My engine bay is pretty dirty, mostly dust with a light oily film in some spots (no major leaks). On a lot of cars you can hose them out with no problems, but there are a lot of electronics packed into a pretty tight space on this Audi, so I'm wondering if there is anything particular I should look out for when cleaning the engine and its bay? It's an `02 A4 1.8T Quattro with the sport package. I'm not going for full blown detail, just a nice clean place to work. Thanks.

 

I use simply green and a toothbrush to clean mine, with a light flow of water to wash away the dirt. I have a 2.8 with a k&n filter, so i just cover the filter and breather hose filter with a plastic bag and wash away.

Check the Detailing Forum for additional help. As long as you don't blast your engine with water, you should be fine.

Here is a pic of my engine after a couple hours cleaning. It looks greasy because i didn't know any better and usedArmor-All. I've learned my lesson, and ihave since switched to Mother's back-to-black. (so no flames por favor)

 

Wow, that's even cleaner than my Jeep. Looks damn good.

 

Damn, that is cleaner than my kitchen table

 

Same. Make sure to dilute your Simply Green a little bit before you clean; I don't trust the all-purpose cleaners that come stock. Mod it a bit by adding some water, and you should get better performance results.