Hi Guys,

Trying to remove 43 years of crud from the walls of the engine bay. The engine, firewall pad, relay board, battery, etc. have all been removed. Is there any reason I can't just hit it with a hose and foam cannon? Or is it a bad idea to get that area wet under any circumstances?

Thanks!

Same here, 43 year old ravena car that is apart and i'm not putting it back together as grungy as it is.
I can't think of a better time to hit it with the water than right now.
I've taped the heat tubes at the firewall and a few other areas/things that i want to protect and then i'm having a go at it with simple green and a hose.
I thinking i'll need to have a lot of tags on hand for wiping it down after.

However, i am looking forward to hearing what people here suggest.

I would rather spay it down with engine degreaser. scrub with a brush and then hose it off. power washers make a mess.

Steam....
Rent a steam buggy, very little water cleans great.

Ok, i like this.

I have a good sized hand held steamer. Prob will need a combo of that and degreaser as Mark suggests. Will report back!

A steam pressure washer works great. Cuts through tar and grease. Will remove paint if you hold it too close. We use ours at the shop to clean the baked on oil and tar on engines, trans, suspension, etc. It will make a mess. The blown off oil and tar goes everywhere. For just an engine bay, it’s overkill.
But if you have a lot of cleanup to do, it’s awesome.

Ours probably weighs 400lbs so it’s not something you rent and throw in the trunk.

We use Kano Labs degreaser and toothbrushes, paper towels and painters brushes from Harbor Freight. Floway degreaser, water soluble and leaves a nice micro thin coat on the metal so it doesn't rust after rinsing with water.

Doing a 914 engine bay with engine still in and all the fuel injection spaghetti still in place.........painful at best. That's for the outside.
For inside the engine we use Kreen from the same company. I have not found anything better.