I have two questions.
1.) I'm trying to clean my car up and show it off. A friend of mine told me it was ok to use soap and water to clean up under the hood. He told me to spray it all down. Is it safe to do that? If not, what it the best way to clean under the hood.
2.) My car sound squeaky when i rev the engine. I was told to wipe Armor All on the belts to stop teh squeak. It that safe to do?

Any input would be appreciated.

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85 Z28 305 w/ new carb, air intake mods, aftermarket sound system

 

who told you to armor all ur belts? find that person and hit them becuz they are an idiot. go and get new belts and it will get rid of that squeeky sound. and also if u get armor all on the pulleys it might cause them to slip and that wouldnt be good.

 

I agree with Timz2882

Get a sock of hot nickles and beat wholever told you to armor-all your belts.

Make sure your belts are not too tight or too loose. I think maybe half an inch or an inch of play in the belts is good, but too much or too less will cause it to squeak.

 

What about washing my engine? Is it okay to spray it down with a hose?

 

Just make sure the car is not hot, and spray it down but keep away from anything electrical so you don't short anything out.

other than that, have a field day with the hose. I do believe they make special cleaner for the engine to help get grease/oil cake off.

 

Back to the squeaky belts, I have heard that they make some sort of spray to stop the squeaks. Does anyone know about this?

 

Yeah, they do. It's like a stinky type spray to help the belts grip the pulleys better to help stop the squeaking.

Are the belts old? When's the last time you replaced them?

If they are fairly new, just check the tension on the belts, too loose, tighten them, too tight, loosen them... and if all else fails, use the spray for the show.

 

Be careful.....but you have to get it wet to get it clean.

I'll usually spray the engine compartment with simple green and let it soak in for a couple of minutes. Then I'll scrub dirty areas with a paint brush.

After that I'll hose it off quickly....being careful not to soak any electronics or connectors if possible.

When I'm done, I'll immediately start it and let it run for awhile to make sure everything is dry.

 

My belts are about three months old and they seem to be tight enough. I am more concerned about the embarassing sound they make. Where can I find that spray?

 

Autozone, Advance auto parts.. pep boys (shudder) NAPA, any car place really.

 

It seems to work fine for me:

 

You will kill the hell out of the throttle position switch if you get it wet!!!! Number 1 killer of dead TPS's is washing them at a high pressure car wash. Cover it!!!

 

It's called Belt Dressing. It's made by several companies such as Permatex and Valvoline. Here is Valvoline's site:

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...asp?product=32

 

Nice 85 Z dude, I have an 86 with exactly the same color and T-tops too. It was my first TPI car and I will share my first experience at the car wash with a pressure washer. I wouldn't do it again. I lost my MAF, and throttle position sensor and had to have the thing flat bed to the dealer to be fixed. Thank goodness I just had to pay for the tow and the sensors were under warranty. Be very careful with the H20 stuff.

 

Laundry detergent, garden hose with hot water, and a stiff brush. Never had a problem except for failed ignition HT wires (which were already bad).

 

loosen the accessory that is making the belt squeal and take the belt partly off to check that the accessory isn't frozen or freezing up because of bad bearings. If it feels ok, tighten it up as much as you can and take it for a test drive.

Yea, there's also some good cleaning stuff that you can get from autozone too(can't remember what it's called but it's for cleaning metal like a degreaser) and wash it off. The reason you don't want to wash it off when the engine is too hot is that you could crack the block. Let it cool for like an hour or so before you wash it.