronics.With a long bristle brush get into all visible areas that need a good scrubbing.Rinse.

I want to clean the salt out of the bay. Should I just wait until it gets warmer?

Well,yeah.Chemicals dont to too good in the cold.They thicken & grease is less likely to give up it's post,in a perfect world anyway.
It's safe to spray the worst of it off with water when the engine's cold.Save your Gunk money for later.
Dont worry too much about a dirty engine in the winter anyway,save the job for spring.

I've always figured you'd be asking for problems spraying the engine compartment in the winter unless you had a specific need and a heated garage. If something is annoying you, dump a milk jug of warm water on the area and try to avoid any electrical or rubber that could freeze. I'm in an area with prolonged cold and regular dips below zero. I don't go to the car wash unless it's 20 or warmer.

I did spray the engine bay a few times in winter. I wouldn't recommend it. I had weird cluster issues and 'strange things' happening for a few days after the cleaning. Just wait for warmer weather IMO.

Just me, but I've never sprayed down the engine in my car. I prefer to clean areas locally with a rag, cleaner and water from a spray bottle if needed. I've found WD40 works well as a cleaner/degreaser that leaves very little dirt residue. For stubborn stains I use a concentrated orange cleaner and rinse with a small amount of water, then dry with a towel. When you replace a component in the engine bay, take time to clean the area since you have access.

Suggest you wait until spring and all road salts are washed from streets. Otherwise you are still going to get road salt in your clean engine bay from wet roads. Remember rust starts slower in cold weather, speeds up in warmer weather.

Since moving to Canada learned once daily temps hit about 40 F, time to remove snow tires as rubber compound wears faster in heat, power spray underbody once spring rains clean street of salt dust, then consider a rust treatment application (I have used Krown for many years with great sucess - do a web search on best products). Then I send my cars to an auto detailer to clean all the little nooks.

Living in a snow climate can be hard on our autos. That is why I garage store my Riv from late Nov. to early April until spring rains wash away street salt dust. I drive my 2011 Camaro winters but following the above spring cleaning ritual underbody body is still rust free. My 1998 Riviera, never driven on wet salted streets, underbody still looks factory new. I rust treat the Riv every two years as my underground parking garage during winters can get damp and salt dust builds up until they power wash the parking garage in May.

Just my insight from Canada.

What kind of brush or rags do you guys use for scrubbing ?

95riviboy93 wrote:

What kind of brush or rags do you guys use for scrubbing ?

Go to a dollar store and pick a selection with different head angles and bristle configurations. You might want a toilet brush, too, as it has a long handle. Tooth brushes are handy, too.