4 Wheel Drive/SUVs: Washing Range Rover Engine, range rover hse, spark plug wires

Question
Hi Matt,
Hope you are doing good. Please pardon me if i asked a question out of your
expertise. I have a Range Rover HSE petrol automatic and love it like my baby.
Recently, I went off road and my engine compartment is full of dirt. Please
guide me how i can wash my engine. Can i use water? Some said diesel is
better. Appreciate your advice on this.
Another thing i would like to ask you is, is the fuel additives, claims to clean
the engine from inside really safe? Know any trust worthy products?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Raj

Answer
Raj,

I am doing very well and sorry for the delay on the answer. I am not really knowledgable on Range Rover or Land Rovers but I can help you here. To wash the engine make sure you don't get any water on the computer or the distributor / coil packs. Leave all hoses and pipes connected and all clamps tight to keep water out of the inside of the engine. Use a good degreaser from the auto parts store and spray it down good all over excepth the spark plug wires on the distributor cap or coil packs. Use water or pressure washer to spray clean. DO NOT USE DIESEL!!  Coating the engine with diesesl will be a big fire hazard and won't rinse off with water. Make sure not to get degreaser on paint. After washing let sit for a few hours and the start it up to finish drying and you are done. Just keep water off of all the electronics and wash it with the engine cold. If you wash it hot the cold water can cause metal parts to break and crack

matt