Long long ago, in a galaxy far far away, there was a 6er named Wolfie whose engine has apparently never been cleaned. Only the powers of a Jedi could seemingly get the grime off, and Jedi with the Force.

But apparently the Jedi couldnt do it, so along came Jeff, with a magic canister of green fluid and a stick of wonders.

Anyway...

This
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0757.jpg

+

This

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0762.jpg

+

This
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0761.jpg

+

This
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0760.jpg

=

This
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0758.jpg

That was about 45mins worth of elbow grease. I still have to use the rest of the bottle at some point, but this is a good start. Here are some more before and after:

Before:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0756.jpg

After:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0759.jpg

I love simple green.

-Jeff

looks good. what is that bar there goin across the engine?

That is a strut brace. It helps keep the shock towers together and resist flex in the turns. I dont think ive really tested the car enough to feel a difference though, but since it was in the trunk when i bought the car, i threw it on there! That one is about $250 new!

-Jeff

im interested. wheres a good place to get one?

Ha ha! My friend! Your friend! Simple Green!

I never thought of Simple Green to clean the engine. I'll have to bust some out for my IX...gross.

im interested. wheres a good place to get one?
That one is a racing dynamics bar. There are a few companies that make them, and i would look on eBay too. Ireland engineering makes a good one too.

-Jeff

Ha ha! My friend! Your friend! Simple Green!

I never thought of Simple Green to clean the engine. I'll have to bust some out for my IX...gross.

It works fantastic! I wanted it because its biodegradable/non-toxic and doesnt smell too bad either.

-Jeff

OMG I'm going to go clean my motor now! Pics too..

Dude, go back and clean off that foam shit from the hood. You'll lose about 16oz, and it will look much nicer under there.

I know, it looks gawd awful haha. That will be taken care of in the dramatic and pivotal Episode 3: Attack of Asbestos.

-Jeff

Once you remove it, please tell me how to remove that sticky crap they used to put it on there. I am dumbfounded by the impossibly strong hold it has on the metal.

Hmmm, ill see if i can mix up a good concoction to get the crud off. My best guess at this point is that if its going to be covered in foam anyway, probably a good spackling blade or something with a nice coating of simple green and the like. Thats just to get it as flat as possible for the new adhesive to work best. Having foam on there really keeps the paint safe. I dont care obviously now, but after a $3k paint job and rust repair, ill be a little picky.

-Jeff

Before:
http://i21.tinypic.com/2wf4s2x.jpg
After:
http://i21.tinypic.com/2mpbt6p.jpg

Not too much of a difference haha, I used rubbing compound for the intake manifold and simple green for everything else.

BTW that red paint looks really good, even in the engine compartment!

Thanks man. I cant wait till i get all the grime off so i can start waxing and stuff to make stuff really shine. I found that just wiping all the grime off of cables and hoses and wires makes the little details look a lot better.

Keep up the good work, thats why i said this was Episode I cause i know there is a lot more to do.


-Jeff

I used a pressure washer to remove the hood foam or what was left of it. That took off about 98% of it so I then went back and used a heat gun to get the last little bit while scraping with a plastic putty knife (I did not try to remove the adhesive but just the last little bit of foam. I then used the heat gun to soften the adhesive and make it tacky and applied the new pad directly on top.

Sounds like a plan. Did you put a sheet over the engine to catch all the foam so it doesnt find its way into crevaces and what not?

-Jeff

lifted from my original thread

i think i still have you guys beat :D

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/TJ21685/DSC01704sm.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/TJ21685/DSC01791sm.jpg


that took me 4 hours+, one of the dirtiest engines i've ever had to clean

and thats just the top of the engine, wait until i do the bottom :eek:

lifted from my original thread

i think i still have you guys beat :D

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/TJ21685/DSC01704sm.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/TJ21685/DSC01791sm.jpg


that took me 4 hours+, one of the dirtiest engines i've ever had to clean

and thats just the top of the engine, wait until i do the bottom :eek:

Yea - I think that is what we'd call a "transformation"

You both did nice work!

Thanks Lee. The plan is to have it at some point look closer to what yours does! Hopefully by SESF ill have something more presentable.

-Jeff

yea i went through the hood pad ordeal on the 7, your not gonna get it all off. I tried an adhesive remover from 3m. It helped but i think the pressure washer idea sounds good, might be easier to just removed the hood... Go through bmp for the new pads. They have the nice shiny aluminized side to repell oil and fluids from soaking up in the pads, Plus it looks nice all shiny

Yea, thats what im going for. Ive seen a lot of these cars with the new shiny ones and i like it alot. Does BMP send the exact sized and precut pieces or do i need to make templates to cut the stuff out?

