North American Motoring

Mini Cooper: How to Clean Your Engine Bay

Cleaning your engine bay may not be as hard as you think. Check out this quick and easy way to keep your engine bay in mint condition.

By Neftali Medina - May 26, 2016
Contributors: NorthAmericanMotoring, Club Civic, Autoplanetqatar

This article applies to the Mini Cooper (2001-present).

A car's engine bay is often treated like a hazy headlight, meaning it tends to be ignored when the rest of the car is cleaned. This usually results in dust and other types of environmental debris finding its way to your engine cover and other components. This, combined with unwanted grease and heat from your engine, often causes all the dirt to build up and cake on. Most people opt to use engine degreaser, but the best way is to use a steam cleaner. If done correctly, you can have a clean and new-looking engine bay in under an hour.

Materials Needed

  • ShopVac
  • Steam cleaner
  • Aluminum foil and/or plastic bags
  • Engine degreaser

Step 1 – Vacuum the engine bay

The first thing you want to do prior to wetting the engine bay is to take your ShopVac and suck out any loose debris, such as dry leaves and dirt. Make sure to get through all of the nooks and crannies of the engine bay. For hard-to-reach places, you can use the blow function to push the dirt out of crevices.

Figure 1. Use the ShopVac to remove any loose debris.

Step 2 – Cover electrical connections

In terms of preparation, this is the most important step of this DIY. Certain engine parts, listed below, need to be protected from excess water. We suggest using aluminum foil as it can securely wrap around any type of component, keeping it dry, but plastic bags also work. The connections that need to be checked or protected include:

  • Alternator
  • Distributor
  • Battery
  • Visible parts of the ignition system
  • Air intake system

Figure 2. If there are any visible electrical components, be sure to cover them (Mini Cooper not pictured).

Step 3 – Steam clean the engine bay

Begin using the steam cleaner at the underside of the hood. Take your time, spraying off as much oil and grease as you can. Make sure to get all the different nooks and crannies. Then, apply some engine degreaser to the surface of the engine and its components. The engine degreaser will break down most of the built up grease, which you will then be able to spray off. After the degreaser sets in, spray the engine bay in an organized pattern, rinsing the rest of the degreaser off the engine. You can reapply degreaser if necessary, until the engine bay is cleaned to your satisfaction. One you are finished, remove the foil/plastic from the components you covered and enjoy your clean engine bay.

Figure 3. Steam cleaning the engine bay.

Pro Tip

Simple Green works really well as a cheap and environmentally friendly degreaser. However, it has the potential to harm aluminum, so if in use, be sure to quickly rise it off.

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