Porsche: ENGINE CLEANING, car maintenance products, engine degreaser

Question
I WANT TO GIVE MY 1986 944 NON-TURBO A ENGINE BATH. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW. DO I COVER THE DISTIBUTOR. CAN I USE A POWER WASHER. CAN I JUST SPRAY THE TIRE CLEAN FOAM ON IT AND GO. IS THERE A PRODUCT THAT WILL HELP ME. THE DEALERS MAKE THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT LOOK NEW AND SHINE AND I WANT TO DO THE SAME.

Answer
I share the same sentiment with you and I always like to clean or Degrease my car's engine.  It not only makes it look good but it can also keep certain parts such as the air filter working better.  What you should do is go out to any store that carries car maintenance products, purchase a car engine degreaser and follow the instructions on the back of the can.  You want to make sure to cover ANY electrical wires or hardware.  Spraying the distributor, for example, is more then likely going to cause some problems with the car.  You can cover the electrical parts with any old rag.  According to the instructions you probly just have to allow it to stay on the engine for about 5-15 minutes. Then carefully rinse off with a hose.  If your engine's really greasy or grimey just apply it several times each time making sure that the electrical componets keep dry.  When finished you can either start the car for several minutes or go for a drive so the water on the engine is evaporated instead of leaking into the combustion chambers or something else.

Best Regards,
Tyler Stricker