Chop~

I gotta try this Catrol Degreaser that you mentioned. I should put up a pic of my engine, it's beyond dirty. Here in Nebraska they salt the sh*t out of the roads in winter time and not to mention the sand. I'm sure my engine is fine, but it just doesn't look that good. My big concern in cleaning the engine bay is if I accidently get some electrical parts wet or the water and degreaser goes into the spark plugs or something. I wouldn't want to risk damaging my engine for a cleaner look. So I'm definately chary about spraying down the engine.

About the K&N filter, I didn't know about letting the oil soak in the filter overnight? I guess if that oil got sucked into the engine, that would mean BIG problems. Next time I clean my filter I'll let it dry over night then pop it in. Have you had a problem about getting the filter to fit flush into the air box? My stock Volvo air filter fit flush into the box, but the K&N seems to just sit there, although i do make sure it's lined up and then snap the 7 pins down to close the air box.

For washing my car I usually just get some generic car wash cleaner and use a spray hose. For the wheels I usually use a regular wheel cleaner spray, the kind where you spray it for 60 seconds than hose it down then wipe it dry. It seems to work well for a couple days of driving, until that damn brake dust gets on there. :(

--
'95 Volvo 854 Turbo: Gold Edition
K&N Air Filter, Leather, 6 disc CD-changer, Rear Spoiler
tinted windows