has anyone ever cleaned their engine by themselves? What would we have to cover? A/T 1999 honda accord v6 ex coupe

 

I'd cover the distributor with a plastic bag. & don't spray any water into the air filter or into the throttle body. Try not to soak the fuses either. Here's a thread I found using the "search" function at the top of the page: https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/m_23216/tm.htm

 

I cleaned my engine 2 days ago and did'nt cover anything, I was just careful to not spray the engine degreaser on the belts, alternator, or into the electrical connectors. I carefully sprayed the a/c compressor and the starter motor. I found a lot of gunk built up between the firewall side exhaust header and the heatshield attached to it- looked nasty and as tho it could catch fire, so it had to go. Using a rag to floss it out seemed to work ok.
After rinsing the thing well, use compressed air to blast out the spark plug tubes and the edges of the spark plug caps. The water will ground out the plug, making the engine miss; once clean and dried, put a little silicone spark plug boot lube on the groove of the cap to help keep it clean and watertight.
A scraper and wire brush can help the job also.
Good luck.
edit- 00 is right- the distributor should'nt be sprayed, and dear god do not wash the intake with it installed(lol).

 

I diluted some simple green and sprayed it all over the engine bay. Let it sit for a few seconds then used our power washer. Didn't cover anything either.

 

Be aware that there's small air vents in...
- battery
- brake fluid reservoir cap (clutch too)
-radiator overflow reservoir
- power steering fluid cap isn't quite airtight either...

Also the transmission is vented. Often it's a hose that's looped over so the opening points down.