Does anyone have a suggestion on what I could clean my engine with and then hopefully spray it with something that will prevent the aluminum chalking that occurs? I have a 2007 KR with 16K miles on it and would like to keep it looking like it does now.

 

http://www.autogeek.net/engine-guide.html

 

I hear that WD-40 does a great job of keeping aluminum from oxidation. Otherwise I can't argue with everything in the link above.

I will say there's no reason to be afraid of pressure washing it from time to time. What do you think happens when you're driving down the freeway for an hour when it starts to rain cats and dogs? Your engine gets a natural pressure/steam wash. Also, if you hit a big puddle on an otherwise dry/hot day? I drove my 5.0 mustang into a puddle that turned out to be over 2' deep and the only damage was that I broke all the blades off my electric fan.

 

Where the water goes and what psi its hitting the motor at when you're driving and its raining is totally different then using a pressure washer.......with the pressure washer you're directing a lot of water at points where when its raining it may only get some mist...


Keep pressure washers off the top side of a modular motor due to the design of the ignition system......

 

X2!

And for those who don't believe us, just try it. Don't believe us? My son blew an upper radiator hose on his 4.6 this past weekend. Nice mess - including multiple misfires. It took over an hour of cleaning coil packs and other related electrical components before she was running right again. Pressure washing just multiplies the effects.

 

I have some billit pieces in my Lightning's engine compartment. They tended to get heavily water spotted, which was VERY difficult to remove. I use a truck box polish that I buy at Lowes, which works very well in removing the water spots.

I finally ended up polishing the pieces and shooting them with clear coat: problem solved.

Jim