Anyone have this gunk in engine bay and know how to clean it?

[Christopoli]

my cx-5's engine bay is covered in what looks to be dried on oil with a ton of dirt in it, it's rock hard, i've tried brake clean, i've tried this stuff, and it doesn't budge, before i go spending more money on solvents that may not work, i thought i'd ask here if anyone knows of something that may work

other than this stuff my cx-5's engine bay is fairly clean otherwise

 

[cz5gt]

Very weird. Is this a flood car?

 

[Christopoli]

Is this a flood car?

no, was stolen (most likely crashed) and rebuilt, just a ton of this s*** on both sides

 

[Buzzman12]

Almost looks like rust.
Have you tried using sandpaper on a small spot to see if it comes off?

 

[Christopoli]

Almost looks like rust.
Have you tried using sandpaper on a small spot to see if it comes off?

it is not rust, i can scrape small portions clean with my fingernail, i'm thinking its some dried caked on oil with tons of dirt on it, but degreasers don't seem to work very well, perhaps if i soak the areas for a while it will loosen up

 

[stickerbush]

Carefully try dampening a rag with kerosene and see if that will take it off.

 

[sm1ke]

I don't usually see rust prevention undercoating in the engine bay, but I wonder if that's what this could be? Maybe the previous owner had it applied to those areas?

 

[cz5gt]

may be electric cleaner spray? it most likely have to soften up by soaking it with the right agent. But it would help if you could somehow identify what it is. I got no clue. Looks like dried sand/mud but its hard to tell.
I have seen similar on flooded cars underwater then baked by the sun thats why I ask.

 

[Christopoli]

I don't usually see rust prevention undercoating in the engine bay, but I wonder if that's what this could be? Maybe the previous owner had it applied to those areas?

no, like i said, it looks like some sort of oil, with a layer of sand/dirt embedded in it

 

[Christopoli]

may be electric cleaner spray? it most likely have to soften up by soaking it with the right agent. But it would help if you could somehow identify what it is. I got no clue. Looks like dried sand/mud but its hard to tell.
I have seen similar on flooded cars underwater then baked by the sun thats why I ask.

yeah i was thinking whatever it is it needs to be soaked for a while, maybe the cold winter weather isn't really helping me out here, though its been pretty mild as of late. there is definitely some sand/dirt embedded in it though,

 

[markfm]

Perhaps try the following (what I do when stains/gunk need time in contact with a cleaner, beyond a fast spray-and-wipe):

Put a couple of paper towels soaked with whatever cleaner you want to try on an affected area, let it sit for a while, then see if it'll clean off okay.

The wet paper towels give the cleaner time to soften up the gunk.

 

[7eregrine]

Perhaps try the following (what I do when stains/gunk need time in contact with a cleaner, beyond a fast spray-and-wipe):

Came to say this. Like getting dried bird poop off your car (wet paper towel works great for that).

 

[Conrad 16.5]

my cx-5's engine bay is covered in what looks to be dried on oil with a ton of dirt in it, it's rock hard, i've tried brake clean, i've tried this stuff, and it doesn't budge, before i go spending more money on solvents that may not work, i thought i'd ask here if anyone knows of something that may work

other than this stuff my cx-5's engine bay is fairly clean otherwise
View attachment 326622View attachment 326623

Brake cleaner wouldn't remove it? The chlorinated type or the non-chlorinated? Red or green can?

 

[Christopoli]

okay so i drove to my dads house and parked in the garage to let the car warm up, then i tried brake clean again and i got quite a bit of it off, also tried gas, and that works as well, of course both of those will take paint off but where the oil is was missing some paint anyways, it just strips the color off in certain spots base coat is still intact, got the bulk of it off on the immediately visible parts , going to try to find some more paint friendly solvents that will work, afik it is defiantly just oil with dirt embedded

 

[Odrapnew]

Good to hear something works to remove it.
I was going to suggest maybe a wheel cleaner. Those can sometimes remove grime that other products can't (and are typically safe on paint).

 

[HyFlyer]

Might try some foamy engine cleaner or even household stuff like formula 409 or that green stuff or other degreasers like that that aren't harsh on the paint. Goo-gone. Etc.

 

[hooked]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this already…what about tar and bug remover?

 

[ColtX-5]

Gunk engine cleaner should work. You have the disadvantage if a white cat that shows all dirt.

 

[Bear1967]

Sound deadener? I've never seen anything like that either.