Comments by "Jean Cassel" (@michesbianan) on "Never Do THIS When Cleaning Your Engine Bay! Do THIS Instead" video.

  1. While it may seem fast to just rinse down everything with pressure washer, in reality, it takes more time to dry everything. I learned over the years to just use a leaf blower once a month and a simple wipe down with a slightly damp shop towel if necessary. Truth be said, when the plastic covers are clean, that already satisfies each one's itch. At the end of the day, no one is going to look at your engine bay everyday.
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  2. For cheap, you can buy the silicone tire shine stuff, it works though you have to do it once a month if it's always pouring in your area. I recommend checking out 303 Aerospace protectant, it's made especially for the rubber / vinyl /leather / plastics against UV rays. Normally lasts 3-5 months when car sees rain. You can use this too on interior trims (dashboard, doors) and will leave a rejuvenated deep colored satin finish.   If you liked the results, and want to keep using the stuff long-term, I highly suggest to look for the gallon version, it is way cheaper. Btw, you only need a few squirts on a towel to use for all the door rubber seals.
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  3. Any quick detailer will do. As you saw from Ahmed, it's just a mist spray, a 500ml bottle will last you a while.
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  4. I've seen detailers snow-foam the engine bay with mixed-in degreasers and let it soak for 15 minutes. Guess where some of those dilluted degreasers go? Then completely blast the bay with a pressure washer. Then they will start the car and "attempt" to dry the car ala engine heat-soaking with the hood closed. Yes, there will be no damage for a couple days or so, but we all know corrosion takes time.
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  5. Unless it's a show car, please save your money. It doesn't really help the engine as we mainly have watercooled ones nowadays, and the risks are higher. Sure, it will look cool after cleaning, but guess what after a week of driving, it will just be dusty again.  I suggest, if you have a leaf blower lying around, just blow the dust off keeping a distance. Then if you want, a simple wipe down on the black plastics is enough to satisfy the itch of cleaning.
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  6. Same, I prefer to buy/see a used car with engine bay that is not cleaned.
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  7. In my opinion, gas treatment for Toyotas are just waste of money if you're using top tier fuel in your area. Changing the engine oil as per your intervals is the most beneficial to your engine.
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  8. As per Scotty Kilmer pun, just "throw that stupid beauty cover off".
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  9.  @madlucio70  I say keep on doing what you do now. Cleaner wpes are convenient because you can just throw it away. For quick detailers, you can use the shop towel. Whichever is cheaper in the long run is the best way to go.
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  10. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is pretty common with wanna-be detailers or just new ones. Most of the old timers pretty much would just do a wipe down. For scratches, if you meet a detailer that will tell you scratch is so deep and starts talking to you about thickness of paint, then you know you're dealing with the right one.
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  11. To start off, get yourself an OBD scanner and scan the car for issues. For average guys, a cheap $20 ODB scanner is all we ever need. When you are shown fault codes, reset them with the scanner. Drive the car for 5-10 minutes, then scan again, if there are fault codes, search google by typing on those codes so you have at least just a general idea where the error may be. Then take note of those codes that appear after your drive to then bring them to Toyota or your trusted shop for final evaluation / repair. Next you suspect something is off, you have that scanner to help you partly diagnose what is wrong. Don't be afraid it's very simlpe to use. Do note, that some fault codes are not really worth the time and money for repair, things like you know the fault code does not affect drivability of your car, or safety of your car.
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  12. That is safe, or shaper I should say. As it's just a mist. Just don't direct the steamer to components for a long time. That steam is hot and can damage your plastics.
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  13. Yes, that is actually excellent. While you're at it, the most important area to put dielectric grease is the battery negative-terminal wire to vehicle body ground.
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  14. That's totally fine, that's what I use. Just maintain a good distance. Some leaf blowers can be pretty powerful, talking about 600+ CFMs, don't direct them to anything that you think will come flying off (wires to connectors). Use common-sense when blowing the dust off. Normally couple minutes and you should be done.
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  15. Generally don't do it. The air coming through the grill helps in cooling down other components under the hood.
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  16. The CVT scare you are hearing are mostly from the ones made by JATCO which is what Nissan has been using. Those are very notorious to fail. The Toyota ones from Aisin are solid. Change the fluid every 5-6 years or 60,000 miles and life is good. In my experience, I daily drive a 13yr old non-hybrid corolla with CVT and no issues. Btw, the toyota Hybrid CVTs are way different than gas ones. They don't have belts (which is the one that's scaring a lot of people), it uses planetary gears as good as any standard automatic from Toyota.
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  17. On hot summers, you can remove them. This helps prolong the wire looms / wires that is part of what is covered by the beauty cover. Other than that, don't overthink it.
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  18. I think Pan the Organizer also understands this, notice he will only pressure wash cars with pretty much the entire bay with beauty cover on.
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