Thanks! Actually, some of those pictures are dated Jay. I've been meaning to organize them, just havn't had time this week. Half of them are from after I'd had the car for about a week, and half of them are more recent. I did indeed upgrade to the green cap when I replaced my thermostat a couple of months ago. Just in time for Auto-xing =) As for the engine, if you could see better in the picture it's actually quite dirty. I've cleaned up all the loose dirt and grease that's on surfaces it shouldn't be (with towels and water), but if you could see closer you'd notice that my head + fuel rail is somewhat caked with motor oil. I guess the previous owner's mechanics could hit the oil fill about as well as a toliet bowl. I have this amazing thing called a funnel =P
Anyway, I haven't tried yet (but I aim to soon) use Catrol degreaser. I've heard that this stuff works great from a couple of people....you put it on, let it sit a few mins, and then wash it off...and everything comes off. The results I've seen are pretty good (www.volvospeed.com has a good message forum). The only thing that I understand one might be careful of is not to get the raw degreaser on the paint of the car, otherwise it will damage the paint. Appearntly when you wash it off, being dilluted with water makes it ok, as long as you wash the painted areas off after that. Also, using steel wool and sand paper can get your turbo heat shield nice and shiney, and your fuel rail too. I'm toying with the idea of painting my fuel rail/spark plug cover/airbox lid. Oh, the car also came from texas, so dosn't have a long histroy with road salt (but the engine was fairly dusty when I got it). The car also had some armour all crap on the engine, DON'T put that stuff on, it just messes up everything =)

K+N filter....I've had it in there for about 6 months, I havn't cleaned it yet. Although K+N recommends you clean it at like 50,000 miles, I think every 6 months or 20k is better. I'm planning to do that soon, probably this weekend. The filter oil will help the filter live longer, but you do have to let it dry over night. You can get a cleaner kit for about $10. It still looks clean at any rate.

As for the exterior, even though you didn't really ask...I used "Forever black" from www.ipdusa.com on the bumpers, and just did a good clean and a coat of turtle wax every 3 months. There's somet stuff called "Brak cleen" that comes in a green can that's good for cleaning off brake dust, but be careful with it, becuase it'll eat the coating on the wheels if you leave it on too long....it's good for cleaning calipers, unless they are painted (in which case they no longer will be =) I still havn't found a product that'll get those turbine wheels spotless clean, and the OEM brakepads make about 3.2 tons of dust per mile I drive.
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Brandon
95 854T 92k
Pictures =)