Are you prepping your used car for sale, or have you just received a used car with an engine that looks to have had better days? Then you'll need to clean the car engine to improve both the performance of the car and the sight under the bonnet once you open it up. Cleaning a car engine is simple when you know how to do it. Read on for a few of the more useful tips.

Start With A Rag

In a lot of cases, all you really need to do is just get a damp rag and clean the exterior of the engine and the general area underneath the bonnet. The majority of engines are made up of wiring, gaskets and rubber hoses. These are typically the first to get damaged when the engine is dirty. Therefore, the first step should be to remove as much dirt and grease as you can without disconnecting the wiring and hosing.

A word of caution: never use a hose to clean a car engine because it will damage the electronics. If the engine is so dirty that you cannot clean it yourself, then perhaps a professional service is required. Once you have a clean engine, you can use a rag to maintain it so that the situation never gets out of control.

When Selling A Vehicle

In the event that you are selling a vehicle, you must clean the car engine to the extent that it looks as if it's new. This is difficult to achieve with simply a rag, but it can be done with a high-pressure air hose. You'll find these at most gas stations. The hose should be used to blow out dirt from the difficult to reach places in your car engine. Typically, high-pressure air hoses are strong enough to remove the toughest of dirt stains on a car engine.

Oil Spillage

Do you have the problem of oil accumulating on top of the engine? Then make sure that the PVC is plugged in. That car component is in charge of rerouting exhaust fumes to the engine from the crankcase. In the engine the fumes are burned once again, and finally released through the exhaust fume system.

When the valve is plugged, the crankcase can experience pressure build up, and as a result oil leaks out. You can locate a PVC valve by firstly locating the air box. It will have a tube coming out of it that connects to the PVC – simply follow that tube. In most cases you will have to remove the engine casing to get to the PVC valve. It's logical to find the root of oil spills to fix them before attempting to clean a car engine.

For more information on cleaning an engine or on second hand car parts, contact your local mechanic.