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Hi ETCG,
i really really want to wash out the engine on both cars i have.
However, scared.First time i saw an engine washed was back in like late 90’s in Piedmont, SC,
there is a mechanic there (can’t even recall name now), little itty-bitty town,
and he had his orange pickup and he showed me. Just opened up hood, and sprayed.
avoided pretty much only the battery.Well, anyhow, not sure if this would make good video or not.
Maybe etcg1 type of video, and talk about cleanliness and such and or even talk about work environment cleanliness. and/or use of pressure washers!well, just 2 cents.
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I care about how clean the inside is, not the outside. I don’t clean engines. I’ve had too many detail guys come to me with cars that wouldn’t start after they cleaned an engine. Therefore I don’t recommend it, nor do I have a preferred method of doing it. In fact there was a forum post about this in the past week. Car wouldn’t start after washing the engine.
sup Eric,
but … but …
awww mane~!serious side though:
not everyone can enjoy buying new.
so maybe many of your viewers (including me) are forced to buy a less-than-optimally-clean engine and clean it up after some necessary repairs have been made.
obviously, want to get the insides all good an’ running first (And ideally no more drips). But even if small drip, better than 100k miles of grime totally uncleaned. especially when working on the engine – and especially if have to work underneath … all safety goggled up n all.maybe, i guess from being a pro mechanic, you kinda don’t have the choice and work with what ya got.
many of us would probably dare if we had nice step-by-step from you.
kinda like the AC video … you mentioned reasons why you shy away from it, but it was really instructional and i know it benefited me and many others. (i rocked that video and got me some ice cold! – maybe too cold).
Heck, anyone can scratch up the head to block surface too badly during head gasket change.
so can a person mess up an engine wash and short something or flood something.
Mayhaps, not so recommended, but if done correctly, worth it?Just my 2 cents, and 100% understand if you don’t want to do it.
(kinda trying to convince you :stick: – hah.)Well, i guess, you can even recommend completely against it … which is i guess what you are saying?
~aww mane~[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=98602]I care about how clean the inside is, not the outside. I don’t clean engines. I’ve had too many detail guys come to me with cars that wouldn’t start after they cleaned an engine. Therefore I don’t recommend it, nor do I have a preferred method of doing it. In fact there was a forum post about this in the past week. Car wouldn’t start after washing the engine.[/quote]
Leave the dirt alone, its not harming anything. If something is really bothering you, a rag and some carb clean / degreaser.
I don’t understand this obsession with spraying water into engine bays.
[quote=”ultra” post=98691]sup Eric,
but … but …
awww mane~!serious side though:
not everyone can enjoy buying new.
so maybe many of your viewers (including me) are forced to buy a less-than-optimally-clean engine and clean it up after some necessary repairs have been made.
obviously, want to get the insides all good an’ running first (And ideally no more drips). But even if small drip, better than 100k miles of grime totally uncleaned. especially when working on the engine – and especially if have to work underneath … all safety goggled up n all.maybe, i guess from being a pro mechanic, you kinda don’t have the choice and work with what ya got.
many of us would probably dare if we had nice step-by-step from you.
kinda like the AC video … you mentioned reasons why you shy away from it, but it was really instructional and i know it benefited me and many others. (i rocked that video and got me some ice cold! – maybe too cold).
Heck, anyone can scratch up the head to block surface too badly during head gasket change.
so can a person mess up an engine wash and short something or flood something.
Mayhaps, not so recommended, but if done correctly, worth it?Just my 2 cents, and 100% understand if you don’t want to do it.
(kinda trying to convince you :stick: – hah.)Well, i guess, you can even recommend completely against it … which is i guess what you are saying?
~aww mane~[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=98602]I care about how clean the inside is, not the outside. I don’t clean engines. I’ve had too many detail guys come to me with cars that wouldn’t start after they cleaned an engine. Therefore I don’t recommend it, nor do I have a preferred method of doing it. In fact there was a forum post about this in the past week. Car wouldn’t start after washing the engine.[/quote][/quote]
The title of the post is “How Would ETCG Clean an Engine”. My response was, “I wouldn’t and I don’t recommend it”, and I stated my reasons why. That doesn’t mean that those that want to clean their engines can’t. I just answered as if it would be something that I would do or not do. I wouldn’t but I’m not everybody. I have my own priorities when it comes to vehicle maintenance, others have different opinions and I respect that. I was just responding to the question as it was posted.
one time i had the rocker cover gasket leak on the old red car, friend told me too spray down the underhood, this was not wise and getting the spark plug wires wet caused missfires,
the PCM gets wet and you could have a seriously expensive day on your hands, wet ignition coils don’t work good nor do wet spark plug wires, ABS model may not like water.. as others have said the best thing you can do is get a wet rag and sort of wipe off some dirt off your engine parts may take some time but then you wont risk shorting ignition coils and ECUs and other things and clean everything up, but the most important thing as eric has already stated, that the inside of your engine is clean… the engine doesn’t care how much dirt it has on it, but it will care if you have water in it because if water mixes with your oil or gets in your intake you will have serious issues too!
i have spilled a gallon of water in my engine bay and it would not start . it caused the control box for the injectors to short out . that alone cost 300.00 to replace .
I use very little water to clean my engine compartment. what I do is that I make sure the engine is cool to the touch. then use compressed air first to get rid of lose dirt dust. then I take a paper shop towel the blue one’s then carefully put a small amount of water on there. being careful not to get it on the electronics. and moving parts like the belts and pulleys. And then I wipe off the dirt and dust off parts like the engine ignition coil cover. Again using a damp paper shop towel then once the parts are clean. I use a dry paper towel and toughly dry it off completely Then I finish with some vinylex plastic protectant on the plastic parts.haven’t had any complications since 2004 in my
engine compartment I clean it once a month.I’ll have to take a picture of what my engine compartment looks like. I think its ok to clean the engine compartment if your careful and not get the electronics wet or the intake assembly’s wet.If you are really set on cleaning the engine, Google forums that talk about your particular car and engine. Most (but not all) modern cars can stand a some amount of water under the hood without complications. But some engines don’t respond well to water in certain areas. Obviously, if you have any kind of open air intake, wrap that up. Don’t spray water in deep recessed areas like deep spark plug areas. I like to detail engines but I also usually have a “show” car or two. Since those engines stay very clean anyway from hand wiping down everything with clean shop clothes, there is no need to use water (or any degreaser for that matter). If you do have build up and you use an engine cleaner (like Gunk), just be sure to not get it on your exterior paint and wash it off ANYWHERE it contacted (glass, body and engine) since it’s a strong cleaner – be careful about “splash” when you apply it or wash it off. Does cleaning an engine really matter? Probably not. But in my mind, my car seems to appreciate it.
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