First off I would like to remove the old beat up insulation, is that ok to do without any problems? I have read that it's fine but just want to double check before I go ahead and start tearing it out. Second, What is my best bet to remove grime, grease and small spots of rust from inside the engine bay? Third, what is the best "coating" to use after everything is cleaned up and prepped?

I am doing this right now... see my thread...https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/109515.html

People on here advised that I just leave the firewall insulation on. Clean it up as best you can.
The insulation on the strut towers can go.
To do a proper job you will have to remove a bunch of stuff like heat shields, cruise, evap canister, air can, battery....

removing grime and grease - I just used scotch pads, dish liquid and elbow grease. This takes a long time to get in all the nooks but its worth it.
i didnt have any rust in the engine bay to worry about but if you have surface rust just sand it down a bit, paint the area with rust paint or rust converter.

To finish everything off, i painted with Duplicolor High Heat Engine Enamel. Engine bay walls with Gloss Black, Heat shields and other misc stuff with "Aluminum".
Let it sit for a couple of days to ensure good cure, then finish everything off with Duplicolor High Heat Clear Coat.

For cleanup use Brake parts cleaner and some paper towels. Melts the grease, oil, and dirt in a hurry. Leaves no residue. I've also used scrubbing bubbles with alot of success.

Removal of the insulation is completely up to you. I had some increased cabin heat and noise when I removed mine. I added new insulation to the firewall and it dropped back down.

I have the cradle out of the car right now and I figured there's no better time to clean up the engine bay. The rust in there is from a leaky battery by the previous owner, its just surface rust basically, no holes or anything serious. I'm stuck between painting it with high heat paint or coating it with something like POR-15. I'm going to leave the insulation by the firewall and get rid of it elsewhere.

[This message has been edited by YZrider143 (edited 07-27-2010).]

Has anyone found a good replacement for the insulation? My engine is being rebuilt and I wanted to clean up the engine bay while I'm at it too

I replaced the stock heat stuff with aluminized self stick shielding. Works fine and is a lot thinner. Add some pop rivets here and there just make sure it stays where you want it. As for cleaning greasy grime, flamable break cleaner in spray bombs cant be beat! It will also remove paint and it's cheep too at about $2 a can.

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what about like stuff people use for the bed liner in their trucks could you use that to coat it?

I've been doing a bit of research here on the forum and other places, it seems like Lizard Skin may be the way to go.

POR 15 is the best for painting the entire engine bay. There is a Semi Gloss black available. Use the Aluminum backed Heat shield material on the Fierwall, most part stores carry it. Clean the engine bay after removing ALL the insulation clean all the grease out of the engine bay, wire brush the rust in the engine bay and the wheel wells. Then paint it all with POR 15, you don't have to get it perfectly clean POR 18 is great stuff and covers a multitude of sins.

Joe Sokol

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85 SE Daily driver with a 3.4 DOHC OBD II
88 Formula/GT 4.9 Allante Intake (My Baby)

I'm stuck between POR-15 or Lizard Skin.

Like YZrider said, Lizard Skin would be a good option. It's spray on insulation and can even be painted over. That beats messing around with the nasty factory stuff. Check it out here http://www.lizardskin.com/

quote Originally posted by mikejhjr: Like YZrider said, Lizard Skin would be a good option. It's spray on insulation and can even be painted over. That beats messing around with the nasty factory stuff. Check it out here http://www.lizardskin.com/

Should work in most areas but It's only good to 500 degs which about as hot as most ovens get, I'd be more comfortable with something else close to exhaust headers or other exhaust parts.

I really like the Lizard Skin, but I don't want temperature to have an effect on it after I'm done coating the engine bay.

I just painted my engine cradle with implement paint for tractors. Solid and very durable finish. Not sure about its heat resistance though. Got it at TSC.
http://www.valsparglobal.co...dent/valspar_imp.jsp

I was tossing around the idea of using this to paint my engine bay. Its a lot cheaper alternative to POR-15 and others. I bought a quart of gloss black for 10 bucks.

Actrually jiust read if you add hardener to the paint it xures almost bullet proff like and its very high heat resistant.

[This message has been edited by Midnight (edited 07-28-2010).]