-Jeff

i love to hose my engine down. i know of all the dangers and precautions, but with my luck something would go wrong. i've read too many horror stories of problems caused getting water in the wrong places. i have even done it before and consider myself lucky on the other cars. just don't want to run out of luck.
be careful, you can short out some expensive components.

im gonna steer clear of hosing. I can probably loosen most of the stuff i can see with the simple green, and get into places with toothbrushes etc. id rather do that. Most of the top is done, now just gotta try and do back, front and bottom.

-Jeff

i love to hose my engine down. i know of all the dangers and precautions, but with my luck something would go wrong. i've read too many horror stories of problems caused getting water in the wrong places. i have even done it before and consider myself lucky on the other cars. just don't want to run out of luck.
be careful, you can short out some expensive components.

im gonna steer clear of hosing. I can probably loosen most of the stuff i can see with the simple green, and get into places with toothbrushes etc. id rather do that. Most of the top is done, now just gotta try and do back, front and bottom.

-Jeff

if you do it right, you'll be just fine. i started off with a sponge, simple green and tooth brushes. just to be safe i tapped off and wrapped up critical electronics just to make sure nothing got wet - for safe measure, i had pretty much the entire left side of the engine bay covered in plastic to protect the main wiring harness and fuse box.

keep in mind much of the engine gets wet if you drive in rain and most of the components are sealed off to keep water out. but nonetheless, be patient and take your time and you'll be just fine :)

Yea, thats what im going for. Ive seen a lot of these cars with the new shiny ones and i like it alot. Does BMP send the exact sized and precut pieces or do i need to make templates to cut the stuff out?

-Jeff

Mine came cut to size, well close, i think some of the cuts were alil on the short side, but they look fine overall. I would think bmp would note if it was cut to size or just the panel. I think they had the option for either one for the 7...

My hood wasn't on the car when I removed the foam.
Does anyone know what the yellowish stuff on basically all of the aluminum parts of my M70 motor are? It's nasty, and I can't seem to get it off!

By the way, when is SESF? Hopefully my car is done by then.

SESF hasnt been announced yet, but the ball park date is mid to late april. If you can, take the aluminum to a bead blaster and go to town. Although it may need to be pretty big for those intakes.

-Jeff

Once you remove it, please tell me how to remove that sticky crap they used to put it on there. I am dumbfounded by the impossibly strong hold it has on the metal.

When I did my M6 I used gasket remover. May attack the paint as well though:

http://www.aaa-car-imports.com/BMW-E24-M635CSI/Restauration/Endergebnis/24.JPG

My hood wasn't on the car when I removed the foam.
Does anyone know what the yellowish stuff on basically all of the aluminum parts of my M70 motor are? It's nasty, and I can't seem to get it off!

By the way, when is SESF? Hopefully my car is done by then.

it's some sort of protective lacquer which turns yellow after the years. looks awful, doesn't it?
Whoever developed that idea should be :bigun2

I had the same shit on my 635 engine and ended up glass pearl blasting it all

http://www.wokke.de//BMW-E24-635CSi-85/Motorraum/635CSi-engine.JPG

It is cosmoline and is used to protect from salt spray. I think steam cleaning will remove it. You might want to do a search to see if their is more info on removal.

Attacking the paint is fine as I am having the entire car overhauled, if you've seen my build thread, you know how far I am.
Mid to Late April? Perfect! I plan on having the car done before Christmas. Then I'll have time to learn to drive the thing.
Yes, The yellow is awful. What exactly is glass pearl blasting?

Sorry about the thread jacking... I guess it's kind of relevant.

totally relevant. glass pearl blasting is basically sand blasting but with tiny beads of glass cause it really gets the crud off.

-Jeff

It is cosmoline and is used to protect from salt spray. I think steam cleaning will remove it. You might want to do a search to see if their is more info on removal.

Steam cleaning definitely does not work - unfortunately.

Nice, so since I don't want do screw up my nice M70, it becomes mechanic's job. More money spent FTL!

Before:
http://i21.tinypic.com/2wf4s2x.jpg
After:
http://i21.tinypic.com/2mpbt6p.jpg

Not too much of a difference haha, I used rubbing compound for the intake manifold and simple green for everything else.

BTW that red paint looks really good, even in the engine compartment!

looks like simple green even removes or reroutes wiring :stickoutt

I've been resisting looking in here. Now I must go back to my engine compartment and fight the good fight. You all have done some great work. I'm still convinced I'll wind up with waterspots everywhere and an engine that won't start. Haha!

I very much need to replace the underhood foam. Mine is just turning to dust and being rather annoying.