Clean Engine Without Water

80-year-old woman. I recently did this, using "tire foam" and followed recommended procedure from one of these podcasts on a newly acquired 2000 Buick Lesabre because it came from not so desirable winter climate. Well it didn't get all the grease off but there was 21 years of crap on the engine. The engine did run a little rough because the blower I had was from a canister vacuum cleaner and am sure some water must have gotten somewhere it shouldn't. Am overhauling my new acquisition and replaced a battery, driving lights module, cruise control and trying to fix a few rust problems. Also trying to decided what to do about scratches and paint. That auto body class I took at 35 will come in handy. Got a '41 Chevy at 15 and cars were easier to work on in 1955. Worked on all my cars and loved doing it. Now I'm having a second childhood working on cars again. Sooo much fun!

Thanks for the video...I have been using purple power degreaser,, scrubbing with a brush,, rinsing with my pressure washer,, drying with an air compressor, and applying gunk engine dressing for about 4 years on multiple vehicles with no problems and great results. I always cover my alternator and avoid power washing electrical boxes and connectors. Modern engines are very water resistant, but I was taught to be extra careful with spraying alternators.. Nice video, and well done, but I'm saving my tire foam for.....my tires!

I do this same thing. I spray the engine once, wait five minutes and spray the engine again. Then I use my leaf blower on high to blow away the excess foam and then wipe off any residue with a microfiber towel. Great video and thanks for sharing.

Tried this on my 99 Mustang GT and it worked great!  I did use my air compressor to blow if off before and after as opposed to a leaf blower so that seemed to really help.

I did this to a few cars on my car lot, shined like new! Make sure you don't drive on a gravel road, after 3 months you might want to take it back off. Use the strongest acid you can buy and pressure wash it off.

Used this on my 62 Reg VW Passat TDI,,,,Absolutely BRILLIANT I Left it over night next morning to soak in didn’t need to touch the awkward places with Anybrushes Suddenly had the look of a new engine with No effort ,,Oh My engine had 130,000 miles ,,I used a full can ,,No issues with my electrics

That worked great on my van engine and thanks for the tip.

Thanks for sharing. I am a detailer. I was always wanting to add engine bay cleaning now I can thank you.

I bought a small steam cleaner for $50 off of the classifieds. I sprayed a high concentration of Simple Green and used the steam cleaner to rinse it off..... It worked great!

Used this method but with a competitors brand of wet look tire foam. Began by wiping all surfaces with an old clean terrycloth towel cut into usable sizes and some foaming surface cleaner. Sprayed Tire Spray liberally over the top & sides of engine components needing cleaning. Left over night to dry, then wiped all over & "nooks/crannies. Now when I open the hood, all I see is CLEAN & SHINY !

Love this idea. Looks great. I live in the country on dirt roads. That engine bay started pretty. Lol. Anyway I’m gonna try this with my air compressor to get a little more aggressive air pressure and use a long extension. This will get in where the leaf blower can’t. Of course using caution where needed. Thanks for the video.

I am so grateful you shared what you learned. I have a '92 nissan set for over a yr. It has dust and dust webs on the engine. I was amazed at the use of the leaf blower. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice! Something for the squeamish to use if they don't like the "cleaning with water" route. Gonna have to try that soon. Thanks man!

Great video Dave! I am going up to dusty roads New Brunswick next week. I will try your method on my F-150 when I get back. That truck seems to get a lot of mud up inside the engine bay. I'll knock it down first with a pot brush, paper towels and spray bottle of water and Fabuloso. Then hit it with the tire foam. Thanks again. My 2010 plain jane xl/4x4/8' bed has never seen salt or sand. Ever. When I croak, someone will get a well maintained truck for cheap. It sucks getting old.

So many ideas but this is his own experience . Thank you for sharing your video !

The 1998 Explorer Sport (2 door/4.0 Liter SOHV) is very delicate to clean. The Tire Foam Cleaner works excellent. Please note* to remove the battery and cover the Alternator & any electrical components on Your 23 year old 4x4. using a 'leaf blower is excellent. After Cleaning (1)Inspect & or replace any old or decaying hoses. Insure Your External & Internal (under glove box) Air Filters are replaced. (2) Place the battery into the battery bay. Finally remove the covering of the electrical components (3) start it up. Your efforts will be rewarded from this excellent video and to all who contributed & expanded with this idea. The 1998 Explorer Sport (2door) is very sustainable when You receive these helpful ideas by these brilliant, dynamic individual folks "under the shade tree".

Thank you so much for your invaluable information, highly appreciate it, keep it up the outstanding job, have a great day.

best part of this video is that front license plate...thank you very much for your service...

Awesome job, thanks for the tips and the video!

Thank you for filming your experiment and publishing the result. I like the idea of using the tire foam on rubber parts. The blower is always a good idea to get the water and loose dirt away. A little hot water steamer (not a water jet) would help, but your idea was to clean without water, thats ok. Would recommend chrisfix'es vids for some additional ideas. But i share your route of using as little water as you can for cleaning the engine.