Underhood questions

[Razor-]

In an attempt to tidy my engine bay i have got a few idears of painting but have problems.

1 I have seen people paint the radiator resovour, this looks good but how do u know where to fill it upto?

2 i want to take off the alternator to shine it up but how do i do it? im sure i could figure it out but is it easy to get the belt back on?

3 also what colour should i paint my engine cover? i have a red vs so i thought red would be good and i dont want to over do the red thing


any other idears of how i cuz make the bay look better?

and i thought the blue silicon piping in radiator would look good but would people want to shoot me in the face if i done it to a commodore?

[Razor-]

also i have a vs and the antenna is sorta rooted, how do i know if it came with an electric one?

[Morton]

1) You can judge it by sticking your finger in the hole and seeing how far down the water level is

2) Alternator is held on by two long slide-bolts and a bracket at the side. There should also be one ring-terminal and a plug at the back. Disconnect the battery before you do this

3) I'm personally not a huge fan of cover painting. So I can't give you my opinion on that

Don't do the coloured pipe thing If your pipes are getting a bit old, just replace them with new ones, and keep them clean and shiny

[94calais]

i don't think there is anything wrong with puttin the blue silicone piping in, the red paint under the bonnet is a bit much to me, just try differenty colours u can always spray over it if u don't like it

[Morton]

also i have a vs and the antenna is sorta rooted, how do i know if it came with an electric one?

Remove the wheel on the antenna side of the car. Then unscrew and pull back the plastic wheel arch cover on the inside. Grab a torch, and look inside. If you have the electric aerial, it will have a large motor on it. Quite bulky. If you have the manually operated aerial, it will be a thin, flimsy unit

[Razor-]

also does the engine cover need heat paint

[Morton]

I'd say not.

[Razor-]

ok thanks,
how do u think silver would look as a scheme under the bonet? ide do the fuse cover, engine cover radiator resovour and other bits i suppose, would it suite a red car?

[Razor-]

or black but black might look a bit pov or crappy

[DUK13Y]

What about a navy blue?

[NORTI]

i don't think there is anything wrong with puttin the blue silicone piping in, the red paint under the bonnet is a bit much to me, just try differenty colours u can always spray over it if u don't like it

also does the engine cover need heat paint

What kind of covers? V6 EcoTec? Or 5L Covers?

5L covers can get quite hot, so I would recommend heat proof paint, the plastic ecotec dont seem to get as hot, but better safe than flaky IMO.

Im biased, but I like body coloured covers.....

[Razor-]

yer i ended up doin it red and it looked aight but the radiator bottle looks crappy so i think i will re-do that black

[NORTI]

As I have a dark charcoal coloured car, I painted mine the same colour & it blends into the guard & I think is not noticed now. Which is good

[Ozzie]

this is where personal preferance comes into play.

do it whatever colour you like. pink if you wish, its your car so pick a colour that best suits you.
As for the alternator the easiest way to clean it is with aluminium paint. that way you dont have to risk removing the belt.

An ugly engine that runs is better than a shiny engine that does nothing