Oil sprayed over engine bay, products/technique

[SixZee]

Hello folks,

2015 Subaru Forester with 70K on the odometer. During our recent road trip, the low engine oil light came on, so added half quart of oil but in the rush, forgot to tighten the oil cap. Low engine light came on again with oil sprayed over half of the engine bay. I wiped the oil as much as I could with paper towel but there is a lot of gunk/oil/mixture is in the crevices or where I can not reach.

I live in an apartment so I do not have access to running water or electricity in the parking lot. I do not have leaf blower/compressor either.

In such tricky situation, what can I use to emulsify the oil that is forgiving in case it gets into where it doesn't need to be. I plan to use distilled water in garden sprayer. What is the best method to dry?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: The engine bay has never been washed.

 

[Danube]

Why not use engine de-greaser, spray on, leave for 3min and pour a lots of water to remove the oil and other dirt.

If you don't have a blower, simply run the engine for 10min, the engine heat will take care of the residue water.

 

[DFB]

Hello folks,

2015 Subaru Forester with 70K on the odometer. During our recent road trip, the low engine oil light came on, so added half quart of oil but in the rush, forgot to tighten the oil cap. Low engine light came on again with oil sprayed over half of the engine bay. I wiped the oil as much as I could with paper towel but there is a lot of gunk/oil/mixture is in the crevices or where I can not reach.

I live in an apartment so I do not have access to running water or electricity in the parking lot. I do not have leaf blower/compressor either.

In such tricky situation, what can I use to emulsify the oil that is forgiving in case it gets into where it doesn't need to be. I plan to use distilled water in garden sprayer. What is the best method to dry?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: The engine bay has never been washed.

You need alkalinity to deal with this, so a stronger APC (Green Star, Power Clean, D101 ect) should be able to do this. Spray generously, allow to dwell, agitate with brushes (the bristled wheel brushes are very good here as they can get into areas other brushes or your hand can't), then rinse with water. Repeat as needed. I would cover the alternator with a bag if possible.









Use your leaf blower or compressed air to dry, running the engine for 10+ minutes will speed up the process.

 

[DUBL0WS6]

Griots makes an engine cleaner that might work. Otherwise a stronger APC should do the trick.

 

[93ZF6]

I second Griots product, agree on bagging the alt and be wary of the battery. On my Vettes
I always used a MF with the cleaner applied to it first on all wiring connections, then carefully
Wrap as many as you can in tin foil having a sparkling engine and electrical gremlins is NG

 

[Azure]

This happened to me when I took my Mustang in for a free service from the dealer (where I bought it). The tech left the cap off and a light film of oil was everywhere on that side of the engine bay and on cam cover. I had zero trust that they would clean up the mess thorouhgly, so I did it myself. I used Dawn mixed with distilled water in a bucket and a clean dish washing sponge (aggregate on one side, soft on the other). This worked great for me, but nothing helped the underhood insulation. I ended up replacing that myself too.

 

[DFB]

This happened to me when I took my Mustang in for a free service from the dealer (where I bought it). The tech left the cap off and a light film of oil was everywhere on that side of the engine bay and on cam cover. I had zero trust that they would clean up the mess thorouhgly, so I did it myself. I used Dawn mixed with distilled water in a bucket and a clean dish washing sponge (aggregate on one side, soft on the other). This worked great for me, but nothing helped the underhood insulation. I ended up replacing that myself too.

Geez, and I thought I had reason to complain about the dealer putting the oil cap back on upside down! :doh: